Introduction to Homeland Security ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

Homeland security in the United States became a national priority and a major concern of the American public following the events that transpired on September 11, 2001.  Since that time, significant resources have gone into the prevention of terrorist attacks and the preparation of the U.S. government for life in a vulnerable environment.  Substantial new laws were passed and new legislation continues to be proposed to combat threats and secure the country.  Today, with the rise of foreign and domestic violent extremists, as well as affiliated threats from lone wolf terrorists around the world, legislative and executive leaders are struggling to identify the best response, while courts sort out the legality of their efforts. But homeland security is about more than terrorism. In fact, the vast majority of our daily activities, from trade to travel, touch on homeland security in much more profound ways than terrorism has. In this course, we will focus on the foundations of both homeland security and terrorism in order to develop a more complete understanding of the importance of the changes that have taken place in the last decade. Emphasis will be placed on “friction points” in the homeland security enterprise, such as the tradeoff between security and liberty, border security and economic vitality, and surveillance and privacy, as well as the legal and policy changes that have been undertaken to effectuate new policies and practices of the Executive Branch to promote homeland security. This course was previously PAFF 2005.