The Institute of World Politics
Encyclopedia
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
of national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and international affairs
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
. Founded in 1990 and located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the school focuses on the development of leaders in the intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
, national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, and diplomatic communities and the teaching of the ethical exercise of statecraft in international relations. Its faculty consists primarily of senior scholar-practitioners from the intelligence, national security, and diplomatic communities. It currently offers three Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degrees: Statecraft and National Security Affairs; Statecraft and World Politics; and Strategic Intelligence Studies. It also offers Certificates of Graduate Study and continuing education courses. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and licensed by the District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission.
Curriculum overview
The Institute of World Politics offers Master's degree, certificate, and continuing education programs with a professional curriculum covering the various elements of statecraft. Its curriculum includes an interdisciplinary foundational course of study of the relevant elements of comparative political culture, Western moral precepts, practical political economics, and political and diplomatic history.IWP's curriculum has six major components:
1. The study of all of the elements of statecraft, including: the arts of war, peacemaking, and diplomacy; public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy has existed as a practice for centuries. Explorers, travelers, teachers and artists can be all considered examples of informal ambassadors or early cultural diplomats...
; psychological strategy and political action; economic strategy; intelligence and counterintelligence; the exercise of intangible instruments of power such as moral leadership, will-power, courage, rhetoric, etc.; and the integration of such elements into overall national strategy.
2. The study of diplomatic history, salient elements of comparative political culture, ideology and religion, the practices of foreign powers, and developments that affect the security interests of the United States. This component focuses on the role and consequences of ideas in international politics. It also includes the study of unpleasant realities of international affairs, such as: treaty violations; massive violations of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
; terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
; disinformation
Disinformation
Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth...
, strategic deception, and psychological warfare; economic warfare; espionage; and other instruments employed by authoritarian regimes that the United States is likely to encounter in the world.
3. The review of fundamental principles of American political philosophy, including: democratic republicanism, limited government, individual rights, private property, the rule of law, and morally ordered political/economic liberty.
4. The study of the Western moral tradition and the application of ethics to policy.
5. The study of economics, including economic statecraft and the salient elements of economic theory and history necessary for those working in the defense, intelligence, and foreign affairs communities.
6. Character-building education that encourages those who pursue public service to cultivate those qualities necessary for statesmanship and moral leadership.
Notable past guest lecturers
- Frank Cilluffo, former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (External Affairs).
- Angelo Codevilla, professor of international relations at Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, author, and former professional member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. - Paula DobrianskyPaula DobrianskyPaula Jon Dobriansky is an American foreign policy expert who has served in key roles as a diplomat and policy maker in the administrations of five U.S. presidents, both Democrat and Republican. She is a specialist in the areas of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as well as...
, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (2001-present). - John J. Fialka, Senior Reporter, Wall Street Journal.
- Francis FukuyamaFrancis FukuyamaYoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist, political economist, and author. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford. Before that he served as a professor and director of the International Development program at the School of...
, political economist, philosopher, and author. - Graham FullerGraham FullerGraham E. Fuller is an American author and political analyst, specializing in Islamic extremism. Formerly vice-chair of the National Intelligence Council, he also served as Station Chief in Kabul for the CIA...
, former Vice Chairman, National Intelligence Council. - Carl GershmanCarl GershmanCarl Gershman has been the President of the National Endowment for Democracy since its 1984 founding. He had served as the U.S...
, President, National Endowment for DemocracyNational Endowment for DemocracyThe National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
. - Jan Goldman, author and professor, National Defense UniversityNational Defense UniversityThe National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
. - Richard Haver, former National Intelligence Officer for Special Activities, CIA; former Executive Director, Intelligence Community Affairs.
- David KayDavid KayDr. David A. Kay is best known for heading the Iraq Survey Group and acting as a Weapons inspector in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion.-Education:...
, former IAEA Inspection Team Leader, Iraq. - Derek Leebaert, Founding editor, International Security magazine.
- Stanislav LevchenkoStanislav LevchenkoStanislav Alexandrovich Levchenko is a former Russian KGB major who defected to the United States in 1979. He obtained U.S...
, former Soviet KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
officer. - James Lilley, former ambassador to China and Korea; former Assistant Secretary of Defense; former CIA station chief.
- Walter A. McDougallWalter A. McDougallWalter A. McDougall is an American historian and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He is Professor of History and the Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania....
, professor, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
; editor, OrbisOrbis (foreign policy)Orbis is a quarterly American journal on international relations and U.S. foreign policy. It is the flagship publication of the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute , an international affairs think tank established in 1955....
; Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning historian. - Michael NovakMichael NovakMichael Novak is an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than twenty-five books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known for his book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism...
, American Enterprise Institute. - James ObergJames ObergJames Edward Oberg is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian space program.-Biography:...
, former senior official, NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. - John Quattrocki, FBI; former Director of Intelligence Programs, National Security CouncilUnited States National Security CouncilThe White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
- Kevin Quigley, President, National Peace Corps Association.
- Peter RodmanPeter RodmanPeter Warren Rodman was a lawyer, government official and foreign policy expert.Born in Boston, he was educated at The Roxbury Latin School, and later at Harvard College , Oxford University , and Harvard Law School...
, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. - John D. Sullivan, Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise.
- George TenetGeorge TenetGeorge John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
, former Director of Central Intelligence. - Michelle Van Cleave, former National Counterintelligence Executive.
- George WeigelGeorge WeigelGeorge Weigel is an American author, and political and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation...
, Ethics and Public Policy Center. - Richard WilsonRichard WilsonIan Colquhoun Wilson OBE better known as Richard Wilson, is a Scottish actor, theatre director and broadcaster, best known for playing Victor Meldrew in the popular BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave. He currently appears in the BBC drama Merlin.- Life and career :Wilson was born in Greenock, Scotland...
, former Director, Center for International Labor History, AFL-CIOAFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
.