GVPT388F

This is a new course that combines lectures on campus in College Park with a study abroad component based in Havana, Cuba. The lectures on campus at UMD will focus on different strategies for studying foreign policy decision making. These include approaches that leverage rational decision making processes, psychological models of decision-making, and various pathologies of decision making as they apply to foreign policy decision. Once the semester is over, the class will travel to Cuba to learn about several foreign policy events that shaped much of the Cold War and post Cold War foreign policy of the United States in this region. These include the sinking of the USS Maine which precipitated the Spanish American War, the Bay of Pigs crisis which is a classic case of a failed US foreign policy, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the current foreign relations between the United States and Cuba. The estimated cost associated with the travel and stay in Cuba is between 2 to 3 thousand. Financial aid and/or need-based scholarships may be available. For permission to register or more course information, contact the instructor at wlr@umd.edu.