In this course, students will learn to recognize the predisposing factors of a financial crisis and policy options for optimal financial crisis management by looking at historical case studies. But first, we will look at how the ForEx (foreign exchange) market works, who are the different players, how are typical transactions structured, different exchange rate regimes (e.g. pegs, crawling bands, free floats, monetary union), factors influencing exchange rate determination, balance of payments, and sovereign debt sustainability. Students will parse multiple financial crises from both emerging markets and OECD economies. In addition to readings related to cases, students will also have regular reading assignments of current events.

Spring 2017 - MIIS, Spring 2018 - MIIS, MIIS First Half of Term

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This course focuses on the art of negotiation and on critical analysis of conflicts and problems-solving strategies that lead to agreements. It begins with the neuro-science of communicating. It moves quickly to negotiation as a value-building and problem-solving exercise; cross-cultural, gender and cross-generational differences; and the hard-nosed tactics of creating and claiming value from ‘the deal.’ The course emphasizes the public policy process, domestically and internationally, political advocacy tools and techniques to assure support for desired outcomes and the skills needed to successful negotiations. Instruction includes lectures-discussions and cases studies, but emphasizes simulation exercises and critical debriefing to hone skills through ‘real world’ experience.

Spring 2017 - MIIS, MIIS Second Half of Term, Spring 2018 - MIIS, MIIS First Half of Term, Spring 2018 - MIIS, MIIS Workshop

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The growing dominance of economic relations among nations requires a keen understanding of economic statecraft. Statecraft is the resolution of conflicts between governments and private parties. An essential skill for economic statecraft is to understand conflict.

To facilitate our exploration of conflict, the course draws from the field of conflict analysis and resolution, a field which seeks to intervene constructively in conflicts. However, constructive intervention demands that we think critically about conflict in order to discern its underlying causes and to understand its dynamics. From such an understanding, you may develop meaningful objectives to address, resolve, or perhaps even transform the conflict into something constructive. Moreover, objectives grounded in a thorough understanding of the conflict should drive the intervention strategy. If the linkage between analytic findings, objectives, and strategy is present, then the likelihood of a constructive outcome increases substantially. The course is designed to help you to think more critically about conflict, providing you with some tools to structure your analysis, shape your intervention objectives, and develop your strategy to achieve those objectives.

This course is inherently multi and interdisciplinary, drawing on conceptual frameworks derived from psychology, sociology, anthropology, international relations, political science, economics, and other social sciences, but also informed by all fields of human inquiry. Students will critically apply theories to seek a better understanding of conflicts, to intervene constructively, and to advance theory and practice related to statecraft.

This course explores a wide range of conflict-related theories. We begin by considering conflict narratives and discourses and our ability to think critically about conflict. Then, we will examine the major, often overlapping theories at work in the field, loosely categorized as theories of social structure, theories of human nature, and theories of culture and meaning-making.

Theories of human nature and identity – viewing each individual as a unit of analysis; accounting for “what is inside of you” with an emphasis on what lies beneath the conscious level

Theories of social structure – viewing a social institution, typically comprising sustained, hierarchical, and multi-layered relationships, as a unit of analysis; accounting for “what you are inside of” ?

Theories of culture – viewing an epistemological system of meaning-making as a unit of analysis; accounting for “what is inside us” with an emphasis on shared interpretive lenses with which to understand intercultural social phenomenon.

Fall 2016 - MIIS, Fall 2017 - MIIS

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The global marketplace has become more integrated, more vibrant, and more complex. As a result, it becomes more difficult to analyze, to negotiate, and to navigate. The complications and difficulties are increasingly housed and addressed within the ambit of trade policy. This course explores the changing structure of international commerce underlying and driving the trade relations evolving across the world and focuses on the most pressing trade issues that are looming for the next 5 years.

Fall 2016 - MIIS, Fall 2017 - MIIS

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The substance and practice of diplomacy are rapidly changing. The profession of representing nation states, companies and NGOs has collided with the 24-hour media cycle, terrorism and extremism, globalization and the global financial crisis, climate change, proliferation, disease, changes in demography and stresses on international institutions. This course focuses on three critical skill sets for Economic Diplomacy: Commercial Diplomacy, Trade Compliance, Strategic Export Control. The class divided in sections focusing on each and will include readings and guest lectures from practitioners prominent in their respective fields. Required research paper.

Fall 2016 - MIIS, Fall 2017 - MIIS

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The purpose of the course is to give students an understanding of how and why governments and businesses interact across a wide spectrum of situations and issues. The course will examine how the structures, environments, interests, agendas and constituencies of businesses and governments shape their relationships and drive outcomes. This course takes a holistic approach to business-government relations. It is meant to give students an understanding of the major issues within which government and businesses (both U.S. and non-U.S.) interact most intensely and frequently so they can be more successful when they find themselves working at the intersection of those issues. Advocacy and lobbying are part of this, but not the only part of it.

Businesses’ interactions with governments represent a major source of potential risk. Knowing how to effectively manage government relations, no matter what the context, is a critical component of corporate risk management and mitigation.

Fall 2016 - MIIS, MIIS Workshop

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