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National Security Affairs Department

The National Security Affairs (NSA) department at U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is one of the nation's largest and most vibrant graduate departments teaching foreign policy analysis and international security. We provide professional education to mid- and senior-career students who are military and civilian national security professionals from the United States and more than 60 partner countries.

Chair, National Security Affairs Department

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Graduate-Level Security Studies

The NSA department is one of the core departments at NWC and offers two courses that lead to the master's degree: national security decision making (NSDM) for senior-ranking students and theater security decision making (TSDM) for mid-ranking students. These eight-credit hour courses provide a broad interdisciplinary foundation in contemporary security studies to analyze how the U.S. government makes foreign policy decisions and the role the U.S. plays in the world.

National Security Decision Making Course

National Security Affairs SLC Syllabus Cover

National Security Decision Making (NSDM) is designed to engage senior-rank students in the complexities of U.S. foreign policy and the international security environment at the national-strategic level.

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NSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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Theater Security Decision Making Course

National Security Affairs ILC Syllabus Cover

Theater Security Decision Making (TSDM) is designed to engage intermediate-rank students in the complexities of today's national and international security environment with a strong emphasis on U.S. decision making challenges and processes at the theater-strategic level of the geographic combatant commands.

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TSDM Capstone Final Exercise (FX)

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Our Faculty

The department is first and foremost a teaching department where scholars and national security practitioners follow a curriculum that combines academic rigor with policy relevance. To further this, faculty participate in scholarly, policy and professional activities to ensure students have a learning experience that meets the needs of the Navy and the intent of the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) system.

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Here are recent selections of NSA faculty contributions to the broader national and international security discourse.

Faculty Books

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Faculty Articles

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Select Conferences (Organized and Chaired since 2016)

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Select Keynote Addresses and Testimony (Since 2017)

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Student Publications

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Featured Faculty

Faculty Directory
Joan S Johnson-Freese Profile Image

Joan S. Johnson-Freese

Professor | National Security Affairs

Dr. Johnson-Freese served as Chair of the National Security Affairs Department from 2002-2010. Previously she was on the faculty of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, the Air War College, and the University of Central Florida.

Publications by this Professor
Peter J. Norris faculty photo

Peter J. Norris

Military Professor | National Security Affairs

Lt. Col. Peter Norris joined the National Security Affairs department in 2020. Commissioned as an Armor Officer, he has commanded at the troop and battalion-level, has multiple combat deployments to Iraq and an operational deployment to U.S. European Command. His previous assignments include service as an Army congressional fellow, as a legislative liaison to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) and with the Army Human Resources Command.

Publications by this Professor

Featured Articles

All Featured Articles

Despite Risks, Biden Sticks to Military Exit from Afghanistan

James L. Cook The National Interest

Executive Power and the Control of American Intelligence

Stephen F. Knott Intelligence and National Security, Volume 13 (2), Pages 171-176

Reagan's Critics

Stephen F. Knott The National Interest