From classical texts on statesmanship and war to case studies from the nuclear age, the program in Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security (SDS) explores the reasons for and consequences of major strategic decisions throughout history, and empowers students to address the key policy, diplomatic, ethical, and military decisions of today. Armed with deep historical perspective and capable of assessing both risks and rewards, students can confront their nation’s challenges with long-term thinking and confident, effective leadership.
In keeping with Shalem’s emphasis on the close examination of primary texts, coupled with deep engagement with the world outside the classroom, the program in Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security prepares students to make weighty decisions in times of uncertainty. Taught by top scholars and high-level practitioners from Israel and abroad, the program offers students the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the international arena while ensuring prosperity and security at home.
Colonel (ret.) Dr. Eran Lerman, the former deputy for foreign policy and international affairs at Israel’s National Security Council, lecturer in the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Department at Shalem College, and a key architect of the SDS program, believes the key to strategic decision-making lies in “broad knowledge, flexibility of mind, and creativity in approaching problems”—precisely those skills honed by the Shalem curriculum.
An understanding of the ideas behind, history of, and social context for United States foreign policy decision-making.
A multi-semester exploration of major strategic decisions in history, grand strategies in the modern age, and the strategic thought and action of the State of Israel.
Changing views of the importance of nuclear weapons, and the most promising paths to attain nuclear deterrence and non-proliferation.
The reasons for changing paradigms and the role of military thought in formulating combat strategies.
Managing conflicts and arriving at agreements through the lens of politics, law, geography, sociology, and psychology.
The institutions, theoretical approaches, key developments of recent decades, and inherent limitations of international law.
For United Arab Emirates' Assistant Foreign Minister Omar Ghobash, the biggest surprise of his recent briefing with Shalem students was not the sheer ingenuity of their ideas for UAE-Israeli cooperation…
According to legend, the great military mind Alexander the Great fell asleep each night with a dog-eared copy of The Iliad under his pillow. And when he led his army into Persia, it was the words of his tutor Aristotle that echoed through his mind, shaping his vision of what true leadership should be.
In order to steer Israel successfully through the challenges it faces, both in its own region and on the world stage, the future leaders of the Jewish state will need a deep and nuanced understanding of politics—American politics, that is.
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What could be better than that?