E-Course Catalog - Institute for Security Governance

Civil-Military Relations addresses all aspects of the relationship between elected civilians and security institutions (armed forces, police forces, and intelligence agencies) in a democratic context. CMR offers courses, seminars, and workshops that address a variety of potential challenges and avenues for success in institutionalizing effective and functioning civil-military relations.

For Combating Terrorism (CT), ISG conducts courses and engagements in support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Combating Terrorism Irregular Warfare Fellowship Program (CTIWFP). CT delivers a holistic approach to investigating the most effective government responses to terrorism. CT-led activities invite participants to collaborative identify solutions questions like: What can governments do to contain or defeat terrorism without sacrificing the values that bind societies together? Can terrorist attacks be prevented and how should governments respond to attacks that cannot be prevented? How can countries think through the challenges of terrorism at the strategic level?

In the Conflict, Prevention & Recovery (CPR) functional area, ISG delivers interactive courses on the complex issues of conflict management. CPR courses place emphasis on internal violent conflict and transnational threats affecting domestic security. By design, courses survey conflict root causes and triggers; pathways out of conflict; conflict prevention approaches; and recovery from numerous conflict-related situations, such as displaced persons, on-going extremism, and ex-combatants. Multi-sectoral teaching teams comprised of ISG faculty, subject matter experts, and field level specialists lead these practitioner-oriented courses. CPR courses help governments manage conflict and its difficult consequences.

Designed to build partner capacity and capability, ISG Cybersecurity courses explore policies and practices that can be adapted to maintain an advantage over actors who seek to exploit, disrupt, or damage the networks and systems upon which our societies and militaries depend. This functional area highlights the importance of effective cybersecurity for economic growth and innovation, examines barriers to effective policy and practice development, and considers methods for response that represent a comprehensive approach for cybersecurity. ISG Cybersecurity courses prepare decision makers to more effectively analyze, design, and implement policies and practices for safeguarding unfettered access to and use of cyberspace. These courses are delivered in partnership with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and other leading defense and civilian educational entities.

The Emergency Management and Disaster Response (EM) functional area designs and delivers comprehensive and engaging cross-community courses and engagements for all-hazards emergency preparedness, resilience, and response. Courses and engagements aim to enhance civil-military cooperation, build capacity in emergency preparedness, and apply a comprehensive approach to emergency management that includes civilian government, military, and private sector stakeholders; as well as provision of international disaster assistance. These national-level leader and planner-oriented courses are led by teaching teams comprised of ISG faculty, multi-sectoral subject matter experts, and field practitioners.

Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) helps build sustainable and indigenous peacekeeping training capacities in U.S. partner countries so they can better contribute to United Nations (UN) and other regional peacekeeping operations. GPOI-funded activities particularly concentrate on the establishment and strengthening of partner countries’ training capacity and staff infrastructure. These activities pertain to both military troops and formed police units. In addition, GPOI helps to enhance coordination and collaboration between the U.S. and other contributor countries’ assistance efforts, to include providing support to deploying units (e.g. technical assistance and pre-deployment training).

International Defense Acquisition Resource Management (IDARM) activities are designed to strengthen defense acquisition processes and decision-making and help nations understand and adopt modern business practices. IDARM offers a wide range of defense acquisition, logistics, and contract management courses. Course offerings are developed in conjunction with faculty and specialized subject matter experts and tailored to the specific government organizational structures, national acquisition statutes and regulations, and defense acquisition objectives of each individual partner nation. Courses can cover a combination of interrelated subjects, with the goal of offering defense leaders the opportunity to explore strategic issues which must be addressed in order to improve their nation’s defense acquisition processes and business practices.

Maritime Security (MARSEC) courses mobilize participants to grapple with the challenge of preventing and responding to a variety of maritime security threats. MARSEC courses introduce and explore strategic and operational level tools, best practices, and innovative solutions used to address common challenges. Examples of these include: syncing and improving the effectiveness of national maritime domain security and transportation systems; integrating civil, military, and law enforcement agencies with maritime security responsibilities; and preventing and minimizing transnational maritime threats. Risk assessments, maritime governance classroom exercises, and case studies are coupled with expert-led lectures. Coursework emphasizes interagency and multi-national approaches and solutions.