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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Political Science
Semester:
2nd Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Alon Peled
Coordinator Office Hours:
Wed 0900-1000
Wed 1200-1300
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Alon Peled
Course/Module description:
What distinguishes strategic thinking from other forms of thought? How does strategic thinking differ from operational planning or tactical thinking? What are the immortal and timeless principles of designing a good strategy? Do the concept of strategy and its execution apply equally well to different domains such as war, diplomacy, domestic politics, business and entrepreneurship? What are the roles of chance, surprise, creativity, and science in designing and executing a successful strategy? Students will address these questions through reading and role-playing scenes from past Wars (ex: the Peloponnesian War and the second Punic War), peace and diplomacy (ex: the Israel-Egypt Peach Negotiations after 1973), and Entrepreneurship (ex: the Apple vs. Microsoft vs. Google).
Course/Module aims:
Demonstrate to the students why Grand Strategy thinking is different from other patterns of thinking including strategic thinking, operational thinking, tactical thinking, and technical thinking.
Discover in a fun way and through war games the eternal principles of Grand Strategy thinking.
Engage the student in a debate to expose the manifestations of Grand Strategy thinking in different life domains including war, diplomacy, politics, and business.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Define the differences among five different types of thinking at different levels of analysis: Grand Strategy, Strategy, Operational, Tactical, and Technical.
Inquire if patterns of Grant Strategy thinking are equally applicable to every domain including war and peace, business, technological development and more.
Experience via active participation in war games the patterns of Grand Strategy thinking as we discovered them together in class.
Compare case studies from different domains where leaders displayed the same patterns of strategic thinking and action.
Evaluate together, in class and while writing the final course papers, if different leaders in different domains acted based on the rules of Grand Strategy thinking as defined in our classroom discussions.
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Frontal classroom teaching combined with two war games led by the students (Athens-Sparta and Carthage-Rome).
Course/Module Content:
What is Strategy
The Peloponnesian War - The Grand Strategy of Athens and Sparta
The Escalating Deterioration to the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War - The First Five Years (War Game)
Summary of the First War Game - Morality and Grand Strategy
The Second Punic War - The Grand Strategy of Carthage and Rome
The Escalating Deterioration to the Second Punic War
The Second Punic War - Hannibal at the Gates of Rome (War Game)
Summary of the Second War Game - The Horrific Cost of Grand Strategy Failure
The Begin-Sadat Peace Treaty - The Strategy of Surprise During Peace Times
Historical Growth and Future-Oriented Strategic Thinking - Google's Business Strategy
The Eternal Principles of Long Term Grand Strategy Thinking - the "Strategy" of Writing an Excellent Scholarly Work
Required Reading:
What is Strategy
The Peloponnesian War - The Grand Strategy of Athens and Sparta
-- Thucydides, Peloponnesian War [Book 1]. pp. 1-9.
The Escalating Deterioration to the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War - The First Five Years (War Game)
-- Thucydides, Peloponnesian War [Book 3]. pp. 87-153
Summary of the First War Game - Morality and Grand Strategy
The Second Punic War - The Grand Strategy of Carthage and Rome
-- Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire, pp.178-275[Book 3]
The Escalating Deterioration to the Second Punic War
The Second Punic War - Hannibal at the Gates of Rome (War Game)
-- Livy, War With Hannibal [Books 11-12], pp. 23-63,143-153
Summary of the Second War Game - The Horrific Cost of Grand Strategy Failure
The Begin-Sadat Peace Treaty - The Strategy of Surprise During Peace Times
-- Handel, The Diplomacy of Surprise, 241-279
Historical Growth and Future-Oriented Strategic Thinking - Google's Business Strategy
The Eternal Principles of Long Term Grand Strategy Thinking - the "Strategy" of Writing an Excellent Scholarly Work
Additional Reading Material:
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 10 %
Project work 90 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
Course Requirements:
Final paper: 90% of the final grade.
Active participation: 10% of the final grade. A student who will miss more than three class meetings without a satisfactory explanation will not get a grade for the class!
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