By Jeff James, Ph.D.
National Security Faculty Member, American Military University
As a professor of National Security Studies I’m often reminded of why this discipline is so engaging to our professors and our students. Trained as a political scientist and having worked in international affairs the majority of my professional life, I naturally appreciate the discipline due to my inquisitive nature and the knowledge I’ve gained working around the world. Students drawn to this exciting program also come from many walks of life. The mixing of diverse perspectives helps students successfully analyze and address complex national security issues, and I marvel how well this dynamic facilitates our classroom discussions.
How does your background influence your view of National Security Studies?
Through my experiences, I know that various student and instructor backgrounds significantly aid in learning the different aspects of national security both as an academic discipline and in related professions. Our students have an incredible thirst for knowledge regarding security and intelligence analysis, which makes the program intriguing and pushes us to continually enhance the relevancy of our curriculum. Here are just a few examples of the various perspectives that make our program current and unique:
- An Army soldier comes to class contemplating strategies related to forward basing issues.
- An Air Force service member may be thinking about drone technology; the utility of the F-35 in future years; and the role of pilots in national security planning.
- A military spouse and parent might see National Security Studies as a means to explain just why a military family member is deployed in places like Afghanistan; what the prospects for peace are; and the implications for bringing a deployed family member back home.
- Another student could be wondering about threats posed by North Korean and Iran and what theory is best suited to understanding a feasible approach to dealing with either nation in a way that maintains our national interests and world security.
- A retired police officer wants to understand the implications of federal and state policy in a struggling economy as departments strive to better execute joint security planning in association with FBI and Department of Homeland Security missions.
These examples represent actual perspectives our students have brought to the classroom. Thus, in each person’s mind there is a need to be satisfied—some fuller comprehension of national security as a whole. And yet each person can reasonably undertake to study and understand national security issues without years of previous training. That’s the universal magic of this field and why it is so compelling.
[Learn more about the national security studies program at American Military University.]
About the Author
Dr. Jeff James’ professional background includes private sector research, teaching and consulting, while his public sector involvement has been of an academic and consulting nature with primarily Federal agencies, including the defense, international development and intelligence communities, and international organizations such as the United Nations.
He obtained an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Certificate of Eastern African Studies and Ph.D. in political science and public administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. His dissertation research, funded in part by a Shell Foundation grant, was conducted in Kenya; portions of which were later published as occasional papers.
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