Last Updated: Fri, 04/10/2026
Syllabus
General Class Information
Academic year:
2026
Semester:
Fall
Course prefix:
PUBP
Course number:
8823
Section:
OCY
CRN
88726
Department (you may add up to three):
Instructor first name:
Jon
Instructor last name:
Lindsay
Catalog Description

This course provides students with a framework for interpreting power politics in and through cyberspace. The organizing assumption of the course is that classic concepts from international relations remain useful for understanding modern technologies, but they must be combined in new ways to explain the potential for exploitation and subversion at scale. The course provides tools for analyzing cyber power, which is organized deception via information systems for strategic advantage. Cyber power differs in important ways from military power, bargaining power, and soft power. Different political logics are often combined in practice, which creates complex strategic tradeoffs. Students will learn how to analyze these tradeoffs in modern cyber campaigns and in the use of cyber power for national security objectives.

Administrative Data
Course status
Active