| Composition, Content and Objectives |
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| The Security Studies Program at Tel-Aviv University was established in 1991 as a joint MA program to both the Faculty of Social Science and the Faculty of Humanities. It is the only existing academic program in Israel, which systematically and coherently integrates a broad range of theoretical and historical concepts and research methods into the study of national security matters. More specifically, as a joint enterprise to both the Department of Political Science and the School of History, the Program Builds upon and incorporates a variety of theoretical models, ideas, concepts and research tools which are explored and applied to the analysis of specific security matters, both at the global and regional levels. |
| At its core, the Program seeks to better elucidate Israel's security dilemmas and strategic doctrine. Not only does it include courses that reconstruct and explain the origins, history, legacy and development of Israel's strategic doctrine, but it offers, as an integral part of its curriculum, a comprehensive simulation game which addresses a concert set of decision-making problems in Israel's strategic environment, and which includes both theoretical and policy-oriented dimensions. In addition, the Program deals with a broad cluster of security issues that are still permeated with much ambiguity and misunderstanding, such as Israel's nuclear deterrence strategy, and the origins of surprise in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. |
| The Program deals with all phases and aspects of international crises and war-behavior. It analyzes the origins of war, crisis-prevention and crisis management strategies, as well as strategies for mitigation, limiting and resolving international disputes. In the Israeli context, it offers a broad spectrum of relevant courses, raging from the comprehensive analysis of the Arab-Israeli wars to the more ideographic study of retaliatory raids and such forms of low intensity conflicts as the Intifada and the Egyptian-Israeli war of Attrition. |
| The program is divided into two parts. The required part is composed of 4 courses, which cover the main sub-fields of security studies, including the philosophy of strategic thought, organizational theories of the military, strategic military doctrines (i. e., deterrence, coercion), and research methods. The recommended part is composed of a broad spectrum of courses, which cover such diverse topics as the security posture of US, Russia, China, Turkey, Israel and NATO; Guerilla warfare in Central America; society and the military in Israel; alliance formation and behavior; security in the Persian Gulf; nuclear proliferation; democracy and war; the economy of defense in Israel; science, technology and security; strategic doctrines and the Arab world; public health and war; global and regional security threats in the post Cold War era; public opinion and national security in Israel; etc. |
| The central objective of the program is to provide the students not only with relevant knowledge and empirical data, but with new analytical tools, perspectives and insights for better comprehending Israel's strategic environment. |
| In view of the fact that at least 50 percent of the Program's students currently belong to the middle and upper echelon of Israel's defense establishment, it is expected that by equipping them with new conceptual tools and concepts, their actual contribution in such areas as defense planning, research and intelligence assessment, can be greatly enhanced. |
