Iga 615: the Homeland Security Enterprise

IGA 615: THE HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE

PROFESSOR JULIETTE KAYYEM

Time and Location: Fall Term 2017

Mondays and Wednesdays 2:45pm-4pm

L130

Format: Lectures, group discussions, readings, simulations and guests

Faculty Assistant: Tara Tyrrell

Office: Belfer 410

617-496-2454

Office Hours: Office hours: Mondays 10am-12pm

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Office: Littauer 327

617-384-7325

Description:

Homeland Security. Perhaps your first thought is a distracted TSA agent who is in no hurry to let you through airport security? Maybe it’s a picture of an Immigration enforcement officer grabbing an Hispanic looking man off the street? If old enough, maybe you are thinking about President Bush standing on the ashes of the destroyed Twin Towers beckoning to a suffering nation that we will rise again?

Homeland security is about the secure flow of people, goods and ideas. Emphasis on “secure flow”. This class, you will discover, is fundamentally about choices, about the choices we make regarding safety, security and the way we want to live our lives. Homeland security, whether in the US or other nations, is about how to weigh those choices, process them, and implement them. Thus, this is a course about “security” and about the “homeland”: what kind of nation do we want to secure? While offered within IGA, it is, in many respects, also a domestic policy course because issues such as immigration, federalism, infrastructure, commercial activity and civil liberties are all at the forefront of “security” controversies.

While this course will focus on the United States, the challenges this nation faces are not unique to America. We will traverse the globe to learn from other nations, but will also be firmly rooted in how America – a nation that has had vulnerabilities from its beginnings – has balanced its safety and security challenges. As much as homeland security is about the U.S., a robust notion of homeland security must take account of our essential need to safely, securely, and intensively engage the rest of the world.

Traditionally, homeland security has rested on five key activities: prevention, protection, response, recovery and resiliency. But, it is no longer just about terrorism. Homeland security describes the intersection of evolving threats and hazards with the traditional governmental and civic responsibilities of civil defense, emergency response, law enforcement, customs, border control, and immigration. While tremendous focus has been placed on terrorism, cyber and natural disasters, pandemics and other interconnected threats and challenges characterize today's world that have tremendous impact on our notions of homeland security, and the Department that was created to address them.

To provide students the tools necessary to conceptualize the challenges facing domestic preparedness generally, and America’s interest specifically, in an interconnected world, this course will also examine what is commonly referred to as the "homeland security enterprise," defined as the broad scope of contributions from all Federal agencies, levels of governments, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations, individuals, families, and communities, as well as international partnerships.

We will therefore touch on aspects of “national security” not generally provided to students in more traditional IGA courses. I anticipate a wide range of students and ideological perspectives and believe the class will be fuller with students drawn from a wide array of concentrations and perspectives.

Expectations and Objectives:

This course will enhance participants’ ability to: (1) understand the history of homeland security as it was understood before and after 9/11 and the Department that was created in its name; (2) analyze key issues in challenges to protecting a nation where “security” competes with other important norms, such as rule of law and democracy; (3) communicate analyses of issues in class, on paper, and for a wider audience; (4) appreciate the complexities at the intersection of security and domestic defense; and (5) compare other nations experiences with threats and how they interact with America.

We will, through a series of case studies and guest lecturers: identify and assess legal and policy frameworks; review challenges and options in issues related to homeland security; and determine best methods for strategic planning and the design of policy initiatives to protect the homeland.

Students must complete reading and writing assignments on time and be ready to respond to cold calls.

Reading and Respect:

Readings will range between 60-80 pages a week. Since this course strives to be as timely and relevant as possible, I will most often post readings (e.g. recently published newspaper and magazine articles) just a few weeks ahead of the class. Please check the course page frequently.

I want to also say a few things about politics. Many aspects of homeland security are difficult, heartbreaking and very very polarizing especially in the context of immigration. The Trump Administration’s policies are a major break from the past and we will explore them, as we will all policies, critically and objectively.

Assignments:

This course will have several assignments over the term to ensure student participation and commitment. I will be judging student participation, short essay answers and a longer written assignment. The class size has varied significantly over the years so I will not determine the nature of the percentage breakdowns, frequency of papers or nature of final exam until after the first week of class. In the past, in smaller classes, I have allowed an oral exam.

I do not assign my book "Security Mom" for this class but hope you might read it to understand how much I see our homes as a key component of our homeland security. I do hope that you will download my podcast produced by WGBH News called The SCIF. You can download it here: http://news.wgbh.org/the-scif

It's just a fun way to hear from leaders in the field about homeland security issues. It can be very political at times, but that's the nature of podcasts.

Academic Code:

In accordance with its mission to prepare individuals for public leadership, the Kennedy School has a commitment and obligation to produce graduates who are ethical professionals. Integral to this training is the value of academic honesty. High standards reflect the school’s academic integrity, foster a respectful environment for work and study, and provide an example of academic excellence for others. The Kennedy School Academic Code is an integral part of the KSG Code of Conduct. Please see the following link for more information: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/registrar/procedures/integrity

Course Flow and Guests:

Due to the exceptional caliber of guest lecturers and those who have had senior roles in developing security policy, I often have to be mindful of their ability to come to class at their convenience. This semester, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, former head of the National Counterterrorism Center Matt Olsen, and Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards are all – at the very least -- expected to provide guest lectures.

The course will however, to the extent practicable, be divided into four stages: 1) The Architecture of Homeland Security: History, Law and Bureaucracy; 2) (Some) Threats and Challenges; 3) A Homeland Like No Other: Promoting "Flow" and Free Enterprise; 4) Legacy and Resiliency.

SECTION I: THE ARCHITECTURE OF HOMELAND SECURITY: HISTORY, LAW AND BUREAUCRACY

Aug 30 A Nation Created Under Threat

1) US Constitution: Anywhere online, read entirety

2) Korematsu v. US

3) Radiolab Podcast: Fu-Go

Sept 1 A Case Study: 2016 Election

1) The intelligence community report on Russian activities in the 2016 election

2) Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution

3) http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/elections-critical-infrastructure-homeland-security-233304

4) DHS labels elections as 'critical infrastructure'

5) Most states refusing to provide voter data to Trump election panel

6) Trump’s voter data request poses an unnoticed danger

Sept 4 Labor Day: No Class

Sept 6 Guiding History and Legal Frameworks

1) U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Preparedness Task Force, “Civil Defense and Homeland Security: A Short History of National Preparedness Efforts,” September 2006

2) William Banks, “The Legal Landscape for Emergency Management in the United States”

3) Gary Lawson, “Ordinary Powers in Extraordinary Times: Common Sense in Times of Crisis”

Sept 11 The Modern Homeland Security Landscape

2) A Department Forms

3) Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, Report to Congress - Limit your reading to pgs 1-36, Conclusion at pg. 77 and Appendix A.

Sept 13 The Modern Department is Born

1) DHS Organizational Chart

2) Michael Chertoff, Department Six point Agenda 2005

3) Speech from Napolitano

4) 60 Minute excerpt from Jeh Johnson

5) Home and Away: DHS and the Threats to America, Remarks delivered by Secretary Kelly at George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security

6) http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/homeland-security-has-done-little-for-low-morale-but-study-it--repeatedly/2015/02/20/f626eba8-b15c-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

Sept 18 The Civilian/Military Divide

1) The White House, The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned, Feb. 2006 (pgs 33-64)

3) Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Lowenberg, "The Role of the National Guard in National Defense and Homeland Security"

4) President Bush: Looking back at Katrina

5) Podcast: Security Mom: Thad Allen on Katrina, 10 Years Later

6) 10 Years Later (Audio AND Article)

Sept 20 Risk Management and Faulty Perception or “Why Aren’t We Talking About Guns?”

Guest Lecturer: Steve Kocelza, President, Mass Inc Polling Group

[Additional Readings TBD]

1) The New Yorker: The Really Big One

2) The New York Times: On the Other Side of Terror’s Boom

SECTION II: (SOME) THREATS AND CHALLENGES

Sept 25 NOTE: Class Will Be Rescheduled for 10/17: HOLD 3-4 PM with Secretary Jeh Johnson

Sept 27 Borderless Threats: An Overview

Oct 2 Protecting the Norms

Oct 4 Terrorism

Guest Lecturer: Matt Olsen, Former Head, National Counterterrorism Threat Center

Oct 9 HOLIDAY - Columbus Day, No Class

Oct 11 Terrorism

Oct 16 Cyber

Oct 17 Cyber and the 2016 Election (Make Up Class)

Guest Lecturer: Secretary Jeh Johnson (HOLD 3-4 PM)

Oct 18 Natural Disasters

Oct 23 Climate Change and Adaptation

Guest Lecturer: Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana

Oct 25 WMD

SECTION III: A HOMELAND LIKE NO OTHER: PROMOTING ‘FLOW’ AND FREE ENTERPRISE

Oct 30 Lines, Flows and Globalization: The Beginning and End of Borders

Guest Lecturer: Alan Bersin, former head of Customs and Border Protection and Inaugural Fellow, Belfer Center Homeland Security Project

Nov 1 Border Wars, US/Mexico and The Future of North America

Guest Lecturer: Alan Bersin, former head of Customs and Border Protection and Inaugural Fellow, Belfer Center Homeland Security Project

Nov 6 The Corporate Response (or Not)

Guest Lecturer: Jackie Rice, Senior VP for Risk Management Target Corp

Nov 8 The Enterprise: Training, Education and Planning

Guest Lecturer: Jackie Rice, Senior VP for Risk Management Target Corp

Nov 13 The Politics of Crisis: Case Study of the BP Oil Spill

1) David Barstow, David Rodhe, and Stephanie Saul, “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hours”

2) David Giles, “Deepwater Horizon Spill Cases,” Part A + Part B

3) Juliette Kayyem, “The Game Changer” Boston Globe April 24, 2011.

4) National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, “THE STORY OF THE LOUISIANA BERMS PROJECT” Staff Working Paper No. 8. December 16, 2010

5) BP Agrees to New Settlement*

Nov 15 Moving the Bureaucracy “Right of Boom”

Guest Lecturer: Paul Rosen, Former Chief of Staff, DHS

SECTION IV: LEGACY AND RESILIENCY

Nov 20 The Boston Marathon and the Ratcheting Up Conundrum

Nov 22-24 HOLIDAY - Thanksgiving recess

Nov 27 The Components of a Resilient System

Nov 29 Never Say Never Again: Class Conclusion