Great Power Competition Program

Option 1: NS4000 Lecture Series/Single Course Information and Details 

Option 2: Curriculum 255 Distance Learning Certificate Program Information and Details and NPS Online: https://online.nps.edu/-/255-great-power-competition-certificate

Great Power Competition Overview

With the rise of China and the return of Russia to near-peer military status with the United States, the topic of renewed Great Power Competition (GPC) has moved to the forefront of U.S. defense concerns, supplanting our post-9/11 focus on the Global War on Terrorism.  In 2019, in response to a request from N3/N5, the Department of National Security Affairs at NPS created a first-of-its-kind GPC overview course (NS 4000) to educate NPS students and interested faculty and staff about critical challenges posed by China and Russia. That course attracted some 200 students, faculty, and staff, making it the single largest course at NPS. Since then, this course has been transformed into an asynchronous, distance-learning format to allow it to reach an additional 500 military students and interested civilian personnel at commands across the United States and the world.

Great Power Competition Lecture Series (NS 4000)

The purpose of this one-credit lecture series is to provide critical and timely information on the strategic challenges posed to the United States by the emergence of great power competition (GPC) with China and its re-emergence with Russia.  The course begins with a brief overview of the core dynamics of GPC historically, its Cold War manifestations in the bipolar arms race, and what has changed in the twenty-first century.  Faculty experts from the Department of National Security Affairs then look at the driving factors behind contemporary Chinese and Russian domestic politics, foreign policies, and military policies. Next, our professors analyze Chinese and Russian efforts to extend their influence into critical regions of the world, as well as the challenges this behavior poses to U.S., allied, and partner interests. The course then focuses on GPC dynamics in several key functional areas: global economics, outer space, cyberspace, and energy markets.  Finally, the series concludes with a discussion of possible future outcomes in the context of U.S. and allied responses.

All lectures will be approximately 35 minutes in length and are available for asynchronous, self-paced viewing via the course Sakai site.  There are also readings for each lesson, as well as a quiz covering the key points in each lecture that must be passed in order for students to receive credit for the course. The course will be graded on a pass/fail basis, and students are expected to complete this asynchronous course within the academic quarter.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the nature of great power competition historically and its current manifestations.
• To understand the core motivations behind Chinese and Russian political, economic, and military policies, as well as the challenges they pose to the United States
• To understand the tools China and Russia use to further their interests in various regions of the world outside their borders and in critical competitive domains, such as cyberspace
• To understand the range of possible U.S. and allied responses to Chinese and Russian behavior.

To apply, please visit GPC NS4000 Webpage.

Great Power Competition Distance-Learning Certificate (Curriculum 255)

The 13-credit graduate-level distance-learning certificate in Great Power Competition (GPC), organized by the Department of National Security Affairs, is targeting active-duty officers whose career paths may not otherwise accommodate resident graduate programs at NPS and would benefit from this coursework.  Its purpose is to provide critical and timely information on the political and strategic challenges posed to the United States by the emergence of GPC with China and its re-emergence with Russia.  The credits obtained through this nine-month nonresident program can be applied to a future one-year in-residence master’s degree in Strategic Studies (curriculum 688).  The 100% online remote-learning format consists of synchronous and asynchronous material, with the synchronous seminar normally scheduled on Fridays. 

Please note that all courses in the certificate (except NS 4000) have a two-hour, required, synchronous discussion section with the professor and other students. Synchronous sessions will be held on Fridays for two hours (mid-day Pacific time), with students typically having a choice of one of two section times.

Learning outcomes for this certificate program are:

• To understand the nature of GPC historically and its current manifestations.
• To understand the core motivations behind Chinese and Russian political, economic, and military policies, as well as the challenges they pose to the United States.
• To understand the tools China and Russia use to further their interests in various regions of the world outside their borders and in critical competitive domains, such as cyberspace.
• To understand the range of possible U.S. and allied responses to Chinese and Russian behavior.

For more information, please visit the Curriculum 255 webpage.