Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

Amid shifting geopolitics and the rise of new technologies, governments and corporations are facing an array of new challenges. These include responding to risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, to changes in foreign policy by strategic allies and adversaries, and to problems posed by the energy transformation and climate change. While in the immediate post-Cold War period, economics, security, and technology were treated as relatively separate policy realms, these areas are now increasingly viewed as intertwined. How should lawyers formulate policy and advise firms in this increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world?

This seminar examines the major features of this shift, particularly through the lens of the renewed strategic rivalry among military and economic powers. We discuss how the desired level of regulation, at both the domestic and international level, varies, depending on not only one’s resource endowment but also the lens through which one views these shifts. We focus on how economic, security, and technology regimes are being reshaped in a variety of domains as diverse as supply chains, export controls, investment screening, and AI policy. The seminar also introduces students to a variety of tools and techniques that policymakers and general counsels can draw upon to enable their decision-making. Students will be asked to apply these tools to a complex real-world problem, where they will formulate strategies to manage risk and reward, as well as enable strategic resiliency.

Note: This course will meet twice a week over the first six weeks of the term, starting on September 2, 2025 and ending on October 7, 2025. Please note there will be one required make-up session on Friday, September 5, 2025 from 3:45pm to 5:45pm.