Belfer Center Senior Fellow Eric Traupe Brings Students Together to Experience Life on the National Security Council

What does it take to advise the President on national security issues? A group of students learned the answer is not nearly as clear cut or easy as it might seem. Belfer Center Senior Fellow Eric Traupe and the Belfer Center's Intelligence Project hosted a two-day workshop on November 13-14, 2024, to simulate working as senior policymakers in an interagency setting. Students occupied Cabinet positions and responded to a dynamic crisis narrative that tested their ability to think critically and collaboratively under time and environmental pressures. The goal was to further prepare students to occupy senior leadership roles in national security. 

Key to the simulation's success was its authenticity. Eric's expertise as a CIA executive—and frequent attendee of National Security Council (NSC) meetings—informed the tone and rigor that students were expected to match. Each student had access to universal prep materials and department-specific information to highlight the unique perspective that an agency might contribute to a given problem set. And, with help from the Intelligence Project and Belfer Center staff, students gained experience liaising with and briefing third party stakeholders, such as foreign partners and private sector executives, who would inevitably feel the downstream effects of any National Security Council policy decision. 

The November workshop was the Intelligence Project's second NSC Simulation, following an inaugural simulation that took place on April 16-17, 2024. A third program is in the works for the coming semester; aspiring NSC decision-makers should remain on the lookout.