318Z Fall 2025 The Cuban Missile Crisis: Enduring Lessons for Modern Strategists

In the immediate aftermath of the Cuban missile crisis, a triumphal narrative arose in the U.S. portraying the events as a direct confrontation between President John Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev in which the two were “eyeball to eyeball and the other guy [Khrushchev] blinked.” At the time, thoughtful observers understood there were layers of complexity that led to Khrushchev removing the missiles. And after the Cold War, access to Soviet archives allowed historians to construct a much more complete picture. This course will examine those complexities by focusing on three topics that have been and remain key elements of international relations and conflict: 1) the competing considerations of grand strategy and military strategy as well as domestic vs. foreign policy; 2) the nature of and conflicts inherent in civil-military relations; 3) the effects of chance coupled with both unknown and unknowable factors that impact both decisions and outcomes.

Karen Wilhelm is a retired USAF officer with a Doctorate in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. Her academic specialties include military history, defense policy, and strategic studies. She has previously served as an adjunct professor of public policy at George Mason University.