Defending Without Dominance: Accelerating the Transition to a New U.S. Defense Strategy
Abstract
In the case of enhancing U.S. warfighting capacity, I first briefly survey grand strategy principles that call for a U.S. ability to project power to help deter major war in key regions. I then define the U.S. defense strategic approach of the post Cold War era decisive expeditionary force and lay out its key assumptions in defense strategy and the wider realm of defense policy. I explain how these assumptions were undermined by various developments after about 19952000 and how the U.S. defense establishment responded to the growing infeasibility of its core approaches. I then suggest six leading barriers to reform reasons why the Defense Departments responses have been unable to generate the degree of change required. Finally, I lay out the principles of a revised strategy and identify critical initiatives in the wider context of defense policy that can address the sources of this issue.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1211971
Entities
People
- Michael J. Mazarr
Organizations
- RAND Corporation