Integrated Deterrence as a Defense Planning Concept
Abstract
The primary U.S. national security documents issued in 2022 the National Security Strategy and unclassified National Defense Strategy (NDS) of the Biden administration have outlined a new core concept for achieving key U.S. national goals: integrated deterrence, which the 2022 National Security Strategy defines as the seamless combination of capabilities to convince potential adversaries that the costs of their hostile activities outweigh their benefits.1 As our essay details, this is a proposal to better integrate U.S. investments, instruments of power, and activities across multiple combinations of categories: the whole of its government, domains, theaters, and allies and partners. Integrated deterrence is not intended to be a new theory of deterrence per se, but rather an assessment of what DoD must do to meet well-understood deterrence requirements. The 2022NDS states that integrating capabilities and efforts to directly improve combat credibility represents the most plausible route to enhanced deterrent effects. The notion is timely and needed: At a time when U.S. military predominance is ebbing and the international system is more volatile, the need for and potential value of more integrated campaigns of statecraft are greater than at any time in the last 30 years.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 05, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1229291
Entities
People
- Ivana Ke
- Michael J. Mazarr
Organizations
- RAND Corporation