Promoting Sustainable Development Through Engagement.
Abstract
A core objective of the United States' national security strategy is to promote America's prosperity at home and abroad. Prosperity abroad can only be achieved through sustainable economic development that is unimpeded by environmental and natural resource issues. The benefits of achieving sustainable development include improved prospects for democracy, increased demand for U.S. exports, reduced stress on the global environment, less likelihood of crime, improved health, reduced poverty and bolstered regional stability. In A National Security Strategy for a New Century (NSS) (October 1998) the U.S. strategy to promote sustainable development includes environmentally sound approaches by private investors and lenders, use of technology transfer, provision of multilateral financial and technical assistance and greater emphasis on international environmental agreements. Regional conflict and instability can often be traced to the failure to achieve sustained economic development and its attendant consequences. Frequently the military is charged to ameliorate the immediate consequences by deploying forces in a crisis situation. However, the military is not proactively involved in addressing the root causes of these conflicts through the national security strategy of engagement. The purpose of this paper is to review the U.S. strategy of engagement to promote sustainable development with a focus on the Department of Defense responsibilities and capabilities. The EUCOM area of operations will be used for specific examples. After analysis of the current strategy, specific recommendations will be made to improve the current strategy of engagement by the Department of Defense.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 30, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA361198
Entities
People
- Gregory S. Kuhr
Organizations
- United States Army War College