A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing? The May 1997 National Security Strategy

Abstract

A public document such as the National Security Strategy, particularly during an interregnum, severely mutes controversial issues, structures content to appeal to the broadest possible audience, and chooses semantics based on "universal" values. The Strategy has left me with a vague disquiet which ultimately coalesces around two leitmotivs One is the blurring of the distinction between domestic policy and foreign policy and the other is disguising a symmetrical approach behind asymmetrical rhetoric. As a result of the interaction of the two leitmotivs, I find the Strategy flawed in identifying transnational threats which are of vital or even major interest and in choosing appropriate instruments of statecraft.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA441486

Entities

People

  • Cheryl Mccarthy

Organizations

  • National War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Clothing
  • Coast Guard
  • Domestic
  • Education
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • International Organizations
  • National Security
  • Public Diplomacy
  • Security
  • Students
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies