Grand Strategy of the United States: A Study of the Process
Abstract
The thesis of this paper is that the U.S. government must adopt a clearly defined process for developing and articulating grand strategy. This process must include written guidance and definitions to improve the efficacy of the legislative and executive branches' in the execution of their duties to support a coherent foreign policy. This thesis is about adopting a process for developing and articulating grand strategy. This process is for the decision makers at the highest level of our government. The problem is there is no clearly defined grand strategic formulation, standard, or guidance. By default, the National Security Strategy (NSS), first mandated by the legislature on the executive in the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1987, became a repository for some basic elements of strategic guidance and thought. There are three primary reasons why adopting a process for a grand strategy is important at this time. The first is the need for clear guidance to reduce inefficiencies. The second is the need to employ the instruments of national power more effectively. Third, the government needs capstone guidance outlining the process, and then it needs a clear example in the form of the GSUS to inform lesser strategic documents. The method used to prove the necessity for adopting a clearly defined process for developing and articulating grand strategy will be a review of literature through a series of chapters highlighting how strategy and grand strategy are defined, how strategic choices are made, and how strategic choices are implemented. Based on this analysis, a model for the formulation of grand strategy presented as a way of guiding policymakers and strategic thinkers in a new post-Cold War environment
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA530097
Entities
People
- Paul B. Eberhart
Organizations
- National Defense University