U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy, 2nd Edition

Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees Jr.

June 2006

404 Pages

Brief Synopsis

This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy reflects to some extent recent changes in the structure of the core curriculum at the War College. The college broke its traditional core course, “War, National Policy and Strategy,” into two courses: “Theory of War and Strategy” and “National Security Policy and Strategy.” The result for this book is the expansion of the block on strategic theory and the introduction of a block on specific strategic issues. Because little time has past since the publication of the most recent version of this book, this edition is largely an expansion of its predecessor rather than a major rewriting. Several chapters are new and others have undergone significant rewrites or updates, but about two-thirds of the book remains unchanged. Although this is not primarily a textbook, it does reflect both the method and manner we use to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. The book is also not a comprehensive or exhaustive treatment of either strategy or the policymaking process. The Guide is organized in broad groups of chapters addressing general subject areas. We begin with a look at some specific issues about the general security environment—largely international. The section on strategic thought and formulation includes chapters on broad issues of strategy formulation as well as some basic strategic theory. The third section is about the elements of national power. A section on the national security policymaking process in the United States precedes the final section that deals with selected strategic issues.

CONTENTS

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Introduction
J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

I. The National Security Environment

1. The International System in the 21st Century
Alan G. Stolberg

2. Multilateralism and Unilateralism
James A. Helis

3. Ethical Issues in War: An Overview
Martin L. Cook

4. Ethics and War in Comparative Religious Perspective
David L. Perry

5. International Law and the New World Order: Redefining Sovereignty
Thomas W. McShane

6. Regional Studies in a Global Age
R. Craig Nation

II. Strategic Theory and Formulation

7. A Survey of the Theory of Strategy
J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

8. Toward a Theory of Strategy: Art Lykke and the Army War College Strategy Model
Harry R. Yarger

9. Why is Strategy Difficult?
David Jablonsky

10. National Power
David Jablonsky

11. Managing Strategic Risk
James F. Holcomb

12. Landpower in Traditional Theory and Contemporary Application
G. K. Cunningham

13. Thucydides and Contemporary Strategy
R. Craig Nation

III. Elements of Power

14. Diplomacy as an Instrument of National Power
Reed J. Fendrick

15. Theory and Practice of Modern Diplomacy: Origins and Development to 1914
Louis J. Nigro, Jr.

16. Information: The Psychological Instrument
Frank L. Jones

17. Military Power and the Use of Force
John F. Troxell

18. Economics: American Element of Power or Source of Vulnerability?
Clayton K. S. Chun

19 Problems of Economic Statecraft: Rethinking Engagement
Douglas A. Borer

IV. National Security Policymaking

20. National Security and the Interagency Process
Gabriel Marcella

21. National Security Powers: Are the Checks in Balance?
Marybeth P. Ulrich

22. National Military Strategies: 1990 to 2005
Richard M. Meinhart

23. The Appropriate Role of Intelligence in the Making of National Security Policy
Anthony R. Williams

24. Cognitive Factors in National Security Decisionmaking
George E. Teague

V. Strategic Issues

25. Air Power Theory: An Analytical Narrative from the First World War to the Present
Tami Davis Biddle

26. John Warden’s Five Ring Model and the Indirect Approach to War
Clayton K. S. Chun

27. Network-Centric Warfare: Just about Technology?
Jeffrey L. Groh

Appendix I: Guidelines for Strategy Formulation

Appendix II: Contributors

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