Two Cheers for Trump’s New National Security Strategy
- Overall Argument: The NSS largely succeeds in reaffirming prosperous pillars of U.S.
- The world is demonstrably safer, richer, and freer due to U.S.power and the spread of democracy (from a dozen to nearly 100 democratic countries).
- In essence, the article argues that the NSS is a reasonable update to U.S.
Summary of the Atlantic Council Article: A Review of the New National Security strategy (NSS)
This article provides a critical assessment of the new U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS). Hear’s a breakdown of the key arguments:
Overall Argument: The NSS largely succeeds in reaffirming prosperous pillars of U.S. grand strategy while attempting to address new global challenges.However, it makes a mistake in downplaying the promotion of democracy and human rights.
Key Points:
* U.S. Success Post-Cold War: Despite criticisms, the U.S. strategy after the Cold War was largely successful. The world is demonstrably safer, richer, and freer due to U.S.power and the spread of democracy (from a dozen to nearly 100 democratic countries).
* Acknowledging Past Mistakes: The NSS correctly identifies failures in incorporating China and Russia into the liberal order, outsourcing manufacturing, prolonged wars in the Middle East, allied free-riding, and the backlash from immigration.
* Three Emerging Challenges: The NSS needs to address three key challenges:
* Excesses of Globalization: Concerns about the negative impacts of globalization.
* Tech Revolution: The disruptive impact of new technologies.
* “Axis of Aggressors”: Rising challenges from adversarial nations.
* Reaffirming Conventional Pillars: The NSS rightly emphasizes:
* Military Dominance: Maintaining a strong military, including nuclear deterrence and missile defense.
* Strong Alliances: Recognizing alliances as crucial for amplifying U.S. power and advocating for burden-sharing.
* Economic Strength: Pursuing fair trade deals, economic engagement with allies, and maintaining the dollar’s reserve currency status.
* Multilateralism (with caveats): Working within multilateral institutions but prioritizing American interests.
* Criticism of Europe: The NSS’s harsh criticism of Europe is seen as counterproductive and damaging to transatlantic relations, though the author acknowledges Europe’s declining economic influence is a legitimate concern.
* Democracy & Human Rights: The biggest error of the NSS is its retreat from actively promoting democracy and human rights, opting instead for a more passive acceptance of other countries’ traditions. The author argues that pragmatic promotion of freedom and human rights, when aligned with U.S. interests, should continue.
In essence, the article argues that the NSS is a reasonable update to U.S. strategy, building on past successes while acknowledging new threats, but it misses an chance to continue a historically beneficial role in promoting democratic values globally.