The Politics of Strategic Adjustment

This text examines a century of American experience to illustrate how the United States determines its security policies. While scholars have typically focused on "outside factors", such as international pressures, constraints and opportunities, this collection of essays shows that decisions about strategy are critically shaped by domestic politics - political ideologies, state structure and societal interests. Essays by Edward Rhodes, Peter Trubowitz and Mark Shulman offer evidence that America's emergence as a great naval power in the late 19th century had less to do with security than with issues of national identity, commerce and social change. Bartholomew Sparrow compares the power of the press in the late 19th and 20th centuries to explore the media's ability to frame the debate on strategy. Miroslav Nincic, Gerry Gorsky and Roger Rose examine the influence of public opinion on security strategy in the 1990s. Emily Goldman, Edward Smith and Jan Breemer examine the workings of military bureaucracy to relate strategic policy to politics inside the military establishment. At a time when America's security needs and goals are adjusting rapidly, this book offers policymakers and scholars of international affairs critical models for understanding the complex reality of security policy.