National security policy

Defensive Realism (Basic Idea, Main Objective, Typical Approach, and Systemic Conditions)

Basic Idea: States act as security-maximizers rather than power-maximizers, holding that aggressive expansion is counterproductive because rival states will balance against it.

Main Objective: Preserve national security, sovereignty, and international balance of power/stability.

Typical Approach: Focus on balancing threats, deterrence, diplomacy, and strategic restraint while avoiding unnecessary expansion.

Systemic Conditions: Most commonly selected by the international system during periods of Great Power Parity and Low External Threat.

Offensive Realism (Basic Idea, Main Objective, Typical Approach, and Systemic Conditions)

Basic Idea: States act as power-maximizers seeking regional hegemony, operating under the assumption that international anarchy forces states to gain as much relative power as possible to ensure survival.\n\n

Main Objective: Maximize relative power and achieve dominance or hegemony to prevent rivals from posing a threat.\n\n

Typical Approach: Build overwhelming military strength, project power assertively, implement aggressive containment, and actively check potential peer competitors.\n\n

Systemic Conditions: Selected by the international system during periods of High External Threat Levels and Bipolarity or Multipolarity (multiple powerful rival states).

Defensive Liberalism (Basic Idea, Main Objective, Typical Approach, and Systemic Conditions)

Basic Idea: States promote international peace and stability by fostering liberal institutions, international law, and economic interdependence without resorting to forcible regime change or aggressive military intervention.

Main Objective: Build a peaceful, cooperative, and rules-based international environment to preserve long-term security and shared democratic values.

Typical Approach: Rely on multilateral diplomacy, international organizations, trade alliances, and gradual political/economic reform.

Systemic Conditions: Typically selected by the international system during periods of Unipolarity (a single dominant power/hegemon) and Low External Threat Levels.

Offensive Liberalism (Basic Idea, Main Objective, Typical Approach, and Systemic Conditions)

Basic Idea: States actively seek to transform the internal political systems of other countries, operating on the belief that enduring international security requires spreading democracy and liberal values.

Main Objective: Fundamentally reshape the international environment itself by replacing non-democratic regimes with liberal democratic institutions.

Typical Approach: Forcible regime change, coercive military intervention, aggressive democracy promotion, and nation-building.

Systemic Conditions: Selected by the international system during periods of High External Threat Levels combined with Hegemony (unipolar power held by a single dominant liberal state).

HARRY TRUEMAN (1945-1953) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

Defensive liberalism-WWII ends → demobilization, low threat, unipolarity

defensive realism-Soviet-American rivalry becomes clearer → strong point containment, threat level low, bipolarity

offensive realism-Korean War + NSC-68 + Rimland → militarized/global containment, high threat level, bipolarity

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1953-1961) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

OFFENSIVE REALISM-High threat level, bipolarity

MAINTAIN U.S POWER THROUGH ALLIANCES AND NUCLEAR DETERANCE.

JOHN F. KENEDY (1961-1963) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

OFFENSIVE REALISM THEN DEFENSIVE REALSIM

Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation → Kennedy's Flexible Response

CUBAN MISSLE CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS WEAKNESS OF NUCLER DETERANCE AND HILIGHTS THE NEED FOR OTHER SOFTER RESPONSES TO USSR ACTIONS.

Security dilemma become apparent

Detent

LYNDON JOHNSON (1963-1969) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE REALISM

Containment + Flexible Response + Limited War

CONTAINMENT/RIM LAND + VIETNAM

Keep going with Kennedys strategy

RICHARD NIXION (1969-1974) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE REALISM / DETENTE

REDUCING TENSIONS WITH USSR / EXPLOIT THE GROWING DIVIDE BETWEEN CHINA AND USSR.

Détente + Nixon Doctrine + Balance of Power

SALT I

Realpolitik- Foreign policy should be based heavily on national interests and the balance of power, rather than simply ideological opposition to communism.

GERALD FORD (1974-1977) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE REALISM / DENTENTE

CONTUINE NIXON’S DETENTE STRATEGY

🇺🇸 Main Strategy: Détente + Containment + Balance of Power

JIMMY CARTER (1977-1981) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE LIBERLISM THEN OFFENSIVE REALISM

🇺🇸 Main Strategy: Human Rights → Détente → Renewed Containment

MAIN FOCUAS OF LIBERLISM WAS HUMAN RIGHTS WHICH MADE FRICTION WITH USSR THEN FULL SWITCH WHEN USSR INVADED AFGANISTAN TO REACH OIL STATES THREATING U.S / WEST NATIONS POWER SUPPLY.

Continued Arms Control SALT II negotiations

Carter Doctrine — 1980 The United States would use military force if necessary to protect its interests in the Persian Gulf. to protect the wests access to energy supplies such as oil

RONALD REAGAN (1918-1989) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

OFFENSIVE REALISM THEN DEFENSIVE REALISM

🇺🇸 Main Grand Strategy: Rollback + Military Buildup + Containment

BUILD UP OF MILITARY THEN SECOUND DETENTE

Strategic Defense Initiative — 1983 Known as SDI or "Star Wars."

Early Reagan:

Confrontation

• Military buildup

• Anti-Soviet rhetoric

• Rollback

• Pressure on USSR

Later Reagan:

Negotiation

After Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985, Reagan increasingly pursued negotiations.

GEORGE W.H BUSH (1989-1993) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE LIBERLISUM

🇺🇸 Main Grand Strategy: Primacy + Engagement + New World Order

END OF COLD WAR / MAIN PLAN BUILD A COOPERTIVE INTERNATIONAL ORDER

Operation Desert Storm — 1991 sadam husan WMD’s

BILL CLINTON (1993-2001) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

OFFENSIVE LIBERLISUM

🇺🇸 Main Grand Strategy: Engagement & Enlargement

PROMOTE DEM, ESTABLISH FREE MARKETS, INCREASE THE LEVEL OF GLOBLIZATION.

GEORGE W. BUSH (2001-2009) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

OFENSIVE LIB

🇺🇸 Main Grand Strategy: Primacy + Preventive War + War on Terror

The United States should use its overwhelming power to prevent threats from becoming attacks against the United States.

Afghanistan — 2001

Iraq — 2003

U.S. Primacy / Unilateralism

Bush emphasized maintaining overwhelming U.S. military superiority.

The administration was willing to act without broad international agreement when it believed U.S. security required it.

BRACK OBAMA (2009-2017) MAIN STRATEGY+MAIN EVENTS

DEFENSIVE LIB THEN DEFENSIVE REALISM WITH THE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFTING WITH CHAINA

REDUCE MILITARY INVOLMENT IN AFAGNISTAN

BUILD CO-OP ECON WITH CHINA BUT FAILS CUASING SHIFT

TRIES TO WORK WITH PUTIN BUT FAILS AND RUSSIAN FED INVADES CRIMEA.

🇺🇸 Main Grand Strategy: Restraint + Multilateralism + Pivot to Asia

What is Miller's dependent variable (outcome he seeks to explain)?

 

Grand strategic change

What is (are) Miller's independent (or causal) variable(s)? Multiple answers possible.

Polarity of the international system

Perceived level of threat

Which approach to grand strategy seeks a balance of power among the great powers

 

Defensive realism

Which approach to grand strategy emphasizes multilateral diplomacy through international institutions?

Defensive liberalism

Which approach to grand strategy emphasizes democracy promotion through, potentially, forcible regime change?

 

Offensive liberalism

Under conditions of bipolarity and perceived high threat, what type of grand strategy will the system select?

Offensive realism

What are the two causal mechanisms that connect Miller's independent variable(s) to his dependent variable?  In other words, how does the international system cause governmental responses?

Presidents reevaluate their grand strategies in light of new information.

A powerful domestic coalition forms around a particular grand strategy.

George Kennan's strong-point containment is an example of which type of grand strategy?

 

Defensive realism

The Truman administration fully committed to an offensive realist grand strategy when:

North Korea invaded South Korea

Eisenhower's "New Look" grand strategy featured which policy?

Massive Retalition

The Kennedy administration adopted a defensive realist grand strategy when:

 

After the Cuban Missile Crisis when uncontrolled escalation was deemed the most salient threat

Nixon's Detente grand strategy sought which of the following (more than one answer is possible):

To solicit China's cooperation in balancing against the Soviet Union

Reduction in tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union

Reagan's initial grand strategy sought to:

 

Increase American power relative to the Soviet Union at a time of increased threat.

Reagan's second grand strategy is best described as:

defensive liberalism

According to Miller, George H. W. Bush changed US grand strategy from defensive realism to defensive liberalism when:

 

The Soviet Union dissolved into 15 different countries.

Bill Clinton's grand strategy is best described as:

 

Defensive liberalism

Bill Clinton's "Engagement and Enlargement" grand strategy sought which of the following (multiple answers are possible):

 

To deepen economic interdpendence in a globalized economy

Expanding the number of democratic states in the world

Prior to 9/11, George W. Bush sought to implement which type of grand strategy?

 

Defensive realism

Which of the following are characteristics of George W. Bush's post-9/11 grand strategy (multiple answers are possible)?

 

To secure America by promoting democracy in authoritarian states

A willingness to use force preventively and unilaterally to address strategic threats

Barack Obama's initial grand strategy is best described as:

 

Defensive liberalism

Why did the Obama administration move toward a defensive realist grand strategy in its final two years?

 

China's growing economy and military might challenged America's position in the Western Pacific

| Nation Building

Efforts to establish stable political, economic, and governmental institutions in another country. | Major issue in Iraq and Afghanistan. |

| Preemption |

Using force against a threat believed to be imminent. | Important distinction in Bush-era strategy. |

| Preventive War |

Starting a war to eliminate a potential future threat before it becomes imminent. | Closely associated with debates surrounding the Iraq War. |

| Bush Doctrine |

George W. Bush administration's post-9/11 strategy emphasizing terrorism, preemption, military power, and democracy promotion. | Defined U.S. grand strategy during the early 2000s. |

| War on Terror |

U.S.-led global campaign against terrorist organizations following September 11, 2001. | Became the central security focus of the Bush administration. |

| Axis of Evil |

Bush administration description of states accused of supporting terrorism and pursuing dangerous weapons programs. | Demonstrated the administration's approach toward hostile regimes. |

| Afghanistan War |

U.S.-led war beginning in 2001 against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. | Became America's longest major war. |

| Iraq War |

U.S.-led invasion of Iraq beginning in 2003 that removed Saddam Hussein. | Major example of preventive-war and democracy-promotion debates. |

| Surge |

2007 increase in U.S. troops in Iraq combined with a change in counterinsurgency strategy. | Associated with the later Bush administration's Iraq strategy. |

| Counterinsurgency (COIN) |

Military strategy designed to defeat an insurgency while gaining support from the local population. | Central to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. |

| Obama Doctrine |

General term for Obama's approach emphasizing multilateral diplomacy, limited military intervention, and targeted counterterrorism. | Represented adjustments to Bush-era strategy. |

| Pivot/Rebalance to Asia |

Obama administration effort to increase U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military attention toward the Asia-Pacific region. | Reflected the growing importance of China and Asia. |

| Strategic Restraint |

Limiting military intervention and overseas commitments to situations involving important national interests. | Major alternative to expansive interventionism. |

| Counterterrorism |

Efforts to disrupt, defeat, and prevent terrorist organizations and attacks. | Remained central after 9/11. |

| Great-Power Competition |

Strategic competition among major powers such as the United States, China, and Russia. | Became increasingly prominent in U.S. strategy after the Obama era. |

| Trump Doctrine |

Broad term for Trump's foreign-policy approach emphasizing sovereignty, burden-sharing, economic nationalism, and competition with major powers. | Represents a significant shift in emphasis in recent U.S. grand strategy. |

| America First |

Trump administration slogan emphasizing U.S. national interests and sovereignty. | Central theme of Trump's foreign-policy rhetoric. |

| Burden Sharing |

Expectation that U.S. allies should contribute more to collective defense. | A recurring issue in U.S. alliance policy. |

| Economic Nationalism |

Emphasis on protecting domestic industries and prioritizing national economic interests. | Important to Trump's trade and economic policies. |

| Strategic Competition |

Long-term competition between states across military, economic, technological, and diplomatic areas. | Particularly relevant to U.S.-China relations. |

| Status Quo Power |

State generally seeking to preserve existing international arrangements. | Useful for analyzing competing grand-strategy approaches. |

| Hegemony |

Dominance or predominant influence of one state within an international system. | Helps explain debates over America's post-WWII role. |

| Imperial Overstretch |

Situation where a country's international commitments become greater than its available resources. | Used to critique expansive grand strategies. |

| Security Dilemma |

Situation where one state's efforts to increase its security make another state feel less secure. | Helps explain arms races and international competition. |

Millers theory

External factors dominate: International balance of power & level of structural threats

Offensive

Unilateral exercise of power

Defensive

multilateral exercise of power

unilateral action

action taken alone

multilateral action

Joint action

Millers point on domestic factors

They influence HOW a strategy is sold to the public

Two systematic pillars to grand strategy

Global distribution of power

perceived threat level based on power

Realpolitik

Under Nixon, Foreign policy should be based heavily on national interests and the balance of power, rather than simply ideological opposition to communism.

Military doctrine

the fundamental set of principles, shared beliefs, and guidelines that dictate how a nation's armed forces prepare, structure, and employ military power to achieve national security goals.

-How we train

-Operations

“set of principles the army/military guides it’s actions to advice goal and focus on the campaigns and battle.”

Doctrine operates at the operational level

doctrine is built around concepts and the theory of victory. based on strengths & weaknesses of enemy.

Battle of attrition

a military strategy where one side tries to win by slowly wearing down the enemy's soldiers, equipment, and supplies until their will or ability to fight collapses.

maneuver warfare

a military strategy that targets an enemy's psychological cohesion, morale, and ability to make decisions rather than destroying them through physical force and attrition.

levels of battle,

tactical, operational, and strategic

doctrine matters why

effects if we get into a fight or how we threaten forces.

causes of U.S military doctrine change

• Technology

• geopolitical threats

• civilian military leadership direction

• Internal organizational culture