June 09, 2014

Rebuilding Bipartisan Consensus on National Security

By Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine

Politics, despite the saying, has never really stopped at the water’s edge. But these days, it seems, policymakers cannot even get to the beach before the sniping begins. The increasing polarization of American politics and the hardening of positions on issues foreign and domestic have led to deep dysfunction, as last year’s government shutdown demonstrated so dramatically. National security is by no means immune, and the chasm between Republicans and Democrats on key issues has resulted in irrational defense budgeting, unfinished trade agreements and the elevation of personal attacks over policy impacts. It’s time to do better.

The path forward is not to yearn for some halcyon days of yore when foreign policy mandarins guided the ship of state without reference to its political context. Rather, it begins by recognizing just how polarized American politics has become in recent decades and the effect that this has had on national security policymaking.
 

More from CNAS

  • Video
    • October 5, 2017
    CARE: Humanitarian Aid Cuts & National Security

    A number of prominent figures are speaking out in opposition of the proposed cutbacks to the US foreign aid budget. CNAS CEO Michele Flournoy, along with many other former sen...

    By Michèle Flournoy

    • Commentary
    • War on the Rocks
    • June 15, 2016
    Au Revoir QDR

    Whatever version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) emerges from the House-Senate conference process later this year, it seems likely that the 20-year old Quadre...

    By Loren DeJonge Schulman & Shawn Brimley

    • Commentary
    • May 12, 2016
    The DIUx Is Dead. Long Live The DIUx.

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter launched his high-profile Silicon Valley outpost a year ago to great fanfare and high expectations. Less than a year later, he has completely over...

    By Ben FitzGerald & Loren DeJonge Schulman

    • Commentary
    • April 28, 2015
    The Pentagon's Third Offset Strategy: What US Allies and Partners Need to Know

    When the Department of Defense (DoD) undergoes strategic change, allies and partners would benefit greatly from not only paying attention, but reading between the lines and pl...

    By Van Jackson

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia