June 11, 2008

Finding Our Way: Debating American Grand Strategy

By Michèle Flournoy, Shawn Brimley and Vikram J. Singh

In a critical election year, the debate over America’s national security strategy has been overwhelmed by a persistent focus on essentially tactical issues such as: the number of troops in Iraq; whether or not America should engage in diplomacy with Iran; and the status of the search for Osama Bin Laden. Important as such issues are, they do not address the more critical and fundamental arguments over America’s purpose and place in the world. Finding Our Way attempts to bridge the gap in the current national security debate by bringing together ideas from across the academic and policy spectrums in one accessible volume. Edited by Michèle Flournoy and Shawn Brimley, and including contributions from Robert Art, G. John Ikenberry, Barry Posen, Frederick Kagan, and Sarah Sewall, Finding Our Way provides a compelling and accessible snapshot of the current grand strategy debate. Readers will find essays advocating contrasting ideas on vital U.S. interests, key threats facing America, the utility of international partnerships and alliances, the use of military force, the implications of Iraq on American strategy, and the need to restore a positive view of American power. This volume is an ideal primer for scholars and students interested in the contemporary debate over American power and purpose in a changing world.

Watch a discussion of this report at the annual CNAS June 2008 conference:

Authors

  • Michèle Flournoy

    CNAS Board of Director, Chief Executive Officer, WestExec

    Michèle Flournoy is CEO of WestExec and is the former CEO of CNAS, an organization she co-founded. She serves on the CNAS Board of Directors. She served as the Under Secretary...

  • Shawn Brimley

    Former Executive Vice President and Director of Studies

    Shawn Brimley was the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) where he managed the center’s research agenda and staff...

  • Vikram J. Singh

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