Policy at the ‘Speed of Relevance’ requires Relevance
Posted March 29, 2020
Todd A. Schmidt
Is U.S. relevance waning? Domestic political instability, coupled with destabilizing behavior on the international stage, negatively impacts U.S. policy and our relevance to allies and adversaries. Addressing these challenges requires experienced leadership; investment in human capital; organizational adaptability; and reconsideration of legacy civil/military relations legal frameworks.
Domestically, national security decisions require recommendations and decisions by informed, seasoned, and experienced elected officials, interagency executives, and military elites that are forward-thinking. They anticipate and consider ‘whole of government’ approaches to strategic issues. Anything less, risks unhealthy imbalance in the application of national power and civil-military balance-of-power.
International relevance requires trusted, stable, reliable investment, presence, and engagement with allies and partners. Coercion and transactional relationships between allies will deteriorate alliances over time. If the international environment is an arena of great power competition, allies should not question the stability of an alliance under stress, under threat, or in a market of competing strategic influences.
https://groundedcuriosity.com/policy-at-the-speed-of-relevance-requires-relevance/#.XoS00d8pDZF
