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Presents an introduction to the complicated process of formulating national security policy in the United States.
List of contents
Introduction Part 1: The Constitution on Congress, President and National Security 1. Invitation to Struggle: The Doctrine of Shared Powers 2. Institutionalized Struggle: The Modern National Security Apparatus Part 2: The National Security Establishment Today 3. Defense Policy: The Art of Leaf Management 4. Foreign Policy: No Constituency, No Importance 5. Intelligence Policy: Is Anybody Watching the Detectives? 6. The Department of Homeland Security: Politics Trumps Policy Part 3: Seeing the Forest and the Trees? 7. A Lack of Institutional Vision 8. Conclusions
About the author
Chuck Cushman is Associate Professor and Director of the Legislative Affairs MA Program in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University.
Summary
In Still Struggling, Charles Cushman provides a brief yet comprehensive introduction to the complicated process of formulating national security policy in the United States.
Beginning with an historical discussion of the origins of the notion of "shared powers," Cushman illustrates how this doctrine invites a struggle between an executive and legislative branch and how that struggle has resulted in a complicated institutional framework that evolved into the modern national security apparatus during the Cold War. He then traces the evolution of the network of agencies that perform the national security tasks including the Department of Defense, the State Department, the national intelligence agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Examining every major aspect of US security policy including defense policy, intelligence policy, foreign policy, and homeland security policy, Cushman shows how the current structures struggle not only with each other, but also with dealing with the challenges facing the nation today. He concludes with a scorecard on the system’s performance, and offers suggestions for Congress and the White House that would help them to meet the challenges of today (and tomorrow) more effectively.
