Assessing Strategies

How do we know if a country has the "right" National Security Strategy? After all, if it does not, it may put its citizens at grave risk. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this important question. There are partial answers, however.

We have learned about one of these in this module; it concerns process. If the process for producing the NSS is flawed, that is, it fails to include the effective participation of all the necessary players, it is likely that the NSS itself will be flawed. Getting the process right is necessary, though not sufficient. It is also critical to judge a security strategy in light of the financial resources that are needed to make it work. In other words, the government must be able to afford the strategy it proposes. If it cannot, its strategic objectives will not be met.

It is difficult to assess a NSS without the benefit of time. If the NSS remains the same over a period of years, it is possible to see if it is working. A minimum of five years is suggested for this purpose. Over that time we can review the country´s security policy to see if it has been doing what it has been saying, and if so, if it is producing the objectives stated in the NSS.

A national security strategy checklist

A simpler approach to assessing National Security Strategies is to ask a general set of questions about them. The answers to these questions do not, by themselves, tell us if the strategy will succeed or not. They can, however, be used to "characterize" any country´s National Security Strategy. The questions have been selected to encourage you to read strategies carefully and thoughtfully. They may be used, as a tool, to examine any strategy, and to compare strategies. Ten questions to be asked about a National Security Strategy are listed below.

Characterizing national security strategies

1. What organization(s) within the government is responsible for producing the national security strategy and how frequently? What organizations outside of the government, if any, play a role in producing the national security strategy?
2. Does the legislative branch approve the national security strategy?
3. Does the strategy identify specific threats to national security, and if so, what are they? How far into the future does the strategy identify threats?
4. Does the strategy refer to treaty commitments, and if so, which ones?
5. Does the strategy refer to force structures, and if so, how are they defined, e.g., divisions, air wings, etc? Does the strategy link these force structures or capabilities to strategic objectives?
6. Does the strategy incorporate assumptions about risk, and if so, how are such risks defined and addressed?
7. Does the strategy make reference to a specific level of funding, and if so, what is that level and how is it defined, e.g., as a percentage of GDP?
8. Does the strategy include a specific policy for the use of force (criteria, approving authority, etc)?
9. Does the strategy refer to specific economic capabilities that may be critical to implementing the strategy?
10. Does the strategy make reference to other related strategic publications, and if so, what are they?

Analysis: # 6

For the US NSS and the NSS you selected for this module, answer the ten questions above. Where you find significant differences, try to explain those differences.

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Developed by the Office of Continuous Learning and Professor Richard Doyle at the Naval Postgraduate School