US National Security Reform: Reassessing the National Security Act of 1947

Introduction: How should we think about national security reform? Heidi B. Demarest 1. The durable National Security Act Richard K. Betts 2. Improving strategic assessment in the executive branch: Lessons from the scholarly literature Risa A. Brooks 3. Bent but not broken? Inter-branch politics, checks and balances, and the contemporary national security state Douglas L. Kriner 4. Contradictions in U.S. security planning for a global environment and a process approach to solving them Deborah Avant 5. What have we learned about how presidents organize for national security decision making, 1947-2017? Meena Bose 6. Toward a smaller white house national security staff: A look at the present in historical perspective I.M. (Mac) Destler 7. How we decide what we need: Planning the future force David S.C. Chu, with the assistance of Allison F. Taylor 8. Global challenges and american grand strategy for the 21st century Walter Russell Mead 9. Security challenges in the post-unipolar era Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. 10. Global challenges, U.S. National security strategy, and defense organization Thomas G. Mahnken 11. The diffusion of power and the organization of the u.s. national security establishment Barry R. Posen Conclusion Erica D. Borghard Afterword: National security reform for a new era - An agenda for policymakers