Atlantic Council Strategy Consortium

A principles-based strategy towards China

By Robert Spalding

Vision 2020 builds on the 2017 National Security Strategy and takes the offensive against the Chinese Communist Party’s Stealth War by focusing on the science, technology and economic superiority of America’s free society and that of her allies and partners.

Strategic surprises in the first year: principles for preparation and response

By Hal Brands

Preparing for and responding to strategic surprises is always difficult; that difficulty is often magnified in an administration's first year. Ideas and prerequisites for responding to strategic surprise are laid out in Paul Miller's longer memorandum.

Connecting strategy and resources in national security: 10 recommendations for the Trump administration

By Stephen J. Hadley, James N. Miller, and Mara E. Karlin

Connecting strategy and resources is the central tenet of national security strategy. The four-step process proposed by the Atlantic Council should be used by the Trump administration when considering how to connect its strategy to resources.

Elements of national security strategy

By Malia DuMont

This paper enumerates the key pieces of a national security strategy and explains their importance. It also explores several additional elements that can be found in some national security strategies; these additional elements are not strictly necessary for the strategy to be viable, but are intended to strengthen the document or the government’s ability to implement it.

Purpose of a national security strategy

By Barry Pavel, Alex Ward

Since the original Congressional mandate and its update in the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act, the purpose of the National Security Strategy has changed in order to better reflect a changing global landscape. Today, there are six broad purposes for a National Security Strategy.

Incorporating risk into national security planning

By Malia K. Du Mont

Risk is a critical concept for helping decision-makers identify and make policy choices that support strategic priorities, but it is often mis-applied. To ensure that risk is appropriately informing strategic decision-making, it is essential to avoid some common pitfalls by taking the approach described.

Strategic priorities for the next administration

What should be the strategic priorities for the next US presidential administration?

Methodology of strategy and strategic thinking: linking classic advice with disruptive trends

By Hans-Christian Hagman

This paper seeks to discuss elements of strategy and strategic thought. What should we be thinking of in order to produce national security strategies that will have the intended impact on policy and allocated resources? What strategy will best achieve government coordination, operational execution and the desired end state?

Responding to strategic surprise

By Paul D. Miller

In the event of a strategic surprise, the President and his administration face three tasks, which they should pursue concurrently, not sequentially.

The challenge of ascertaining a strategic surprise

By William Inboden

The challenge posed by strategic surprises is not just their unexpected nature, but also that they are often not evident when they first occur. This memo discusses criteria and indicators for determining when a strategic surprise is occurring.