On November 30, Forward Defense non-resident senior fellow Benjamin Jensen and US Marine Corps University‘s Nathan Packard published an article in War on the Rocks titled “The Next National Defense Strategy.” The article identifies which aspects of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) should be kept and which should be altered in the 2021 Presidential transition. Jensen and Packard argue that the Biden-Harris team should continue focusing on great-power competition, but do so while rebuilding the American security architecture and alliance interoperability.
Unless the next National Defense Strategy brings allies back in, the United States is at risk of being left out of the international order it built with partners after World War II and reinforced after the Cold War.
![](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Forward-Defense.png)
Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, its allies, and partners. Our work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources the United States needs to deter and, if necessary, prevail in future conflict.