American National Security: Policy and Process [Paperback]

Professor Amos A. Jordan (Author), Professor William J. Taylor Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0801837049 | ISBN-13: 978-0801837043 | Edition: 3rd

This fifth edition of American National Security is a timely update of a classic classroom text, providing contemporary perspectives on limited war, economic challenges to national security, and research and development. It reviews the changing security environment in key regions of the world: Russia, East Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Europe. And it identifies the issues that the United States must face in the next century: peace operations, conflict and arms control, and the widening array of missions undertaken by U.S. armed forces.

"We have chosen to emphasize 'power,' broadly defined, as the central dimension of international and national security. This is not to deny that various trends and forces are increasingly pressing states toward more cooperative, less confrontational behavior; rather it is to focus on the fact that on important issues many states -- including all the great powers -- apply a power calculus in dealing with other international actors." -- from the fifth edition of American National Security

Praise for previous editions:

"A classic text, widely used in universities... It does an exemplary job of explaining the process of defining and implementing national security objectives. Hardly any significant subject is omitted from this very rich and readable volume." -- Foreign Affairs

Contents

Foreword by Senator Sam Nunn

Part I -- National Security Policy: What Is It, and How Have Americans Approached It?

1. National Security: The International Setting

2. Military Power and the Role of Force in the Post-Cold War Era

3. Traditional American Approaches to National Security

4. The Evolution of American National Security Policy

Part II -- National Security Policy

5. Presidential Leadership and the Executive Branch in National Security

6. The Impact of Congress on National Security Policy

7. Intelligence and National Security

8. The Role of Military in the National Security Policy Process

9. Defense Planning, Budgeting, and Management

10. The National Security Decision-making Process: Putting the Pieces Together

Part III -- Issues of National Strategy

11. Low-level Conflict

12. Limited War

13. Nuclear Strategy

Economic Challenges to National Security

15. Research and Development

Part IV -- International and Regional Security Issues

16. Russia

17. East Asia

18. The Middle East

19. Sun-Sarahan Africa

20. Latin America

21. Europe

Part V: Approaches to National Security for the Early Twenty-first Century

22. Peace Operations

23. Conflict and Arms Control

24. National Security Perspectives for the Early Twenty-first Century

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A classic text, widely used in universities... It does an exemplary job of explaining the process of defining and implementing national security objectives. Hardly any significant subject is omitted from this very rich and readable volume." -- Foreign Affairs

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Amos A. Jordan has served as Deputy Undersecretary of State and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; he is president emeritus and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. William J. Taylor, Jr., is senior vice president at CSIS and former director of National Security Studies at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Michael J. Mazarr is editor of The Washington Quarterly and director of the New Millennium Project at CSIS.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 3rd edition (March 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801837049
• ISBN-13: 978-0801837043
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,948,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fundamentals of Foreign Policy & Strategy, March 20, 2002

By 

S. Miska (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American National Security (Paperback)

This book serves its purpose well. It clearly walks the reader through elements of national security, the actors, processes, and how Americans have traditionally approached it. With a unique perspective on the military element of power, the book also covers regional security issues and early twenty first century topics. As a senior level undergraduate text or as a basis to launch into discussion in graduate level seminars, American National Security conveys the fundamentals of U.S. security policy in a clear, articulate manner.

Jordan and Taylor both taught in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point in the early 1970's. Mazaar joined them for the 5th edition after directing the Millennium Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The book was designed to convey the basics of policy and process in American national security. The fifth edition is currently in use at the Army's Command & General Staff College for officers at the rank of major enrolled in strategic studies. It serves well as a foundation to discuss national security strategy and policy.

The book has two weaknesses. It is due for a revision given the dynamic nature of the post Cold War environment, especially since 9/11. It also lacks the standard amount of pictures, graphs and charts that normally accompany today's college texts. The book contains all black and white text with limited charts, maps and cartoons. Although this has not been a problem at the master's level, it could be perceived as a drawback to generating undergraduate interest in the subject matter.

Notwithstanding the above criticism, Taylor, Jordan and Mazaar have created a text that lays out the basics of national security policy, actors and institutions. Highly recommended.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dangerous world we live in..., March 31, 2005

By 

Yet another reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: American National Security (Paperback)

In times of living in a dangerous world torn apart by hatred and mistrust and terrorism it is the responsibility of the government to protect the life of its individual citizens as well go out of the way to honor and provide benefits to those brave souls who put themselves and their families on the line for the common good of their fellow citizens. The approach to terrorism should be at least two-pronged:
1.Zero tolerance of any identified and confirmed terrorist targets and complete sealing of the borders. It is the responsibility of the government to provide ample resources to the border states for police patrolling along with technology for closely watching and preventing infiltration of illegal aliens. "Neighborhood watches", though well intended and entrenched in values of patriotism and love of the nation and the noble cause of looking out for fellow citizens, can sometimes go horribly wrong. If one believes in sanctity of every human life (grounded in both American values as well as religious values) then the risk of such an endeavor going awry is probably unacceptably high though debatable. The government must be directly (or indirectly by way of state governments) take in its own hands this enormous responsibility. A fiscally conservative government must accomplish this at all costs - no cost of protecting the lives of its citizens is too high.
2.Identify the sources of terrorism - the breeding ground for extreme religious ideologies in developing or socially narrow minded nations - which when combined with hunger and poverty and misinformation by some media and government sponsored propaganda available to them is a dangerous and potentially a volatile source of terrorism. This can be approached by providing humanitarian aid to those organizations in such areas of the world which provide a culture of trust towards the developed world and encourage growth of educational institutions in these countries as well. Also "friendly" countries in volatile areas of the world have a responsibility to allow media from the developed world to provide an alternate viewpoint on controversial issues - that is the least they can do towards bringing people of the world together. Also it is critically important to revamp the national intelligence gathering agencies that should directly communicate with a given office within homeland security and can get quick approval in cases where preemption against terrorist targets could be justified. Further the infrastructure of these intelligence agencies should be absolutely and totally under the direct control of the government agencies and not be potentially vulnerable to foreign influences. A healthy discussion on these issues is long overdue.