Military National and International Security Studies - Essay Example

Military National and International Security Studies The national security of the United s of America has been revolutionized through the promulgation of a security strategy document entitled, “National military strategy of the united nations (2011).” This was launched by the chairman of the joint security staff and endorsed by the president and the minister of state for defense. The strategy contains the American security plans that will be undertaken by the state to ensure that the interests of the nation are met. The vision of the security forces is closely related with the needs of the central sources of power of the state. The interests of the security forces are centered on attainment of security, peace and prosperity among all the citizens of the nation and other nations with a similar focus to that of the U.S.A. (NMS of U.S.A, 2011) To succeed in its mission, the joint security forces were keen to overemphasize on the importance of integrating its security visions with those of the other elements of power in the state. There is a need for coming up with new security approaches in the United States of America. This is because of the nature of threats that face the state. With the transformation in technology, the state, which suffers from security threats, has to formulate methods of dealing with such threats. The security body in U.S.A has come up with a scheme that attempts to integrate the security agencies in the state and the power organs in order to come up with a comprehensive scheme aimed at securing the states’ citizens and create a highway for other government visions to be accomplished. By use of the multifaceted dimensions of power, soft and hard, the states’ security agencies belief that the interests of the nation can be achieved. The major goals of the state are to secure a position on the international platform. This is normally in terms of the social, political and economic prosperity. Formulation of the strategy entails the use of diversified techniques that will ultimately act as an effective springboard towards the attainment of the state interests. The overriding philosophy is that the attainment of security in the state will pave the way for other developmental projects (NMS of U.S.A, 2011). This will be made possible by the integration of the security agencies and the power structure of the nation. This provides a holistic approach of state foreign policy which greatly assists in the attainment of goals of the state. The underpinning philosophy is that the security of the state cannot be separated from its prosperity. The concept of Leadership is explicitly stated in the document as “Leadership is how we exercise the full spectrum of power to defend our national interests and advance international security and stability.”(NMS of U.S.A, 2011). Because of the complex nature of the anticipated work of the joint forces of the United Nations, leaders are called upon to make complex plans especially in the budgetary allocation to ensure that the mission of the forces is not compromised. (Current and future challenges remain complicated). For example, fighting the extremists, dealing with America’s enemies as well as helping the allies to be secure for their own prosperity. Why this strategic approach? The current world is characterized by upcoming powers especially those competing with the U.S.A.for example in the Middle East as well as Asia. Although the U.S.A has dominated as the world’s popular hegemonic power, the rise of states such as China competing at the international arena poses a threat to the U.S.A, in all dimensions. Currently, the definition of superpower has changed. A superpowers characteristic includes military power, economic status and diplomatic relations. All these must be integrated in order for the state to be recognized. There is a need for unity between the powers which exercises diplomacy as well as the security agencies to incorporate the above descriptions. The method of leadership which is diversified in nature has been brought out clearly in the plan. The power of the United State can be perceived from different dimensions. Power of achieving the state goals and objectives. There is power in terms of controlling resources and influencing other nations. Power can also be perceived in terms of being able to triumph over the enemies in times of conflicts. These broad categories of power relationships have been adequately addressed in the document. Power influence constitutes the use of both the soft as well as the hard power. The soft power entails the use of policies, culture, institutions and values in order to attain its interests through co-option and attraction. The hard power is comprised of the use of the capacity bestowed to the state to win popular support and achieve its interests. Hard power uses aspects such as coercion, threats, intimidation, imposing sanctions, and the use economic influence to impose its will on other nations and use of the armed forces to other states in order to achieve what it wants. Leadership as outlined in the document has to encompass diverse aspects. This incorporates a holistic dimension that emphasizes respect and mutual responsibility that will ensure that the interests of the nation are achieved. The dimensions of leadership outlined include the use of both the indirect and direct approaches. They are categorized as, facilitator, enabler, guarantor and convener. The approaches are applied consecutively or concurrently. The military supports both the government and non governmental agencies achieve their national interests. They will also help other nations with a homogenous focus to realize their security goals. This will entail the use of hard and soft power concurrently. For example, the proposed security strategy document outlines that the security agents will make sure that the state is peaceful for other prospects to be achieved. It adds that the security officers will also assist the friendly nations fight against their enemies. In the convening mission, the security forces have a capacity to bring together other players in the security aspect. They are prepared to assist them in making sure that common challenges pertaining security are cooperatively addressed. This will in the long run also deepen the security ties of the United States and other partners. The ability of the forces to pursue broad and constructive partnership among other role players will also enable it to further its foreign policy. It will seek to partner with other state security forces in order to achieve the role of a guarantor. They will seek to defeat and deter acts of aggression. (NMS of U.S.A,2011). The use of hard power will be manifested in the process of the security agencies using force and coercion to be able to further their foreign policy in other states only in the event diplomacy fails. They will use the military authority to fight against the aggression of their enemies. The document has outlined the case of fighting against the extremists. They have mentioned the case of Afghanistan and Pakistan as the states where the security agents will further their mission. The use of force and coercion as opposed to the use of diplomacy will be applied by the military forces because of the nature of the crimes committed against the wishes of United Nations. The forces are likely to use hard power to fight against manufacture of crude weapons. This was partly the reason why the government engaged in America- Iraq fight of 2003. The manufacture of crude weapons by the countries of Middle East is a threat to the U.S.A and the rest of the world. The security agency perceives this as a potential factor that can culminate in the generation of conflicts among nation states. It is with this regards that the security forces will always focus on maintaining global security while fighting against the menace of crude weapons. The strategy mentions Iran and North Korea as the key nations which are noted with the production of weapons of mass destruction. The national security strategies in collaboration with quadrennial defense review have common objectives which includes; dealing with aggression, countering violent extremists, strengthening regional and international security and shaping the future force. This will encompass the use of both soft and hard power. These objectives held by the joint military forces are very critical in providing both the security as well as the required leadership in the United States of America. Seeking for regional and international integration will require the nation to use the soft power in order to gain populace approval. Soft power will be applied in the creation of partnership with the American allies. This will ultimately create a highway where the partnership will be used to effectively compete in a highly dynamic environment. Furthermore, the diplomatic efforts of the state leaders (use of soft power) combined with the military efforts (use of hard power) of maintaining peace in a persistent conflict environment will help to fight against menaces such as terrorism. The escalation of tension into conflict among nation states will also be reduced. This will be affected through the possession of resolving capabilities and the decisive military power of the American Joint forces. The strategy states that the power of the forces is not sufficiently enough to cater for a comprehensive leadership style. There is also advocating of deterrence principles in dealing with the extremists and the terrorists. Although this might not be effective, the plans that the security agencies formulate have a far reaching impacts to the American enemies. The renewed American military strategy of providing security to the people offers the modern approach to security in the 21st century. It denounces the exclusive application of force in achieving the interests of the state and embraces the most principled mechanisms. The use of force can however be adopted when all the other diplomatic mechanisms fail. It is worth noting that this approach to American security will attract a lot of peace and cohesion not only to the people of America but also from other nations. From the point of view of many people across the globe, America still stands a chance to be recognized as the most hegemonic power across the globe. This fact influences the way people across the nations of the earth perceive changes affected by America. It is expected that U.S.A is likely to influence a lot of citizens from most countries including those perceived as their enemies. This approach will create a great impact on enhancing peace, security and accountability at the international level. (Kruger, 2011 p.g. 4) In a nutshell the revolutionized American security strategy recognizes the application of principled leadership in the military intervention strategy with only a small allowance left for the use of force and coercion when diplomacy fails. (Kruger, 2011 p.g 3) The success of this strategy requires that the security forces of the state are integrated well with the Americas’ power structure to facilitate its effectiveness. American security agencies emphasize on the use of a more humble attitude with regards to other states relationships. Diplomacy is emphasized more and soft power such as foreign aid and less use of coercion and force. Works cited Nicholas R. Krueger. The 2011 National Military Strategy: Resetting a Strong Foundation, (2011.) National Military Strategy of The United States of America 2011. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/counterterrorism_strategy.pdf Read More