Speed Kills: Analyzing the Deployment of Conventional Ballistic Missiles

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce M. Sugden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ballistic Missiles ◽  
Target Set ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Nuclear Response

Should the United States deploy conventional ballistic missiles (CBMs) in support of the prompt global strike (PGS) mission? Most important, do the political-military benefits outweigh the risks of CBM deployment? The United States, if it works to mitigate the risk of misperception and an inadvertent nuclear response, should deploy near-term CBMs in support of the PGS mission. The prompt response of CBMs would likely be sufficient to defeat many time-sensitive, soft targets, provided actionable intelligence was available. Near-term CBMs, those options capable of being deployed prior to 2013, would have the required attributes to defeat their targets: payload flexibility, throw weight, and accuracy. More specifically, the U.S. Navy's Conventional Trident Modification is a cost-effective, near-term PGS option that would mitigate the concerns of CBM opponents. The large-scale use of midterm and long-term CBMs against mobile targets and hard and deeply buried targets, however, will require a wider range of technologies that have yet to mature. Thus, the United States should continue investing in research and development for a broad portfolio of PGS options to cover the emerging target set.

Planning or Improvisation

2020 ◽  
pp. 116-120
Author(s):  
Alasdair Roberts
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Governance Strategies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Imperfect Knowledge

This chapter assesses the role of planning in the design of governance strategies. Enthusiasm for large-scale planning—also known as overall, comprehensive, long-term, economic, or social planning—boomed and collapsed in twentieth century. At the start of that century, progressive reformers seized on planning as the remedy for the United States' social and economic woes. By the end of the twentieth century, enthusiasm for large-scale planning had collapsed. Plans could be made, but they were unlikely to be obeyed, and even if they were obeyed, they were unlikely to work as predicted. The chapter then explains that leaders should make plans while being realistic about the limits of planning. It is necessary to exercise foresight, set priorities, and design policies that seem likely to accomplish those priorities. Simply by doing this, leaders encourage coordination among individuals and businesses, through conversation about goals and tactics. Neither is imperfect knowledge a total barrier to planning. There is no “law” of unintended consequences: it is not inevitable that government actions will produce entirely unexpected results. The more appropriate stance is modesty about what is known and what can be achieved. Plans that launch big schemes on brittle assumptions are more likely to fail. Plans that proceed more tentatively, that allow room for testing, learning, and adjustment, are less likely to collapse in the face of unexpected results.

Improving Economic Opportunity in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-89
Author(s):  
Jared Bernstein
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Opportunity ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Regressive Tax ◽  
Investments In Children ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Work Supports

This chapter examines barriers to economic opportunity and mobility in the United States and offers near- and long-term policies to reduce these barriers. These barriers include high levels of income inequality, unequal access to educational opportunities, residential segregation by income, inadequate investments in children and certain areas, and disparities between economic conditions in rural relative to metro areas. In the near-term, running tight labor markets, infrastructure investment, direct job creation, healthcare and other work supports, and apprenticeships could reduce these barriers. Longer term solutions invoke policy interventions targeting inequality, inadequate housing, income and wage stagnation, nutritional and health support, the criminal justice system, and educational access. It is also crucial to avoid policies that keep opportunity barriers in place, such as reducing the provision of public healthcare, regressive tax cuts, and budget cuts to programs that help low- and moderate-income families.

The Future of Order

2020 ◽  
pp. 228-244
Author(s):  
Kyle M. Lascurettes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Order ◽  
First Century ◽  
Relative Power ◽  
The Future ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Near Term

Chapter 9 (“The Future of Order”) reviews the empirical findings of the book and discusses their implications for the study of international relations. It then leverages these findings to address the two most important questions for international order in the twenty-first century: In the near term, what changes to the existing liberal order will the United States advocate as it continues to decline in relative power? And in the long term, what is its projected hegemonic successor, China, likely to do with the existing order when it finds itself in a position to fundamentally recast its underlying principles?

Home on Sunday, Home on Tuesday? Secular Political Participation in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-363
Author(s):  
Mark Brockway
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sharp Rise ◽  
Political Impact ◽  
Religious Landscape

AbstractThe American religious landscape is transforming due to a sharp rise in the percentage of the population that is nonreligious. Political and demographic causes have been proffered but little attention has been paid to the current and potential political impact of these “nones,” especially given the established link between religion, participation, and party politics. I argue that the political impact of nonreligious Americans lies in an unexplored subset of the nonreligious population called committed seculars. Committed seculars de-identify with religion, they adopt secular beliefs, and join organizations structured on secular beliefs. Using a unique survey of a secular organization, the American Humanist Association, I demonstrate that committed seculars are extremely partisan and participatory, and are driven to participate by their ideological extremity in relation to the Democratic Party. These results point to a long-term mobilizing dimension for Democrats and indicate the potential polarizing influence of seculars in party politics.

scholarly journals The Iranian-American competition in Iraq: the political defeat of the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Nikolay Bobkin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Scientific Hypothesis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Political Advantage ◽  
Invasion Of Iraq

The article gives an assessment of Iran's policy in neighboring Iraq during the years of the American occupation. The author's scientific hypothesis is that after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iran, and not America, became the real beneficiary of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. The Iranian leadership, interested in changing the Baathist regime in Baghdad, having received such a strategic gift, did everything to use the US military presence to its advantage. The purpose of this study is to analyze the strategy of expanding Iran's influence in Iraq and its impact on US policy. The article shows that the nature of Iran's influence in Iraq included all the elements of state power: diplomatic, informational, military and economic. It is concluded that Tehran managed to take advantage of the democratic reforms in Iraq, which were carried out under the control of Washington. Iran used its Shiite henchmen, which gave it a political advantage over the United States, which did not have such influential allied forces in Iraq. Despite the disparate balance of military forces with America, Iran managed to avoid the risk of war with the United States and move on to achieving its long-term goals in Iraq. In the future, Tehran plans to achieve the rejection of Baghdad from constructive relations with Washington.

scholarly journals Investment Priorities of France in Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 128-136
Author(s):  
Egor Yumaev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Restricted Range ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Local Manufacturing

One of the main conditions for the Russian economy transition to growth rates above the global average is large-scale investment. The so-called «smart investments» are important for the accelerated economic development of Russia. Only a restricted range of states is a source of «smart investment». France is among them and it is a long-standing economic partner of Russia. French business implements long-term projects in Russia. After the economic sanctions being introduced, not a single company has left Russia; however, new investors do not come from France, and the operating investors evaluate the prospects for continuing work very carefully. As there is the economic sanctions mode, lending agencies in France, being afraid of losing their business in the United States, refuse to finance projects in Russia, even if they are not included into the sanctions list. Local manufacturing content of French companies still does not cover a wide range of areas in Russia, being limited mainly to agriculture. Compared to French, Russia’s investment contribution to France is disproportionately small. The article examines the factors determining the direct investment of France in Russia; the current investment agenda of French business in Russia; identifies the prospects for France’s investment participation in the Russian economy

scholarly journals The Development of the US National Missile Defense and its Impact on the International Security

2015 ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
J. Yu. Parshkova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
International Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ballistic Missile ◽  
Missile Defense ◽  
Ballistic Missiles ◽  
The Us ◽  
National Missile Defense

The article reflects the US officials' point of view on the development of its national missile defense. The major threat to international security is the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. The United States and the former Soviet Union made huge efforts to reduce and limit offensive arms. However, presently the proliferation of ballistic missiles spreads all over the world, especially in the Middle East, because of the ballistic missile technology falling into the hands of hostile non-state groups. Missile defenses can provide a permanent presence in a region and discourage adversaries from believing they can use ballistic missiles to coerce or intimidate the U.S. or its allies. With the possible attack regional missile defense systems will be promptly mobilized to enhance an effective deterrent. The ultimate goal of such large-scale missile defense deployment is to convince the adversaries that the use of ballistic missiles is useless in military terms and that any attack on the United States and its allies is doomed to failure. The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with a number of allies, including United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many others. The Missile Defense Agency also actively participates in NATO activities to maximize opportunities to develop an integrated NATO ballistic missile defense capability. The initiative of the development of US BMD naturally belongs to the United States. That country has enormous technological, financial, economic, military and institutional capabilities, exceeding by far those of the other NATO members combined.

Recommendations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub J. Grygiel ◽  
A. Wess Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Direct Costs

This concluding chapter offers recommendations for how the United States can revitalize its credibility and capabilities of itself and its allies. Indeed, U.S. policy should seek to restore American credibility and thus the strength of their alliances. A strategy to visibly strengthen alliances would offer the most immediate path to countering rivals' efforts at opportunistic revisionism because it would address probes at their intended source: allied perceptions of American confidence and power. Doing so will not be easy, since U.S. alliances are being tested not only from the outside, but from the inside. However, such a strategy would be more cost-effective over the long term than either of the main strategic alternatives: seeking a grand bargain with principal rivals or attempting to reduce the direct costs of U.S. leadership by pursuing a strategy of offshore balancing.

The Political Economy of the Origins of the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States

1985 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Baack ◽  
Edward Ray
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War I ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
The Military

Despite the attention given by scholars to the military-industrial complex few studies have attempted to pinpoint and explain its origin. In this paper we argue that the coalescing of business, military, and political interest groups in support of a military build-up in the United States during peacetime occurred in the years between the Civil War and World War I. It was during this period that we observe the roots of institutional arrangements between the military and industry for the purpose of large-scale weapons acquisitions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document