Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security

Front Cover
Basic Books, 2007 M03 9 - 336 pages
Our ideas about national security have changed radically over the last five years. It has become a political tool, a "wedge issue," a symbol of pride and fear. It is also the one issue above all others that can make or break an election. And this is why the Democratic Party has been steadily losing power since 2001. In Hard Power, Michael O'Hanlon, an expert on foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, and Kurt Campbell, an authority on international security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explain how the Democrats lost credibility on issues of security and foreign policy, how they can get it back -- and why they must. They recall the successful Democratic military legacy of past decades, as well as recent Democratic innovations -- like the Homeland Security Office and the idea of nation-building -- that have been successfully co-opted by the Republican administration. And, most importantly, they develop a broad national security vision for America, including specific defense policies and a strategy to win the war on terror.

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Contents

H A P T E R T W 0
47
CHAPTER THREE
75
H A P T E R F O U
119
HA P T E R FIVE
137
HA P T E R S IX
159
CHAPTER SEVEN
185
CHAPTER EIGHT
211
CONCLUSION
237
Notes
253
Index
291
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Kurt M. Campbell is chairman and chief executive officer of the Asia Group, LLC, and served as the assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State from 2009 to 2013. For his service, he received the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award -- the nation's highest diplomatic medal -- and has been recognized with top national honors across Asia.

He is chairman of the board at the Center for a New American Security, a non-resident fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center, on the board for Standard Chartered PLC, and is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group. Dr. Campbell is the author or editor of ten books, including Difficult Transitions: Why Presidents Fail in Foreign Policy at the Outset of Power and Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security. He is married to Dr. Lael Brainard, governor on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and former under secretary of Treasury for International Affairs. Together, they live in Washington, D.C. with their three daughters.

Michael O'Hanlon is a Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he has written books on defense strategy, arms control, and homeland security. He has contributed to numerous television programs and newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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