How should a strategist think about prevailing in a long-term competition with a geopolitical rival? One answer is the concept of competitive strategies, which was developed in the Department of Defense in the late Cold War period. It involves matching your own enduring strengths against an opponent’s weaknesses to gain advantage on a scale of several decades. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown and Director of the Office of Net Assessment Andrew Marshall took this approach with Competitive Strategies Initiative, investing in technologies and weapons systems that induced the Soviets to spend extraordinary sums in futile offsetting efforts. This book provides a theoretical, historical, and practical analysis of the process of using competitive strategies, as well as discussing how this approach might be used in competitions against terrorist networks in the Middle East and great power rivals like China.
Guiding Questions
- How has the United States historically exploited the political, economic, and military vulnerabilities of its adversaries to achieve long-term strategic advantage without resorting to direct military confrontation?
- How can the U.S. balance the execution of competitive strategies for both irregular warfare situations and when faced with rising great powers?