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Introduction: Navigating The Unknown, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Introduction: Navigating The Unknown, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. Hardly anyone had foreseen this event. When President Ronald Reagan had challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in June 1987 “to tear down this wall,” he never anticipated that Berliners themselves would have the opportunity and courage to bring about such dramatic change. We now know that the Wall came down as a result of accidental circumstances, a series of mistaken statements and understandings among officials of the German Democratic Republic. No one had planned for this to happen, and no one had plans to deal with a new landscape that might …
Conclusion: Strategy In A Murky World, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Conclusion: Strategy In A Murky World, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
Making national strategy is a byzantine business in the best of times. When dramatic events happen, when the international arena is complex and changing, when threats and opportunities are uncertain, leaders struggle to understand and react effectively. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the attacks of 9/11 opened vistas that were unfamiliar and complicated. How did U.S. leaders manage those transitions?
Introduction, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Introduction, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
For many Americans, the past decade has been a bewildering era. They have seen their country attacked and their husbands, sons, wives, and daughters sent to war in faraway places. They have read about orange alerts and red alerts. They have waited on long lines at airport security checks. They know that defense expenditures have soared and that Homeland Security has mushroomed. They have seen gruesome daily headlines about the carnage in Iraq, the strife in Afghanistan, and the turmoil in Pakistan. They read about the suicide attacks that were prevented or aborted in Europe, and they know, darkly, that …
Dilemmas Of Strategy, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Dilemmas Of Strategy, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
America’s crystal ball on strategy is murky. Officials in the next administration will face a complex world, will receive conflicting advice, and will need to mobilize domestic support for their policies. They must nonetheless act, most likely without the convenience of a single threat such as the Soviet Union during the cold war or terrorism in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In this conclusion, our aims are to highlight the decisive issues of consensus and contention that resonate across the chapters. We seek to delineate the trade-offs involved in making choices, and we hope to illuminate the national …
Constraining Ground Force Exercises Of Nato And The Warsaw Pact, Robert D. Blackwill, Jeffrey W. Legro
Constraining Ground Force Exercises Of Nato And The Warsaw Pact, Robert D. Blackwill, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
Confidence and security building measures (CSBMs) have long been the neglected stepchild of serious arms control analysis. Some view CSBMs as "arms control junk food," frivolous, unworkable, or even detrimental. Others are so enamored of the concept that they expect proposals to be accepted as prima facie desirable. After all, the very term "confidence and security" connotes stability and peace. The problem with both positions is often the dearth of hard analysis in support of the ideas put forward and the abstract nature of the discussions of "security building." As witnessed in the contrast between the quiet success of the …
Soviet Crisis Decision‐Making And The Gorbachev Reforms, Jeffrey W. Legro
Soviet Crisis Decision‐Making And The Gorbachev Reforms, Jeffrey W. Legro
Political Science Faculty Publications
The Soviet Union led by President Mikhail Gorbachev has widely heralded the adoption of a new military doctrine which posits war prevention as its fundamental goal. Yet, as Akhromeyev acknowledges in the above quote, a reliable defence, or preparation for war, is also essential. What is not acknowledged, let alone resolved, is that the two desired goals - prevention and preparation - may come into sharp conflict, especially in a super-power crisis. Prevention of war may make it necessary to defer actions which ready forces for battle or reduce their vulnerability. If war appears likely, however, pressures will arise to …