Routledge Global Security Studies

'Seventy years after America's national security institutions were formed in the wake of the Second World War, this book assesses their evolution and how they are holding up under today's challenges. The contributors' views will inform scholars and policy-makers alike and provoke debate on how best to retain our strategic advantage.'-- Ambassador Douglas Lute, US

'The disruptions of the early 21st Century are proving at least as challenging as those that led to the creation of the National Security Act over seventy years ago. This impressive volume is a must-read for any practitioner or scholar seeking to assess the durability of our current national security system, the conditions that might give rise to further change, and the prospects for successful reform.' - - Dr Kathleen Hicks, Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and Director, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA

'West Point's Senior Conference pulled together some of the most deeply thoughtful scholars and practitioners of American national security to kick the tires on the 1947 National Security Act and determine whether it's still road-worthy for the nation's needs. As a participant in the conversations, what struck me most was how the gravity of West Point's culture depoliticized debates, a rarity on these important issues in our polarized time. This terrific book conveys the most important intellectual contributions from those debates about the structure and processes of American national security -- it deserves a wide audience in classrooms, among policy practitioners, and our concerned citizens.'-- Dr Kori Schake, Deputy Director-General, International Institute for Strategic Studies, UK