Strategy Session

The big foreign-policy story this week is the release of the Obama administration’s new National Security Strategy, and FP‘s got it covered. You can find analysis of the document on the site from Cable guy Josh Rogin, Shadow Government’s Peter Feaver and Will Inboden, as well as Daniel Drezner, and Marc Lynch. Rather than jump on top of that extremely qualified pile, I thought I’d take a look at some other countries’ official national-security strategies to see how they compare. With an assist from the U.S. National Defense Library website, I took a quick look at the doctrinal statements from Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Japan, and Russia.

Nearly all of these documents include some variation of the phrases “since the end of the Cold War,” “increasingly interconnected world,” and “international landscape has been transformed.” So all of us agree the world is changing, but how to deal with it remains a matter of some contention. 

Of course, a country’s “National Security Strategy” tells you very little about its national-security strategy. Defense policy is generally very reactive — a terrorist attack or the sinking of a ship can change strategic priorities in a matter of minutes. But these documents do tell us something about how countries seek to present themselves to both domestic and international audiences, and they’re certainly worth paying attention to. 

CHINA

Document: China’s National Defense

Released:  January 2009

Money quote: “China will never seek hegemony or engage in military expansion now or in the future, no matter how developed it becomes.” 

Takeaway: We want to be friends, but please stop annoying us. China’s National Defense white paper heavily emphasizes Beijing’s desire for a “peaceful rise” and touts the success of international negotiations with countries like Iran and North Korea. But it’s also not afraid to point fingers — calling out the U.S. for selling arms to Taiwan, for example, and attacking separatist movements in Tibet and Xinjiang. Overall, the paper seems to treat a number of ongoing standoffs as settled matters, arguing, for instance, that “the attempts of the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence” … have been thwarted.”

RUSSIA

Document: The Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation

Released: February 5, 2010

Money quote: “Many regional conflicts remain unresolved. There is a continuing tendency towards a strong-arm resolution of these conflicts, including in regions bordering on the Russian Federation. The existing international security architecture (system), including its international-legal mechanisms, does not ensure equal security for all states.”

Takeaway: Keep your damn NATO to yourself. This document updated a previous edition from 2000, issued right at the start of Vladimir Putin’s presidency. The new version is clearly influenced by the 2008 war with Georgia and much of it can be read as a warning to Western countries to stay out of Russia’s near abroad. For instance, in the list of “main external military dangers,” the authors list NATO expansion first. Terrorism is tenth. The report also states that the Russian military is obliged to “ensure the protection of its citizens located beyond the borders of the Russian Federation” — an expanded category since Russia began handing out passports in places like Ukraine’s Crimea region.

BRAZIL

Document: National Strategy of Defense 

Released: December 18, 2008

Money quote: “The national strategy of defense is inseparable from the national strategy of
development. The latter drives the former. The former provides shielding to the latter.
Each one reinforces the other’s reasons.”

Takeaway: Brazil: a new kind of growing superpower. The Brazilian document, like China’s, tries to sell the idea of an emerging power that’s not looking for any fights. But unlike the Chinese, the Brazilians avoid pointing fingers or rehashing grudges. The strategy emphasizes military readiness, border security, protecting the Amazon region, and preparing troops for peacekeeping missions, but gives away very little in terms of international ambitions. As with Russia and India, the Brazilian document avoids mentioning other countires in the region by name, referring vaguely to promoting “South American integration.” Unique among the documents I looked at, it makes no reference to the international fight against terrorism. All in all, it reads more like the strategy statement of an international development NGO than a military doctrine.

INDIA

Document:  The Indian Army Doctrine

Released: October 2004

Money quote: “[India] is engaged in an externally abetted proxy war for the last several years in Jammu and Kashmir and has been combating terrorism perpetuated by militant and terrorist groups sponsored by a foreign State.”

Takeaway: We must remain vigilant against the many threats from a certain country to the northwest. India’s army doctrine never mentions Pakistan by name, but the focus is pretty clear from its emphasis on combating foreign-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and the risk of loose nukes in the region. The doctrine is heavily influenced by ideas about cyberwarfare and the Revolution in Military Affairs that were very much in fasion in 2004, when it was written. The Indian Army is currently working on creating a new doctrine that will emphasize preparing for a possible “two-front war” against China and Pakistan, which are becoming close allies. Another unusual thing about India’s document are the quotes from religious texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Koran sprinkled throughout.

JAPAN

Document: Defense of Japan (Annual White Paper)

Released: July 2009

Money quote: “The roles of military forces are diversifying beyond deterrence and armed conflicts to include a broad spectrum of activities from conflict prevention to reconstruction assistance. Moreover, unified responses that incorporate military as well as diplomatic, police, judicial, information and economic measures are becoming necessary.”

Takeaway: We’ve thought of everything. Given that Japan is constitutionally barred from going to war, you might think the country’s national-defense strategy would be pretty simple, but the thing is massive, sprawled out over more than 40 pdf files on the Defense Ministry’s website and including detailed summaries of other countries’ national-security strategies. Tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait get a lot of attention, of course. The document also highlights the importance of Japanese participation in Iraq and Afghanistan for the “maintenance of the peace” and “enhancing Japan’s credibility.” Overall, given Japan’s relatively light military footprint around the world, the document is remarkably comprehensive.

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Document: A Secure Europe in a Better World: European Security Strategy

Released: December 12, 2003

Money quote: “The violence of the two world wars that marked the first half of the twentieth century has given way to a period of peace, stability and prosperity unprecedented in European history. The creation of the European Union has been central to this development. European countries are now committed to dealing peacefully with disputes and to cooperating through common institutions.”

Takeaway: Keep it short and vague. Clocking in at under 1,300 words, the European Security Strategy is really more of a statement of principles — countering threats like terrorism, failed states, and organized crime by strengthening multilateral institutions. In all, it’s a document aimed at emphasizing areas of agreement without getting bogged down in the details. Of course, those looking to get bogged down in the details can always check out the far more dense Common Foreign and Security Policy in the European Constitution.