Adapting America's security paradigm and security agenda

More than half of the world's population lives in struggling and fragile states. Hundreds of armed groups, political movements, and extremists are competing for control of these territories, using irregular techniques. This current environment contrasts sharply with the kind of conflict and wars fought between states in the 20th century. The authors and contributors in this volume believe the 21st-century environment is substantially different; that trends discernible now will persist for decades; and there are gaps in U.S. security capabilities that need to be filled. While there's no universal agreement on these issues, the focus is on the specifics and likely persistence of the global environment, and the tools or capabilities that are needed to manage it. The National Strategy Information Center worked with creative senior practitioners from democracies around the world to identify key 21st century actors, their visions, strategic cultures, and techniques. NSIC also examined effective practices from U.S. and foreign experiences. This publication concludes that managing the complex dimensions of the 21st century security environment goes beyond force levels and firepower. The U.S. needs new or adapted capabilities to match the current environment, specifically: intelligence dominance focused on acquiring and operating with local knowledge; security, stability, and rule/culture of law teams which are trained to assist local leaders in fostering stability, development, and rule of law principles; military units, organized and trained to address the full spectrum of irregular challenges; strategic communication integrated with policy implementation; and coalition builders: skilled professionals forging cooperation among local leaders.