DA4305 The Political-Economy of Strategic Competition

The United States finds itself in a strategic landscape for which it is underprepared. In China, it faces a strategic peer with whom it is economically interdependent, but with whom it has significantly divergent political goals. This is unprecedented in the modern American experience; policy, strategy, and foundational models to navigate this environment are, therefore, lacking. This course is designed to provide context, critical analysis, and some intellectual tools to navigate this landscape.

The course addresses this pressing topic for military practitioners. It will do so in four parts.

1. Exploration of the essential challenge of autonomous political entities engaging in economic activity in an anarchic environment. This content will provide essential concepts for use throughout the course.
2. An examination of the political-economy of international security. This content will survey various theoretical frameworks that are used to model how actors pursue their goals on the international stage.
3. An examination of the political-economy of national security. This content will survey the grand strategic means by which nation-states mobilize resources to pursue their strategies.
4. An examination of the current environment and debate on the (potential) roles that the military component of national power may contribute to the political-economy of strategic competition

Prerequisite

Requires basic understanding of coercive bargaining in international relations.

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

0

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Objectives:

• ESR A: Strategy and Policy
• This course focuses on the grand strategic dynamics that (may) link the various instruments of power for national purpose. It provides both historical context and conceptual tools for understanding the tensions and trade-offs for cross-domain (security and economic) policy and strategy.
• ESR B: Competition and Conflict
• This course critically interrogates the line between competition and conflict. It does so by showing how economic interdependence may intermingle with coercive tools when political entities with divergent interests co-exist in an anarchic system.
• ESR D: Emerging Technologies and the Future of Warfare
• Emerging technologies continue to shape competition, coordination, and cooperation in the economic realm. This shifting technological landscape will be considered in light of contestation and potential conflict.
• ESR E: Formal Analytics, Problem Solving, and Design Applications
• The analysis of economics is deeply based on formal analytic tools and language. These will, by necessity, be explored as part of the course.
• By the end of this course, students will (a) be able to understand the dynamics of these issues up to the grand strategic level and will (b) be prepared to conduct effective planning around these topics at the operational level.