Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, US Army, Retired and Daniel Deneisch

In the new global reality US security increases as global stability increases. Thus, in order to ensure the security of the United States, it is necessary to re-think the elements and instruments of US foreign policy. Traditionally the only elements of power are political, economic, and military. Sometimes a forth element of power is added to this list and it has been variously information, social-psychological and cultural power. What happened in the 1990’s may have been unique in that many more elements of power were brought to bear in the creation of global security. For the last five years, our dominant instrument of power has been military force. This has resulted in a rather narrow focus and a very limited set of instruments and responses available to deal with the complexities of the security challenges of today.

Current, Developing and Future Threats to US National Security

In the era of globalization, and all the cultural, technological, and economic changes that are taking place, a number of security challenges have been identified. Terrorism, preventing it, not just declaring war on it, is one of the biggest challenges. Non-State Actors (such as international groups like al-Qaida, international crime cartels, regional and religious extremists) are not just a part of the terrorist threat, but represent a challenge to the power of all nation states. Regional Challenger States such as North Korean and Iran are an increasing threat. As has been seen in the past with Afghanistan under the Taliban, such states can not only provides sanctuary for terrorists, they can threaten US interests and the interests of US allies in a geographic region. WMD was a significant component of national security policy during the Cold War. Today the issue is that not enough is being done to prevent the spread of the technology and the materials which enable the production of weapons of mass destruction. Cyber-criminals, (including cyber thieves, cyber terrorists, hackers, identity thieves) are under-appreciated for being the threat to national economic and cultural power. Pandemic disease such as HIV/AIDS and other demographic factors which are indicators of the likelihood of civil conflict threaten more than one third of all countries.¹

Identifying factors that indicate a high risk for political instability.

Despite optimistic predictions at the end of the Cold War, civil conflicts (conflicts within states) rose during the 1990s.² While analysts found many factors that contributed to a country’s vulnerability to civil conflict, it was the demographic connection that drew the attention of alert researchers. "Demographic Transition is the transformation of a population from conditions of short life expectancy and large families to long life expectancy and small families."³ For a state to be in this early stage of Demographic Transition means its fertility rate is higher leading to increasing population pressures on the institutions of its society, which can create political instability and increase the likelihood of civil conflict.

Other demographic risk factors that place a state at high risk are: rapid urbanization, competition for fresh water and cropland, and rapid changes in a population’s ethnic makeup.

Policies that help reduce risk

There are policies which help states through this unstable stage of demographic transition, and move to the next, less danger stages. The policies most needed are those which help reduce fertility. The first is family planning services. It is essential that women have access to services that allow them to control their fertility. Next is the economic development of women. The greater a woman's ability to earn money and contribute to the household’s wellbeing, the more control she will have over her own reproduction. Education of girls is very significant since girls receiving education are less likely to be married off by their families at a young age and therefore are more likely to economically powerful women. The next is the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS pandemic contributes to the stage in which there is a youth bulge which is prolonged not only by high birth rates, but high death rates. Societal pressures are increased as the trained professionals a society depends upon (doctors, government leaders, soldiers) succumb to the disease.

The new global reality requires a shift in the way the US conducts foreign policy

A fundamental shift in the way we deal with the rest of the world is required in the current global political climate. No longer can US unilateralism (the attitude of "we're the only super power and we know we're right and we do not care what the rest of the world thinks; we can do what we want.") be the guiding principle of our foreign policy.

Dr. Joseph Nye, Jr. provides an alternative, "Soft Power is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments. Soft power rises from the attractiveness of a country's culture, political ideals and policies."⁴ It is important not to dismiss this as just mere popularity; there are real political consequences if we do not find a better way to present us policy to the world. Strong anti-American feelings in a country inhibit the ability of other governments to cooperate with American goals be fear of losing power.

A shift toward the soft power approach will change the international political environment and will go a long way toward undoing much of the damage to America moral leadership.

Why this is Necessary

Defeating or preventing threats to US national security will not only take the best efforts of the United States, but the enthusiastic cooperation of the vast majority nations around the world. Further these threats are nontraditional ones such as: terrorism, non-state actors, regional challengers, WMD proliferation, cyber-criminals, AIDS pandemic. These are best resolved by promoting policies in at-risk countries through the early stage of demographic transition: family planning services, economic development of women, education of girls and HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Our future security rests on the people of foreign countries trusting in our good intentions, seeing us in a positive light and believing that our goals are compatible with their goals. It is a matter of what works in today’s world and it is in our best interest as a global leader.

¹ Cincotta, Richard P and Robert Engelman and Deaniele Anastasion 2003 National Security Demographic: Population Action International 20
² Cincotta, Richard P and Robert Engelman and Deaniele Anastasion 2003 National Security Demographic: Population Action International 20
³ Cincatta 2003 41
⁴ Joseph Nye, 2004 Soft Power and American Foreign Policy V 119(2):225-70

Greenwood Publishing Group is pleased to announce the launch of a new flagship imprint dealing with some of the most significant and controversial issues of our time: terrorism, security, and the military. Praeger Security International (PSI) is a bold initiative providing international, interdisciplinary, and politically diverse information on security studies in two dynamic formats--a traditional print program and a comprehensive, ever evolving website. PSI builds upon Praeger's extensive backlist of defense affairs and military history titles and Greenwood Press's key reference works on terrorism and international relations. "PSI will be completely media neutral, presenting high quality general interest and scholarly titles, references, texts, multi-volume collections, e-books, and online resources," explains PSI Editorial Director Heather Ruland Staines. "As an imprint, it will capitalize on research, analysis, and intense reader interest in the U.S. and abroad on key aspects of international security, from defense policy and strategic studies, to military history and irregular warfare, to regional security issues around the globe."

A Senior Advisory Board of internationally recognized practitioners, scholars, and policy makers will consult on the PSI editorial program. Current board members include:

• Paul Wilkinson: Co-Chair. Professor of International Relations and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews.
• Loch Johnson: Co-Chair. Regent's Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia.
• Anthony H. Cordesman: Arleigh A. Burke Chair of Strategy and Co-Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
• Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.): Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence on the Army Staff, the winner of the Living Legacy Patriot Award, and the first woman in the U.S. Army to be promoted to three-star rank.
• Eliot A. Cohen: Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies and Director of the Strategic Studies Program in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.
• Paul M. Kennedy: J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History and Director of International Security Studies at Yale University.
• Fareed Zakaria: Editor of Newsweek International, political analyst for ABC News, and host of PBS's "Foreign Exchange."
• Sir Michael Howard: President Emeritus of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Fellow of the British Academy.
• Robert J. O'Neill: Former Chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Officer in the Order of Australia, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Historical Society.
• Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski, USN (Ret.): Director of Force Transformation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (2001-2005) and the former President of the Naval War College.
• Thérèse Delpech: Director for Strategic Studies, Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Paris, member of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission, and member of the IISS Council.
• Jusuf Wanandi: Co-founder and member, Board of Trustees, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia.
• Shibley Telhami: Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institute.

"The Praeger Security International project is an exciting new development in security studies providing a highly original, genuinely independent and multidisciplinary program of scholarly work on security in flexible delivery format, expertly indexed and cross-searchable. This is a must for all serious libraries and institutes of security studies world-wide," says Co-Chair Paul Wilkinson. "The flexibility that comes with this combination of print and electronic scholarship ushers in a new era in publishing," adds Co-Chair Loch Johnson. "Security scholars and others interested in global politics will discover in PSI a treasure trove of international perspectives, a diversity of methodologies and theoretical insights, and an intellectual environment conducive to an exchange of ideas among students and researchers. "

PSI Print Publishing Program

PSI print titles will appeal to general readers, students ranging from advanced high school to graduate level, researchers, policy makers, military personnel, security specialists, and diplomats. This list will include both reference and narrative titles, in single volume formats and in multivolume sets. Highlights of the Fall 2005 inaugural list include: Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat, by Thomas Britt, Amy Adler, and Carl Andrew Castro; Securing America's Future, by Daniel Gerstein; and Terrorism, 2002-2004: A Chronology, by Edward Mickolus and Susan Simmons. The first several books under the PSI banner, including The Israeli-Palestinian War: Escalating to Nowhere, by Anthony Cordesman, was published in September.

PSI Online

Subscribers to PSI Online will have unlimited access to the entire Praeger international security collection--500-plus books by leadings authorities in the field--along with immediate access to all new PSI titles as they are published. In addition to the book content, a host of scholars, researchers, and professionals will provide monthly commentary on important events. PSI Online will also offer more than 1000 key primary documents, a professionally-maintained annotated bibliography of important publications, analyses of region-specific issues, and a world-wide chronology of terrorism events, all carefully indexed by a team of subject specialist librarians to enhance browsability and increase search result relevance.

An imprint that will be as politically diverse as it is multi-platformed, PSI will seek authors of diverse opinions. It will include the work of generals, spies, and munitions experts, but also of peace scholars and dedicated arms controllers, and will feature viewpoints from around the globe. A groundbreaking program, PSI is destined to become the first stop for students, teachers, researchers, and professionals in search of reliable, comprehensive information. It is an idea whose time has come, in light of the dramatic changes in the global security environment since 9/11/2001.

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Greenwood Publishing Group, a major educational, professional, and reference publisher since 1967, continues to grow and evolve. Greenwood Press, Praeger, Libraries Unlimited, and Heinemann continue to enrich and expand a catalog of 18,000 award-winning titles in the humanities, social sciences, education, and business. Whatever the imprint, the mission remains the same: to bring the best in print and electronic material to school, public, and academic libraries.