The real competitive strength of the U.S. is in our [political and economic] system, particularly the interaction between the two. The politics generally keeps its hands off.
C. Richard Neu, former economist at RAND and U.S. Army War College Professor Joel Hillison return to the WAR ROOM studio for the second installment of our podcast series on economics and strategic leadership. “Preserving Peace Through Economic Strength” looks at the uneasy nexus between U.S. grand strategy and its economic instrument of power. While America’s strategic position is strong and has withstood challenges from other emerging powers for the past decade, it is because of a hands-off (rather than hands-on) approach toward its economic development. This has implications for economic stability both at home and abroad, and for America being able to use economic incentives to foster partnerships and influence opponents.
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C. Richard Neu is a Professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and a former senior economist at RAND. Joel Hillison is Professor of National Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Image Credit: Poster of then-Presidential Candidate McKinley’s campaign courtesy the National Archives. Background picture of cash from pexels.com (public domain). Image assembled by Tom Galvin.
