XIX Annual Strategy Conference: "Rebalancing the Instruments of National Power"

April 8-10, 2008
U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle, PA, United States
Open to the General Public
Registration Fee: $TBD

“Rebalancing the Instruments of National Power” will be the theme for the XIX Annual Strategy Conference at historic Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, PA. Beginning with a reception on the evening of April 8th, the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College will host this year’s conference, giving participants an opportunity to explore what is perhaps the most critical set of strategic issues facing the United States today, namely those related to what we actually do in response to and anticipation of the threats, challenges and opportunities posed by the extant and future international security environments.

The theme does not presuppose that an “imbalance” among those instruments presently exists. Rather, it reflects a core question at the heart of many current debates about strategy and security today: Are we as a country properly organized and equipped to conduct effective security strategy in the 21st century? If not, what do we need to do to address any gaps and shortcomings? If we are, how do we effectively coordinate, blend, and focus the instruments so as to achieve strategic success? Is the primary issue one of structure and process or is it perhaps more related to individuals and leadership? Through a combination of keynote addresses and panel presentations, this year’s Strategy Conference will explore such questions and stimulate debate and discussion. Panel topics and presentations will include: --the historical background for understanding --the national security architecture and how it forges and wields the instruments of national power; --the interagency process as a focus for change; --individuals and leadership as critical elements in blending the instruments; and --the political, fiscal, and practical challenges of getting the balance "right." Over the course of the two-day colloquium, participants will raise critical questions and identify key components of the way ahead for “getting strategy right” in the 21st century. But rather than focusing solely on organizational or institutional reform, this year’s Strategy Conference seeks to address the tools we need in order to conduct an effective security strategy, and the ways in which we can develop and apply them toward the pursuit of strategic objectives. Our goal is to produce a set of key questions and concrete actions that national security practitioners and opinion leaders need to know as we approach the end of the first decade of the new century.

Sponsors: Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College