At the Speed of Irrelevance

CHAPTER 3The Containment Strategy

BRIAN D. BLANKENSHIP AND Benjamin Denison study the great-power competition dynamics at Miami University and Tufts, respectively. After significant research on the Trump administration's claim that America is now fully embracing the GPC policy and the required capabilities and attributes of a credible player, they concluded that America is nowhere close to having a legitimate and well-thought-out comprehensive policy to be an effective competitor. If it is indeed a competition, American is not ready. Blankenship and Denison conclude:

We contend that many of the long-term trends shaping America's power base, along with the Trump administration's domestic and foreign policies, are working against the United States' ability to successfully engage in the kind of great-power strategic competition being envisioned in the NDS and NSS. With a fiscal policy that has been dominated by tax cuts more than investment in physical and human infrastructure; stagnant military budgets lacking in robust investment in modernization and future capabilities; and a foreign policy that has alienated core allies and fostered distrust of American leadership among US strategic partners, efforts to pursue the goals of the NSS and NDS are unlikely to succeed. (Blankenship and Denison 2019)

While recognizing the deficiency, Blankenship and Denison draw out a battle plan for what it takes to be a true player. The plan had an internal and an external rebalancing actions. ...