National Security Strategy of the United States (2022)

Source: The White House Date: October 2022

The 2022 National Security Strategy of the United States, released by the Biden-Harris Administration, outlines a strategy to advance US interests and lead the world in an era of intense geopolitical competition and shared transnational challenges.

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Key Pillars of the Strategy

• Investing in America’s Strength: The strategy emphasizes that the foundation of American power abroad is its strength and resilience at home. It calls for investments in the US industrial and innovation base, its workforce, and its democratic institutions.

• Building the Strongest Possible Coalition of Nations: The strategy prioritizes strengthening and modernizing the US network of alliances, particularly NATO, and building new coalitions to address specific challenges. It aims to create a “latticework” of alliances and partnerships to advance a common vision for a free, open, and secure world.

• Modernizing and Strengthening the Military: The strategy calls for a modern, lethal, and agile military that is prepared for the era of strategic competition. It introduces the concept of “integrated deterrence,” which involves using all instruments of national power, in concert with allies, to deter aggression.

Strategic Competition

The strategy identifies two key strategic challenges:

• The People’s Republic of China: China is identified as the “only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” The strategy aims to “out-compete” China in key areas.

• Russia: Russia is identified as an immediate and ongoing threat to the international security environment. The strategy aims to “constrain” a dangerous Russia.

Shared Challenges

The strategy recognizes that even in an era of competition, cooperation is necessary to address shared challenges such as climate change, pandemics, food insecurity, and nuclear proliferation.

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The 2022 National Security Strategy frames the current era as a “decisive decade” and argues that the actions taken now will shape the future of the international order. It seeks to position the United States to win the competition for the future, while also managing the risks of a more dangerous and unpredictable world.