The US National Security Strategy in 6 points – Geopolitics with Alex Stubb

Summary

In this episode of 'Geopolitics with Alex,' the U.S. National Security Strategy, a 50-page document from October, is discussed. Alex provides a detailed summary, emphasizing the document's six main points. The strategy outlines America's intent to lead globally, engage with allies, and address strategic competition, particularly with China. It highlights a new international order shaped by competition and cooperation, focusing on shared challenges like climate, health, and security. The document underscores the U.S. commitment to alliances, modernization, and a prosperous, secure world order.

Takeaways

• 📜 The U.S. National Security Strategy, published in October, is a 50-page document that outlines America's current foreign policy and strategic goals.
• 🌐 The document is straightforward and transparent, emphasizing America's leadership role and engagement on the global stage.
• 🇺🇸 The strategy highlights the importance of alliances, especially with Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, to counter threats from Russia and China.
• 🏛️ America aims to lead with values, promoting a world that is free, open, prosperous, and secure.
• 🗺️ The document identifies two main strategic challenges: the competition for a new international order post-Cold War and the need for cooperation on transnational issues like food security and climate change.
• 🤝 The U.S. seeks coalitions with countries that share its values while acknowledging that it won't shape the world entirely in its image.
• 🔍 China is viewed as the most consequential geopolitical challenge, while Russia is described as reckless, particularly in its actions in Ukraine.
• 🌎 The U.S. strategy involves investing in power and influence, building coalitions, and modernizing its military to maintain global leadership.
• 📈 The six pillars of the strategy include no dividing line between foreign and domestic policy, alliances, the challenge of China, broad engagement globally, rethinking globalization, and finding partners who share the U.S. vision.
• 🎯 Global priorities include out-competing China and Russia, supporting Ukraine, preventing nuclear escalation, and addressing traditional transnational problems.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the U.S. National Security Strategy document discussed in the video?

The main focus of the U.S. National Security Strategy document is to outline the strategic approach of the United States in addressing national security concerns, particularly emphasizing competition with China and Russia, alliances with Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and the promotion of a free, open, prosperous, and secure international order.

Why does the speaker recommend reading the U.S. National Security Strategy document?

The speaker recommends reading the U.S. National Security Strategy document because it provides a comprehensive and direct picture of America's current geopolitical thinking, as articulated by the Biden administration, and is useful for anyone interested in geopolitics and global politics.

How does the document describe the current global landscape?

The document describes the current global landscape as being at an inflection point, with vital interests of the United States at stake, and characterized by geopolitical competition and shared challenges.

What is the general approach of the U.S. as outlined in the document?

The general approach of the U.S. is to take the lead in global affairs, engage with allies and partners, and address strategic competition, particularly with China, while promoting values such as democracy, openness, prosperity, and security.

What does the document say about the competition between the U.S. and China?

The document states that there is a strategic competition between the U.S. and China, with China challenging the international order as we know it. This competition is expected to shape the new international order.

How does the document address the relationship between domestic and foreign policy?

The document emphasizes that there is no dividing line between foreign and domestic policy, indicating that domestic policy is integral to the overall strategic approach of the United States.

What are the key pillars of the U.S. National Security Strategy?

The key pillars of the U.S. National Security Strategy include: alliances and partnerships, competition with China, broad engagement in global affairs, modernizing and strengthening the military, promoting globalization with a focus on beyond traditional free trade agreements, and finding partners who share the U.S. vision of the world.

How does the document describe Russia's role in the current global order?

The document describes Russia as a reckless power that rejects the post-Cold War order and poses a significant challenge to global security, particularly through its actions in Ukraine.

What are the global priorities of the U.S. according to the document?

The global priorities of the U.S. include out-competing China and Russia, cooperating on issues like the economy, climate, and health, supporting Ukraine, strengthening NATO, and addressing traditional transnational problems such as terrorism, organized crime, and corruption.

What does the document say about the future rules on technology and cyber issues?

The document emphasizes the importance of establishing future rules on technology, cyber issues, trade, and the economy, noting that decisions made in these areas will have long-term ramifications.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Overview of U.S. National Security Strategy

The episode introduces the U.S. National Security Strategy, a 50-page document released in October, emphasizing its significance in understanding current American geopolitical thinking. The document includes a preface by President Joe Biden, using strong language about global inflection points, vital U.S. interests, and geopolitical competition. The summary will cover an introduction, six key points, and a conclusion.

05:02

🇺🇸 America's Approach to Global Leadership

The first point discusses America's general approach to global leadership, emphasizing continued engagement and leadership in contrast to the Trump administration. It highlights a strategic competition with China, the necessity of alliances, and the promotion of values like democracy and security. America seeks to lead with allies sharing common values and interests, aiming for a world that is free, open, prosperous, and secure.

10:02

🛡️ Competition and Future International Order

The second point covers the strategic competition shaping the future international order. It describes the current decade as decisive, marking the end of the post-Cold War era and the emergence of a new period. The U.S. aims to maintain a liberal world order while addressing shared transnational challenges such as food security, pandemics, and terrorism. This competition requires cooperation on global issues despite strategic rivalries.

15:04

🌐 U.S. Position and Global Coalitions

The third point examines the U.S. position and its efforts to build coalitions with countries sharing its values. The focus is on maintaining alliances with Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and other regions, countering the influence of China and Russia. The document highlights the challenges posed by these competitors and the importance of cooperation to address transnational issues, aiming to prevent competition from escalating into conflict.

🔍 Overview of U.S. Strategic Approach

The fourth point provides an overview of the U.S. strategic approach, aiming for a free, open, prosperous, and secure international order. It emphasizes investing in power and influence, building coalitions, and modernizing the military. The U.S. seeks to promote universal rights, open rule-making, raising global living standards, and ensuring security from aggression and coercion.

🗝️ Key Pillars of U.S. National Security Strategy

The fifth point outlines the six key pillars of the U.S. National Security Strategy: 1) Integrating foreign and domestic policy, 2) Strengthening alliances and partnerships, 3) Addressing the geopolitical challenge posed by China, 4) Engaging broadly beyond geopolitical competition, 5) Emphasizing the benefits of globalization while moving beyond traditional free trade agreements, and 6) Finding global partners sharing the U.S. vision. These pillars reflect the U.S. commitment to global engagement and competition.

🌎 Global Priorities and Future Vision

The final point highlights the global priorities of the U.S., focusing on out-competing China and Russia while cooperating on economy, climate, and health issues. It stresses the importance of shaping future rules on technology, cyber, trade, and economy. The conclusion reflects on the document's comprehensive overview of U.S. security and political thinking, emphasizing the shift towards a multipolar world and the necessity of international cooperation.

Keywords

💡National Security Strategy

The National Security Strategy is a comprehensive document outlining a country's approach to ensuring its security and promoting its interests globally. In the video, it refers to the U.S. strategy published in October, which provides insights into America's geopolitical stance and plans under President Joe Biden's administration. The strategy is essential for understanding America's current priorities and approaches to international relations.

💡Geopolitical Competition

Geopolitical competition refers to the strategic rivalry between nations for global influence and power. In the context of the video, it highlights the ongoing competition between the United States and China, which the document identifies as a critical factor shaping the new international order. The strategy underscores this competition's impact on global politics and America's approach to maintaining its leadership.

💡Strategic Competitor

A strategic competitor is a nation or entity that poses a significant challenge to another's strategic interests and objectives. In the video, China is identified as the most consequential geopolitical challenge to the U.S., emphasizing the competitive nature of their relationship. This concept is crucial for understanding the U.S. approach to foreign policy and its efforts to outmaneuver China.

💡International Order

International order refers to the set of rules, norms, and institutions that govern international relations and ensure global stability. The video discusses how the U.S. National Security Strategy views the current international order as being challenged by China, which seeks to reshape it. This concept is central to the strategy's emphasis on maintaining a world that is free, open, prosperous, and secure.

💡Alliances and Partnerships

Alliances and partnerships are cooperative agreements between countries to achieve common goals and enhance mutual security. In the video, the U.S. strategy stresses the importance of working closely with traditional allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific to address global challenges and counter adversaries like Russia and China. This concept highlights the collaborative approach the U.S. plans to take in its foreign policy.

💡Transnational Challenges

Transnational challenges are issues that cross national borders and require cooperative international efforts to address. The video mentions several such challenges, including food security, pandemics, terrorism, energy, and inflation. Addressing these challenges is a key part of the U.S. strategy, which recognizes the need for global cooperation even amidst geopolitical competition.

💡Free, Open, Prosperous, and Secure

These four adjectives describe the ideal state of the international order as envisioned by the U.S. National Security Strategy. 'Free' refers to universal rights and freedoms, 'open' means inclusive rule-making, 'prosperous' indicates rising living standards globally, and 'secure' denotes freedom from aggression and intimidation. The strategy aims to achieve these conditions through leadership and coalition-building.

💡Liberal World Order

The liberal world order is a global system characterized by democratic governance, free markets, and rule-based international relations. The video describes how the U.S. strategy aims to sustain this order amidst challenges from countries like China and Russia. This concept is pivotal in understanding the U.S.'s efforts to promote democracy and counter authoritarian influences.

💡Cold War

The Cold War was a period of intense geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, which shaped much of the 20th century's international relations. In the video, the end of the Cold War is discussed as a turning point, leading to a new era of competition. Understanding this historical context is important for grasping the shifts in U.S. security strategies.

💡Global Priorities

Global priorities refer to the main areas of focus for a nation's foreign policy. The U.S. strategy outlined in the video prioritizes out-competing China and Russia, supporting international cooperation on issues like climate and health, and shaping future technological and economic rules. These priorities guide the U.S.'s international actions and partnerships.

Highlights

The U.S. national security strategy is a 50-page document published in October that provides insight into the current administration's geopolitical stance.

The document is introduced by President Joe Biden and uses strong language about the world being at an inflection point and the vital interests of the United States.

Unlike previous administrations, the current strategy is straightforward and direct, clearly outlining America's foreign policy objectives.

The strategy emphasizes that the U.S. aims to lead but will do so with cooperation from allies and partners who share its values.

Strategic competition, particularly with China, is a key theme, and the document asserts that this competition will shape the new international order.

The strategy advocates for leading with values and aligning with allies that share American interests, emphasizing a free, open, prosperous, and secure world.

The U.S. aims to build strong alliances in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region to counter threats from Russia and China.

The strategy acknowledges the end of the post-Cold War era, describing the current period as a decisive decade for shaping the future international order.

The U.S. seeks to maintain a liberal world order with norms and rules, despite recognizing shared transnational challenges like food security, disease, and terrorism.

America's position involves forming coalitions with like-minded countries and addressing global challenges cooperatively.

The strategy describes Russia as a reckless power and China as a significant competitor, emphasizing the need to prevent competition from escalating into conflict.

Transnational challenges, such as climate change, energy, and health, are highlighted as areas where global cooperation is necessary.

The U.S. aims to invest in power and influence, build coalitions, and modernize and strengthen its military.

The six key pillars of the strategy include the integration of foreign and domestic policy, alliances and partnerships, competition with China, broad engagement, nuanced globalization, and finding partners globally.

The document outlines global priorities, including out-competing China and Russia while cooperating on transnational issues like climate and health.

The strategy treats the European Union as a single entity and emphasizes the importance of shaping future rules on technology, cyber, trade, and the economy.

The U.S. national security strategy provides a comprehensive overview of America's geopolitical thinking and commitments in 2022.

Transcripts

foreign

Welcome to our next episode The

geopolitics with Alex and today we will

actually be tackling the U.S national

security strategy which is basically a

50-page document that was published in

October I warmly recommend for anyone

who is interested in geopolitics and

global politics at the moment to read

that document because it gives a really

good picture of what America is thinking

at the moment and namely of course the

administration of President Joe Biden

now if you don't want to read it you

should probably stay online and listen

to how I summarize the actual document

and I'll do it by giving you a little

bit of an introduction and then six

points and the conclusion which

basically outlines the content of of the

document first of all the document

Itself by way of introduction has a

preface by Joe Biden and it it uses a

lot of very strong language about the

world being at an inflection point about

the vital interests of the United States

and about

geopolitical competition and and and

shared challenges it sort of sets the

scene of how the president actually

views the document and the world I

actually think that it's a very open and

direct document I've been involved

myself when in Finland we were doing

similar security political assessments

and we sort of always had to be quite

quiet quite sort of careful with the

types of language that we wanted to use

you know we'd have okay what are we

going to say on NATO what are we going

to say on the European Union what are we

going to say on Russia what are we going

to say on on the U.S so by way of

contrast I think this is very much a

straightforward and you don't really

have to second guess

what America is thinking when it comes

to foreign policy so here we go uh what

are the six points the the first one

is what I call a general uh approach so

what is the general American approach

and you'll see that there's going to be

a lot of repetition because these types

of documents have a tenders to be a

little bit repetitive but the starting

point that I see is is that you know

America still wants to take the lead and

it is very much engaged so unlike

perhaps what we saw with the Trump

Administration where there was very much

you know coming back home uh this one is

that America needs to show leadership

and it needs to be engaged at the same

time it's probably more humble than

these types of documents have been in

the past in the sense that it doesn't

suggest that it will lead by itself it

says that it will lead will those that

want to cooperate

It also says very straightforward that

strategic competition

is about to shape the new international

order so it says that there is a

strategic competition and I'll talk

about it a lot today it is a competition

between the United States and China and

China is challenging the international

order as we know it and this will shape

the international order

it also says that America wants to lead

with values it says that it wants to

lead with the Allah allies that have

shared interest with the United States

so it very much puts values and

interests in the same basket and I I

would argue that this comes obviously

from The Narrative that the U.S has been

pushing for the past few years that

we've entered a world with really two

polls democracy and autocracy I

personally think the world is a little

bit more complicated than that but I

think it's very much with the line of of

the document so wants to see a world

that is and I quote free open prosperous

and secure now in order to achieve a

world which is free open prosperous and

secure it argues that it has two

alliances or uh sets of allies that it

wants to work with very closely one is

the traditional one Europe and the other

one is the in the Pacific so these are

the sort of strategic players that

America wants to deal with and the

obvious reason is that there's a link to

Russia and to China so in Europe the

link is to Russia and containing Russia

and defeating Russia in in the war

against Ukraine and then in the in the

Pacific it's about containing uh China

and in many ways I would argue and I

think the document puts it quite right

that this is really a a 360 degree

strategy coming from the United States

now Point number two

uh

competition for what comes next so this

is along the lines of that we're seeing

a a strategic competition to shape the

future International order uh and and

the argument here is that this is very

much a decisive decade because the

argument is that the post-cold War era

is now over you know we had our 30 years

of Holiday from 1989 or 1991 depends on

where you think that the Cold War ended

and and the document makes the case that

that error is now over so history didn't

end not all 200 nation states in the

world reverted to democracy and uh

social market economy and globalization

and now something new is emerging it's

sort of an interim or interregnum period

an in-between period that we're looking

at but the document argues that that

this is a decisive decade about which

way the world is going to tilt the

document also says that we really have

two strategic challenges

the the one is that the Cold War is Over

and there'll be competition about who

dominates after this and of course the

Americans want to continue the liberal

world order with norms and rules the

Second Challenge is that that there is

this competition but at the same time

everyone realizes that hey we do have

shared transnational or cross-border

challenges that we have to deal with

together they are food security disease

or pandemics terrorism

energy and inflation so on one hand you

compete but on the other hand you

realize that you you have to cooperate

Point number three or key Point number

three of of this document and where does

the United States send position itself

right because this is a thing that you

know we keep on looking at we're talking

here about you know uh a superpower

especially during the Cold War but also

um a unipolar superpower uh in the

postcode or era so where does the U.S

find itself

number one it says we want to have

coalitions with those who share our

values and want to cooperate with us

that's kind of a message that listen you

know Europe we want to be with you uh

you know Australia New Zealand obviously

you know Canada

um

uh India Japan South Korea every African

country that wants to cooperate you know

we're there with you and for you if you

share values and after that it says

immediately that those countries are

going to be with us that's great but you

have to realize that we are in

competition then with the rest of course

the main target here being uh China the

approach is very much of the creation of

a free world continuing that narrative

but the interesting thing is that in

many ways I think for one of the first

times America is saying here that we

realize that the world is not going to

be shaped in the image of the United

States you see after the Cold War

America was willing and able to export

democracy either by way of example or

creating interdependencies but also by

way of force as it did for instance in

Iraq or going into war in in in

Afghanistan but here it's saying that

okay we understand that the world is not

going to be American uh but uh you know

we still want to push a free world

then the the interesting way that they

then Define sort of

one player and one real competitor

Russia it calls Reckless and that's

quite a strong statement to make of of

Russia right that it's a reckless power

and of course we've seen that attack in

Ukraine it was and has been Reckless but

China it talks about very much as a as a

competition competitor but what unites

these two is that both Russia and China

rejected the post-cold war order they

want something new I actually think that

the document should have pushed it a bit

further and understand that there are

actually a lot of countries in this

world that have rejected the post-cold

war order and the reason for that is

that they don't feel that they have a

say and they feel that the post-cold war

order is pretty much the same that we

had during the Cold War and it has been

created in the image of the West whether

it's about institutions such as the WTO

or the World Bank or or IMF or or for

instance the UN so but it does say that

you know Russia's Reckless and China is

all about competition and what they want

to do here is that they want to avoid

that competition escalates into conflict

I was especially interested in this part

because as you will know the subtitle of

my book on this order is conflict

competition and cooperation so I'm

trying to look at these three things

which one is going to dominate in the

next decade or decades or even in this

century and they keep on saying in this

report that

geopolitical competition does complicate

cooperation now does America only talk

about States in this no it doesn't

because a lot of the problems that IT

addresses in this report in this

strategy are transnational challenges

and they do mention them many times as

well by the way a little interesting in

parentheses quite often in these types

of documents you know you'd see in

Germany and France being mentioned many

times but I only counted one or two

times and interesting enough Finland and

Sweden are actually mentioned more often

and the reason of course for that is

that they are joining NATO but in the

parenthesis it also talks about

transnational challenges Point number

four what is then an overview so if the

first one was the General approach

second one competition for what comes

next third one how does the U.S position

itself then fourth what is the overview

of of the U.S approach I mentioned it

already earlier the aim is to have a

free open and prosperous and secure

International order and in order to get

that aim it suggests three things one it

will invest in power and influence so

power politics is still there number two

it will build coalitions we've seen that

of course with orcas or the quad as

examples and three it will modernize and

strengthen its military so this is a

message to anyone who wants to challenge

the U.S that here's the biggest military

in the world it still wants to continue

modernization and strengthening now but

what do these free open prosperous and

secure mean well free to the United

States means Universal Rights and

Freedoms

open to the United States means that

everyone shapes the rules this is

important

prosperous means that you raise the

living standards everywhere in the world

and secure means that we are free from

aggression

coercion and intimidation that's of

course a message to the United States

number five what then are the key

pillars of thinking and I siphoned out

from the document six key pillars

and some of this is also to a domestic

American audience number one

they argue that there is no divining

line between foreign and domestic

politics or foreign and domestic policy

you see this is a message to say that

yes we do trade but we think it's very

important that we take care of our

backyard as well number two

the pillar number second pillar is

alliances and Partnerships around the

world

pillar number three China is I quote the

most consequential geopolitical

Challenge end of quote

and after that they do say that well

we're not too worried about Russia

because it lacks capability and Iran is

important as well and a challenge but

not to the same level in China note this

is where really the United States keeps

on pitching itself

to have China as its competitor then it

also says pillar number four that the

United States will engage broadly not

only in geopolitical competition and

therefore it will focus on the Middle

East and the Gulf region obviously it

will focus on Africa and then it will

focus on the Western Hemisphere read

Latin America number five it says

globalization is good but

it argues that we should go beyond

traditional free trade agreements so

this is where we start seeing perhaps

the United States detaching itself a

little bit from you know the

international institutions such as the

WTO and perhaps getting engaged more in

bilateral type of free trade agreements

you know the the European Union of

course has done that once it saw that

the WTO is not at a dead end but it's

not able to renew itself pillar number

six

is that they're trying to find Partners

in all continents that they share their

vision of the world so in my mind if you

look at all these six pillars uh you

know it's it's very much speaking the

language of the United States that wants

to be engaged in the rest of the world

in the meanwhile we hear lots of

rhetoric about America first and you

know sorting out domestic problems but

in this document in my mind it's very

much outbound not uh inbound the final

and sixth uh point

from this document is then

um is is to highlight the so-called

Global priorities well Global priority

number one and the Americans very open

about this they want to out compete

China and Russia and they say it

um and here is where they come back to

the notion that China intends to reshape

the international order but at the same

time when it says that we need to

out-compete China the Americans say well

it's still important for us to cooperate

on the economy on climate and on Health

on Russia it's tougher it says that

Russia is Imperial it has an imperialist

foreign policy and therefore the United

States will continue to support Ukraine

support NATO and make sure that there

will be no nuclear escalation

when it talks about cooperation as

opposed to competition it does mention

climate energy food Arms Control

non-proliferation terrorism organized

crime and Corruption so very traditional

sort of transnational problems that we

need to deal with together and they do

sort of finish with the global

priorities by saying that it's very

important that we shape the future rules

on technology cyber trade and the

economy and you know one of the reasons

I actually read this document was that I

I listened to an excellent podcast by

Gideon ratchman Financial Times you can

find it on Spotify

and in it he was interviewing Thomas

Wright who is actually an irish-born a

director of strategic planning at the

National Security Council in the Biden

White House and and in that uh podcast

you will also hear because I recommend

that you you listen to it you'll hear

um Mr Wright talking about Dr Wright

talking about the importance of

establishing these rules now because you

know things that we do in artificial

intelligence or robotization technology

in general or cyber they will have

ramifications for decades to come so the

six points that I wanted to raise from

this document was the General approach

of the U.S competition for what comes

next how does the U.S position itself

overview of the U.S approach pillars of

thinking and then Global priorities and

just by way of conclusion what I find so

interesting is his document this that it

gives a very good overview of where the

United States stands in its security

political thinking in 2022 it's a broad

Vision it deals with all the different

regions it's very strong and committal

to the European Union as opposed to

specific countries in the European Union

so it for the first time really treats

the EU as one entity and no wonder

because it's the U has been dealing with

covet the war in Ukraine and with energy

but at the same time it does sort of

reinforce at least my personal idea that

we're living in a world of disorder the

Cold War was orderly and bipolar the

post-cold war was orderly in the

beginning and unipolar but as it began

to become more multiple polar coalitions

and alliances went all over the place

and that you will find in this document

as well but I do warmly recommend that

you read the U.S national security

strategy it gives you a wonderful

picture of what's going on in the world

from an American perspective at the

moment thanks for watching and listening