The attached monograph, 'On the Foundations of National Military Strategy: Past and Present,' identifies the Hobbesian nation-state system, the Soviet threat, Containment, Deterrence, the Bi-polar balance of power, European focus, and a cumbersome bureaucracy as the foundations of America's national military strategy during the Cold War period. The author labeled these items 'the Current Paradigm.' Research was then conducted to determine the legitimacy of the current paradigm. The result of this research led the author to conclude that current domestic and international trends and realities called each element of the current paradigm into question. This finding, the author goes on to claim, implies (a) that to use the current paradigm in the present domestic and international situation would not result in appropriate solutions to current problems; therefore (b) a new paradigm is required. The monograph closes with the suggestion of a new paradigm, the components of which are the following: A Humean international system, Diminished external threats and increased internal threats, inclusion, Justified intervention, Balancing powers and the power of balance, Global focus, and a Faster, more creative bureaucracy. The author acknowledges the difficulties in abandoning a set of beliefs that have successfully governed national military strategy for fifty years and adopting a new set, but he quickly points out the risks in not doing so.

ADA 243394 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)