New strategic thinking is always needed and the number of creative thinkers in the field can usually be counted on your thumbs; Abu Muqawama (Andrew Exum) has a post entitled "Tired of COIN? Try the Not-as-Tragic-as-Originally-Thought Commons" which links to this report from the Center for a New American Strategy: Contested Commons: The Future of American Power in a Multipolar World. (PDF File).
And CNAS, as you may know, is the closest thing to a military/strategic think tank allied to the Obama Administration. And it's where Abu Muqawama hangs his plank.
The term "Global Commons" is derived from Alfred Thayer Mahan and the term "Neo-Mahanian" appears in one of the chapter titles. If you understand that reference (even if you, like, me, think Mahan was something of a prophet of Empire and not the best model today, though still worth reading), it may be worth a look. I've only read the summary so far.
If you do not salivate at the word "strategy," have never heard of Mahan, COIN, or "neo-Mahanian" global commons, then as Emily Litella would have put it, "Never Mind." But I do plan to read it all.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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