Net Assessment and Military Strategy

*This book is in the Rapid Communications in Conflict and Security (RCCS) Series (General Editor: Geoffrey R.H. Burn).

The Office of Net Assessment (ONA) was responsible for carrying out three programs in the Department of Defense from November 1973 until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Net assessments utilize a multidisciplinary approach to defense analysis to capture the dynamics of national or coalition military strengths and weaknesses for comparison with the capabilities of competitors and adversaries.

In this book, essays by experts including a number of individuals who have served in or worked for the ONA in the past, such as Andrew Marshall (Director of the United States Department of Defense's Office of Net Assessment, 1973-2015) and Andrew May (Associate Director of the United States Department of Defense's Office of Net Assessment) offer critical insights on the relative military power of the United States vis-à-vis potential adversaries over time. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars and students in international relations, political science, and conflict and security.

THOMAS G. MAHNKEN is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a Senior Research Professor in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Previously, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning and held the Jerome Levy Chair at the Naval War College. Dr. Mahnken's publications include Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century and The Gathering Pacific Storm: Emerging US-China Strategic Competition in Defense Technological and Industrial Development.

ANDREW W. MARSHALL served as the Director of the Office of Net Assessment within the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 2015. Prior to being appointed to the National Security Council Staff during the Nixon administration, he was employed in the Economics Department at the RAND Corporation. He was honored as one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" by Foreign Policy magazine in 2012.