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The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict

by Elbridge A. Colby

A framework for U.S. defense strategy amid China’s rise

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Awards & Recognition

  • Editorial selection

    The Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2021

    Named a best book of 2021 by The Wall Street Journal.

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., Foreign Affairs

    Krepinevich praised the book as a superb and potentially essential starting point for debate over U.S. defense s...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A framework for U.S. defense strategy amid China’s rise

Elbridge A. Colby’s book examines how U.S. defense priorities might change in response to China’s growing power and ambitions. Drawing on realist political thought and current policy debates, it sets out a framework for defining American goals, adjusting military strategy, and ranking those aims against other interests. A central question is how preparations for a possible conflict with China might serve deterrence. The book is therefore focused not only on military planning, but also on the choices about national priorities that shape it.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in U.S. defense and military policy
  • Readers following debates about China’s role in Asia and great-power competition
  • Readers seeking a strategic framework for deterrence and national priorities

Themes

U.S. defense policyChina and great-power competitionMilitary strategyDeterrenceNational priorities

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Why and how America's defense strategy must change in light of China's power and ambition--A Wall Street Journal best book of 2021

"This is a realist's book, laser-focused on China's bid for mastery in Asia as the 21st century's most important threat."--Ross Douthat, New York Times

"Colby's well-crafted and insightful Strategy of Denial provides a superb and, one suspects, essential departure point for an urgent and much-needed debate over U.S. defense strategy."--Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., Foreign Affairs

Elbridge A. Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the most significant revision of U.S. defense strategy in a generation. Here he lays out how America's defense must change to address China's growing power and ambition. Based firmly on the realist tradition but deeply engaged in current policy, this book offers a clear framework for what America's goals in confronting China must be, how its military strategy must change, and how it must prioritize these goals over its lesser interests.

The most informed and in-depth reappraisal of America's defense strategy in decades, this book outlines a rigorous but practical approach, showing how the United States can prepare to win a war with China that we cannot afford to lose--precisely in order to deter that war from happening.
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