Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

The United States is in the early stages of a debate over the size of the U.S. defense budget. That debate also reflects differing assessments of the nature of the international environment and the risks that the United States faces. One school of thought, which I have dubbed the New Orthodoxy, calls for the United States to accept greater risk in pursuing its historic interests. The other school, which I have dubbed the Heretics, calls for increasing defense resources to close the gap between ends and means.