Past as Prelude: The Defense Debate in the Cold War

摘要

This is a review of some of the themes of defense policy and defense policy-making during the Cold War era. There are domestic constraints on defense policy-making which are due to several factors including political and economic considerations, competition between the branches of government, and competition within the Defense Department. It traces the efforts to centralize defense policy-making in the executive branch, the extent to which this centralization has been offset by the decentralization of Congress itself and the increasing activity of non-governmental actors in defense policy-making. Congressional influence in defense policy has increased since the 1950s, but the armed services committees have had to share their power with other congressional groups. Congress has been unable to establish itself as the dominant force in defense policy-making, in part due to the effects of decentralization itself.