Ambassador Stephen Krasner's Orienting Principle for Foreign Policy (and Military Management)

Ambassador Stephen D. Krasner reminds us that policymakers in great power nations such as the United States can aspire to realizing grand strategies based on a rational ends, ways, and means formula. They rarely succeed, however. It has proved too hard to align vision, policies, and resources. Moreover, multiple state and nonstate actors, conflicts, interests, changing technological dynamics, and exposure to unexpected political, economic, and social shocks are too complex for such a rational process. The most obvious alternative to a grand strategy is no strategy at all, or a simple "wish list." Nevertheless, Krasner argues that reliance on one or more orienting principles is a second-better-alternative to a grand strategy.