| ID | 080315 |
| Title Proper | Old wine in new bottles?reconfiguring net assessment for 21st century security analysis |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Heng, Yee-Kuang |
| Publication | 2007. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Net assessment as a framework for security analysis last triggered vigorous discussion
in the closing stages of the Cold War. Nearly two decades later, this paper argues that
net assessment deserves to be revitalized and looked at again, as governments seek
analytical tools to understand the strategic environment in order to properly shape
their foreign and security policies. Drawing from Cold War academic debates on
net assessment, this paper first clarifies its definitions, origins and methods, highlighting
its strengths, failures and weaknesses. It then examines whether and how net
assessment might be modified and brought forward into the 21st century as an analytical
framework for two strategic problems: the War on Terror and the Iraqi insurgency.
The essay concludes that greater attention should be paid to net assessment, both
to address an urgent need for analytical tools to understand post-Cold War
exigencies, and as a remedy to the worst-case scenarios that have dominated
post-9/11 strategy. |
| `In' analytical Note | Contemporary Security Policy Vol. 28, No.3; Dec 2007: p423-443 |
| Journal Source | Contemporary Security Policy Vol. 28, No.3; Dec 2007: p423-443 |
| Key Words | Security ; Cold War ; International Security |