Economic Interdependence and National Security in the 21st Century

Our research aims to answer US strategy questions regarding economic statecraft by creating new insights focused on three areas: (1) exploring the ways in which asymmetric interdependence in investments and financial flows shape states’ power and vulnerability with respect to economic coercion; (2) defining the ways interdependence complicates cooperation and coordination among allies; and (3) creating a country-specific decision-guidance framework to help defense policy makers evaluate economic statecraft tools with respect to China and Russia. Additionally, a key component of the proposed DECUR project is engaging civilian and military students through the application of new experiential learning techniques.