AGS Summer Salon #2: Professor Nichols Discusses The New Rules of War

In the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy's second Salon Series, Professor Nichols will lead participants in a conversation on The New Rules of War by Sean McFate. Dr. McFate's book challenges many of the pillars on which the current US defense architecture is built. In this book, readers are asked whether conventional deterrence, nuclear deterrence, mass firepower, precision strike, and global posturing are really effective means to address durable conflict in the scores of nations currently characterized as"fragile." Our discussion of this book will address three main questions: First, should the U.S. fundamentally change its approach to defense? Second, has the nature or character of conflict or competition changed in such a way that warrants a broader alteration of the U.S. national security apparatus. Finally, how should our nation prepare itself for a multipolar era where our adversaries' capabilities and aggressiveness make us, our allies, and our partners uncomfortable?"