Implementing the 2022 National Defense Strategy: A conversation with Mara Karlin

October 27, 2023 marks the anniversary of the Biden administration’s release of the 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS). The strategy provides a roadmap for how the United States will advance its interests and meet the challenges of this “decisive decade.” It prominently features the concepts of integrated deterrence and campaigning, highlights the importance of working closely with allies and partners, and prioritizes the acute challenge posed by Russia and, much more significantly, the pacing challenge posed by China. Looking back over the past year, to what degree have the Department of Defense’s (DOD) implementation efforts proven effective? How closely aligned are the DOD’s resource allocation and prioritized objectives in practice? What are the implications of the pronounced focus on China for the decisions the DOD must make concerning other key regions and transboundary challenges?

On October 24, the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings will host former Brookings scholar Mara Karlin, performing the duties of deputy under secretary of defense for policy, to reflect on the NDS and assess the DOD’s implementation successes and the challenges the department still faces since its release.

Online viewers can submit questions via e-mail to [email protected] or via Twitter @BrookingsFP using #NDS.

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