Priorities of international political activities in US national security strategies

Abstract

The article deals with the basic principles of US contemporary foreign policy, their reflection in the key political document – National Security Strategy. It is mentioned that the US National Security Strategy is the main conceptual document according to which both internal and foreign policy of the state is pursued. It is stressed that the particular feature of the US National Security Strategies is their global nature considering that the US gained a position of a world leader and one of the centers of power at the international scene after the Second World War. Evolution of the US National Security Doctrine has been analyzed during activities of US presidential administrations of G. Bush Junior and B. Obama in the sphere of national security, essential changes from «hard» to «soft» and «smart» power have been interpreted. Smart power means developing an integrated strategy, resource base, and tool kit to achieve American objectives, drawing on both hard and soft power. The concept of «smart power» being the basic one for B. Obama’s Administration, is aimed at reaching a wide range of purposes of American foreign policy, global leadership in particular, while combining diplomatic, economic and military potentials. By complementing U.S. military and economic might with greater investments in soft power, America can build the framework it needs to tackle tough global challenges.

Keywords

• us foreign policy
• strategies of «hard»
• «soft» and «smart» power