Full Answer Section

• Climate change: Recognizes climate change as a national security threat and prioritizes action to mitigate its effects.

Ends:

• Protecting American interests: Safeguarding U.S. citizens, territory, and economic prosperity.
• Promoting a rules-based international order: Supporting a global system based on law, transparency, and mutual respect.
• Advancing democracy and human rights: Promoting the spread of democratic values and protecting human rights globally.
• Addressing global challenges: Tackling transnational threats like terrorism, climate change, and pandemics.

Means:

• Diplomatic engagement: Strengthening alliances, building partnerships, and using diplomacy to resolve conflicts peacefully.
• Military strength: Maintaining a strong and ready military to deter aggression and protect U.S. interests.
• Economic security: Promoting a strong and resilient U.S. economy to support national security.
• Intelligence and counterterrorism: Combating terrorism, espionage, and other threats through intelligence gathering and counterterrorism operations.
• Cybersecurity: Protecting U.S. critical infrastructure and digital assets from cyberattacks.
• Technology and innovation: Investing in technological advancements to maintain U.S. competitiveness and national security.

Strengths:

• Focus on multilateralism: Emphasizes international cooperation and building alliances, strengthening the U.S. position in a multipolar world.

Weaknesses:

• Overly optimistic about diplomacy: Relies heavily on diplomacy and cooperation, which may be challenging in a world marked by increasing conflict and mistrust.

Trump National Security Strategy (2017):

Core Ways:

• American First: Prioritizes U.S. interests above all else, emphasizing national sovereignty and rejecting multilateralism.
• Military strength: Emphasizes a strong military as the foundation of national security and a deterrent to aggression.
• Economic nationalism: Promotes protectionist trade policies and an “America First” economic agenda.
• Tough stance on immigration: Emphasizes border security and limits on immigration.

Ends:

• Protecting the homeland: Focuses on securing U.S. borders and countering terrorism.
• Promoting American prosperity: Boosting the U.S. economy through protectionist trade policies and deregulation.
• Restoring American power: Reaffirming U.S. leadership on the global stage and challenging perceived adversaries.
• Advancing American interests: Prioritizing U.S. interests in all foreign policy decisions.

Means:

• Military superiority: Building a more powerful military to deter threats and project U.S. power.
• Economic nationalism: Imposing tariffs and withdrawing from international trade agreements.
• Tougher immigration policies: Restricting immigration and increasing border security.
• Unilateral action: Taking independent action without relying on international cooperation.

Strengths:

• Emphasizes military strength: Recognizes the importance of a strong military for national security.

Weaknesses:

• Isolationist approach: Rejects multilateralism and international cooperation, potentially undermining U.S. global influence and security.

Conclusion:

The Biden and Trump National Security Strategies represent distinct approaches to national security, reflecting different values and priorities. The Biden strategy emphasizes diplomacy, multilateralism, and addressing global challenges like climate change, while the Trump strategy focuses on national sovereignty, military strength, and economic nationalism. The success of each strategy will depend on its effectiveness in achieving its goals in a complex and rapidly changing world.