NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY
2
and abuse of power, allows families to live with-
out fear, and permits markets to thrive.
Our founding principles have made the United
States of America among the greatest forces for
good in history. But we are also aware that we
must protect and build upon our accomplish-
ments, always conscious of the fact that the inter-
ests of the American people constitute our true
North Star.
America’s achievements and standing in the world
were neither inevitable nor accidental. On many
occasions, Americans have had to compete with
adversarial forces to preserve and advance our
security, prosperity, and the principles we hold
dear. At home, we fought the Civil War to end slav-
ery and preserve our Union in the long strug-
gle to extend equal rights for all Americans. In
the course of the bloodiest century in human his-
tory, millions of Americans fought, and hun-
dreds of thousands lost their lives, to defend lib-
er in two World Wars and the Cold War. America,
with our allies and partners, defeated fascism,
imperialism, and Soviet communism and elimi-
nated any doubts about the power and durability
of republican democracy when it is sustained by
a free, proud, and unified people.
The United States consolidated its military
victories with political and economic triumphs
built on market economies and fair trade, dem-
ocratic principles, and shared security partner-
ships. American political, business, and military
leaders worked together with their counterparts
in Europe and Asia to shape the post-war order
through the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and
other institutions designed to advance our shared
interests of securi , freedom, and peace. We recog-
nize the invaluable advantages that our strong rela-
tionships with allies and partners deliver.
Following the remarkable victory of free nations in
the Cold War, America emerged as the lone super-
power with enormous advantages and momen-
tum in the world. Success, however, bred com-
placency. A belief emerged, among many, that
American power would be unchallenged and self–
sustaining. The United States began to drift. We
experienced a crisis of confidence and surren-
dered our advantages in key areas. As we took
our political, economic, and military advan-
tages for granted, other actors steadily imple-
mented their long-term plans to challenge America
and to advance agendas opposed to the United
States, our allies, and our partners.
We stood by while countries exploited the interna-
tional institutions we helped to build. ey subsi-
dized their industries, forced technology transfers,
and distorted markets. These and other actions
challenged America’s economic securi . At home,
excessive regulations and high taxes stifl ed growth
and weakened free enterprise—history’s great-
est antidote to poverty. Each time government
encroached on the productive activities of private
commerce, it threatened not only our prosperity
but also the spirit of creation and innovation that
has been key to our national greatness.
A Competitive World
The United States will respond to the growing
political, economic, and military competitions we
face around the world.
China and Russia challenge American power, infl u-
ence, and interests, a empting to erode American
security and prosperity. They are determined to
make economies less free and less fair, to grow
their militaries, and to control information and
data to repress their societies and expand their
influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the
Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to desta-
bilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies,
and brutalize their own people. Transnational