Muddling

I'll have more thoughts on the subject later in the week, especially in response to Galrahn's "Obama Doctrine" posts, but for today I've written my WPR column on grand strategy and "muddling through."

None of this is to suggest that we should avoid grand strategic thinking. Such thought helps clarify the values upon which we construct our interests and, consequently, how we go about securing those interests. However, grand strategy offers neither a template nor a roadmap for dealing with particular foreign policy events. Rather, it highlights certain values and gives some indication of how those values relate to one another. As such, a grand strategy gives guidance to policymakers in specific crises without dictating a particular response. Instead of thinking of the "Obama doctrine," whatever that might be, as dictating that we should pursue certain policies, we should think of it as creating a framework for weighing the available options. Every individual application of a doctrine will inevitably involve the messy compromises that constitute muddling through. That's why becoming adept at muddling is every bit as important as creating a coherent grand strategy.