Resources
CSBA’s research on the most pressing issues in U.S. national security continues to shape the defense agenda. CSBA’s research focuses on four main areas:
Strategy & Policy
Today, the United States confronts a number of challenges to its national security: the rise of China, a revisionist Russia, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and disruption, and the spread of Islamic extremism. The United States finds itself tackling these challenges at a time when its primacy is increasingly contested and its economic foundation eroding. CSBA seeks to inform the development of U.S. strategy by developing innovative options to reconcile ends and means, and by identifying sources of enduring advantage to help the U.S. sustain its position and meet challenges of the 21st century.
Studies
Arsenal in Transition: Lessons from World War II Industrial Conversion
The shift toward great power competition has reoriented national defense strategy around the prospect of large-scale conflict with peer adversaries. This transition has exposed a critical weakness in the American defense industrial base: it lacks the capacity to rapidly surge production at the scale and speed required for high-intensity war. This shortfall undermines the credibility of U.S. deterrence and risks leaving the Joint Force under-resourced in future large-scale conflicts. To mitigate this risk, the United States must develop industrial mobilization frameworks that enable scalable production in both peacetime and wartime.