Events Detail

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) is pleased to invite you to a Roundtable on Interagency Reform discussing a case study on "Planning for Reconstruction and Transformation of Japan after WWII" by Peter F. Schaefer and P. Clayton Schaefer.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008; 2:30-4:00 PM

Hudson Institute, Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center, 6th floor Auditorium, 1015 15th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005. Refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP (affirmative replies only) by sending your name and current institutional affiliation to Richard Weitz at Weitz@hudson.org.

 In the inter-war period, the U.S. military had modest means and goals. After Pearl Harbor, all U.S. national security institutions experienced rapid transformation, which culminated in the National Security Act of 1947. During this period, the military and civilian national security establishment evolved dramatically and, for the first time in U.S. history, included planning for war and peace simultaneously. The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration undertook an orderly effort to plan the postwar occupation of the Axis countries. The evolution of the structure and function of this post-WWII effort directly influenced the formulation or conceptualization of the National Security Act. This progression is instructive as much for the initial failures as for the ultimate success. Both these success and failures have direct parallels with our current experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) is a non-partisan initiative sponsored by the non-profit Center for the Study of the Presidency (CSP). PNSR seeks to improve the U.S. Government's ability to integrate all elements of national power and more effectively respond to the strategic challenges of the 21st century. Modeled on the historic effort that led to the Goldwater-Nichols legislation, PNSR has established nine working groups that are undertaking a rigorous study of the national security system. Historical case studies constitute the first element of the study methodology. These case studies will inform the analytic work of PNSR's other working groups by highlighting recurring trends in the way the U.S. national security system addresses complex national security problems. Ultimately, PNSR will recommend changes to the National Security Act of 1947, presidential directives to implement other reforms, and new Congressional committee structures and practices.