By discussing the credible deterrence problem over Taiwan, Meisel outlines that placing the Defense Department at the forefront of America’s integrated deterrence strategy sends the wrong message, for it might undermine non-military instruments of power while alienating U.S. allies uninterested in engaging in a conflict with China. The department’s focus on a security-first approach may have broader negative implications in the Indo-Pacific, making the U.S. seem like foreign brutal mercenaries similar to the Hessians in past.
However, by emphasizing a more balanced approach to integrated deterrence, leveraging economic, political, and security-based partners through allies, the U.S. can build collective resilience while pushing its bilateral influence for a more comprehensive and effective deterrence strategy. By shifting the overall U.S. approach to deterrence to be less reliant on hard power, and more dependent on its use of national power instruments, the U.S. can solve the looming threat that is the Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
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