Globalization and U.S. National Security: Threats and Vulnerabilities

Introduction

For much of the latter half of the twentieth century, the United States enjoyed the status of the preeminent global power. With the fall of the Soviet Union near the beginning of the 1990s, it appeared that the United States would retain its comfortable economic, political, and military position. Indeed, by 2010, the United States had the largest economy in the world, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reaching approximately $14 trillion, and its military technology and training had made it second to none in terms of force projection and capability.^[1] The United States retains its powerful position on the international political stage despite the relative damage its international reputation suffered as a result of its foreign policy decisions over the preceding decade.

While the United States became the de facto world leader following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has retained its comfortable position through careful responses to increasing economic and political globalization. However, this globalization has come at a cost, particularly with regard to national security. The institution of NAFTA in 1994 is the most obvious example of the United States' response to globalization. Although American farmers and manufacturers have benefited from the agreement, increased globalization has opened up serious security vulnerabilities that, if properly exploited, could represent genuine threats. The purpose of this study is to consider these vulnerabilities and threats, as well as the United States' official response in the form of the 2010 National Security Strategy.

The vulnerabilities facing the United States as a result of globalization can be broken into roughly three categories. First, increased globalization has seen a corresponding increase in transnational terrorist acts, and the correlation does not appear to be coincidental. As the transfer of people and goods across international borders becomes easier and more common, it has become increasingly possible for potentially dangerous goods or persons to cross unnoticed. This threat encompasses not only the more obvious acts of international terrorism, but also those phenomena which, at first glance, may appear unrelated, but which in actuality serve to support international terrorism, either financially or logistically. For example, the influx of illegal immigrants over the U.S. border — itself a result of NAFTA's allowing cheap American agriculture to flood South American markets — means that the already-stretched Border Patrol has an ever harder time securing the porous border. The same is true of the illegal drug and human trafficking trades.

Furthermore, the threat of international terrorism has been compounded by the explosion of information and communications technology. As crucial networks become more and more connected, the likelihood that a terrorist group will be able to damage or control key elements of the network increases accordingly. This threat targets not only key infrastructure but also the economy as a whole, because the United States holds one of the largest shares of online retailers in the world. The increased interconnection resulting from globalization also means that an attack on the United States or one of its allies could upset global financial markets, which rely on internet infrastructure to keep credit flowing. As a result of globalization, therefore, the United States' economy is tied to its national security in a way previously unheard of in the country's history.

This leads to the second main category of vulnerability: the economy itself. As international trade and investment have increased, foreign investment in the United States has expanded exponentially, while jobs and services that were previously performed or provided domestically are increasingly outsourced overseas.^[2] This represents a threat to United States national security not only because substantial elements of the U.S. economy are controlled by foreign — and sometimes anonymous — powers, but also because key elements of the national security apparatus actually depend on businesses or employees located in geographically distant regions that may not be as secure as the United States itself.

Finally, the third category of vulnerability is the educational sector. Over the last few decades, the United States has fallen behind in key areas such as science and mathematics — areas that must remain strong in order to ensure that the next generation of national security leadership and innovative defense technology will be available. Furthermore, as more and more jobs are outsourced to other countries, skilled and highly educated laborers are increasingly likely to be attracted to opportunities elsewhere, depleting the country's supply of its most important workers.

In order to fully understand the effects of globalization on the United States' national security, it is necessary to first provide an overview of previous research on the topic, as well as more general investigations of the effects of globalization as such. The concept of globalization actually emerged decades before the passage of NAFTA, when, in 1965, Theodore Levitt used the term to signify the vast change taking place within the international political economy. He argued that the interrelation of nation states would lead to the economic and financial liberation of those states, and referred to this phenomenon as "globalization." Thus, globalization refers to the increasing global interrelationship of economic, cultural, and social activity, although in contemporary discussions the term is usually reserved for economic interrelation, "which embraces diverse forms of international integration, including foreign trade, multinational direct foreign investment, movement of short-term portfolio funds, technological diffusion, and cross-border migration."^[3]

Literature Review

A description of globalization in line with the most optimistic assessments of the phenomenon is provided by Travalini, who argues that:

Globalization provides individual national economies the means to create economic webs with other countries through the integration of markets and the unification of transportation and communication systems. This process has effects on culture, political systems, economic development, and prosperity in societies around the world.^[4]

While Travalini's assessment that globalization has "effects" on culture, political systems, economic development, and prosperity is generally true, the connotation is that these effects are universally positive — when, for example, the experience of indigenous South American farmers, or the United States' national security situation, demonstrates that this is not always the case. Nevertheless, the crucial point about globalization is that it generally tends to break down barriers and borders, resulting in the creation of consolidated, unified economies, which in turn intensifies worldwide social relations for better or for worse.^[5]

Dreher and Bhagwati both argue that the net effect of globalization has been positive, as it "promotes growth" in the areas of "economic integration, social integration, and political integration," and indeed, as noted above, the United States has seen substantial benefits from globalization.^[6][7] However, neither of their analyses considers the effects on national security, let alone the national security of the United States. In contrast to their relatively cheerful assessments, Worden and Johnson-Freese argue that globalization has undermined the national security of the United States because it has transformed the global stage to the point that one can no longer rely on the relatively simple parameters traditionally used to determine a nation's security, but must instead consider a number of different economic and social factors.^[8] Supplementing Worden and Johnson-Freese's analysis, Ripsman and Paul argue that globalization has weakened the United States' national security precisely because of the increased impact of powerful social forces. This has resulted in the rise of powerful international actors previously disregarded in national security estimations (such as the emergence of countries like Brazil and Turkey as serious international players), the proliferation of non-traditional security challenges such as transnational terrorism, and the rise of non-state actors including powerful corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).^[9]

What has been lacking in these considerations of globalization's effect on national security — and what this study hopes to supply — is an examination of how globalization has influenced less obvious elements of national security. One may begin by examining the 2010 National Security Strategy (NSS) provided by the Obama administration, because although much recent scholarship has tended to ignore globalization's effects on education and innovation, the NSS carefully includes these topics in its assessment of the national security situation heading into the future. For example, Section III of the NSS, titled "Advancing Our Interests," includes a subsection titled "Prosperity" that focuses specifically on those areas of education and the economy that affect national security in serious ways.^[10]

The first element of "Prosperity" that the NSS addresses is strengthening "education and human capital," noting that "in a global economy of vastly increased mobility and interdependence, our own prosperity and leadership depends increasingly on our ability to provide our citizens with the education that they need to succeed, while attracting the premier human capital for our workforce."^[11] The most important part of this focus on education involves improving the United States' performance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education (STEM), because the country's ability to lead and innovate in national security depends on ensuring that "American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nations." Furthermore, the NSS notes that economic instability caused by the boom-and-bust cycle of modern capitalism threatens national security, because "excesses in our financial institutions based on irresponsible lending behavior, and abetted by lax and uncoordinated regulation" only serve to destabilize the United States and the world, opening space for radical and possibly violent movements to take hold.^[12] In addition, the 2010 NSS reiterates many of the warnings made by Worden, Johnson-Freese, Ripsman, and Paul when it remarks that threats to the increasing interconnection of electronic networks and control systems "represent one of the most serious national security, public safety, and economic challenges we face as a nation."^[13]

Having reviewed the relevant literature concerning globalization in general, and its effects on national security in particular, it is now possible to analyze in greater detail the variety of vulnerabilities that have arisen as a result of globalization. The most obvious vulnerability is the threat of international terrorism. As the NSS notes, "the dark side of this globalized world came to the forefront for the American people on September 11, 2001," when relatively lax immigration and residency controls allowed hijackers — some of whom were already suspected of terrorist ties — to take control of four commercial aircraft. Furthermore, these terrorists were able to operate and plan within the United States as a result of loose oversight of foreign transactions and payments, demonstrating how the increasingly connected global financial system provides a relatively easy means for terrorist groups to finance themselves from across the world.^[14] The attacks of September 11, 2001, opened the eyes of the American national security apparatus to the threat posed by the relatively open borders that have arisen as a result of globalization, but these borders continue to present a serious vulnerability.

Analysis of Terrorism and Cyber Threats

The rapid development of information technology and the advancement of telecommunications have also enabled many non-state actors to attack the United States from anywhere in the world. For instance, an electronic attack on the United States in 2002 crippled 13 important servers that were critical to internet connectivity. Many individuals and groups also perpetrate cyberterrorism against the United States. Some individuals have taken advantage of fast internet connections to attack the servers of organizations in the United States and steal sensitive information. Perpetrators often use free Wi-Fi internet at hotels and coffee shops to intercept and modify communications taking place between business organizations. Such attacks are possible because many Wi-Fi hotspots have limited or no security for their networks. In some cases, hackers open Wi-Fi hotspots and execute a "man-in-the-middle" attack to obtain valid passwords and usernames from people using their networks, then use this access to penetrate corporate computer systems and obtain confidential information. With advances in information and communication technology, it has become possible to remotely access corporate computer systems, and such attacks can also be used to defeat the security of encrypted network traffic.

Additionally, the United States must deter threats arising from the international financial system. Some non-state actors abuse the global financial system to raise and move funds in support of illicit activities. A key strategic response is to target these illicit financial flows and empower regulatory authorities to maintain integrity within the country's international financial institutions. Meanwhile, many employers also rely on foreign skilled workforces to boost productivity, which introduces additional vulnerabilities related to access and oversight.

The country opens its national boundaries to the influx of people, foreign direct investment, and the free exchange of information and communication. In the contemporary international economic system, modern economies depend on the resources of foreign countries to achieve economic growth. The United States has been a leader in encouraging cross-border economic activity for the advancement of domestic opportunities. While there are numerous opportunities to be derived from the interrelation of business with other countries, the United States often faces fundamental challenges in balancing national security interests with the national economy.

Like other nations, the U.S. depends on the markets of other countries both to sell its products and to maintain access to scarce resources. Thus, the United States needs to increase its cooperation with other nations to strengthen its economic power, while also enhancing homeland security by protecting critical infrastructure and securing cyberspace.

Conclusion

This study explores the impact of globalization on United States national security. The paper identifies globalization as the interrelation of networks that binds people and corporate organizations around the world. While the United States derives several benefits from globalization, there remain significant issues that serve as security threats. To safeguard the country's national security, this paper suggests that the United States needs to maintain sufficient deterrence capabilities, including its nuclear arsenal. More importantly, the country needs to invest in improving the educational attainment of its citizens. Both dimensions — security readiness and human capital development — are essential if the United States is to sustain its global leadership position in an era defined by deep and continuing globalization.