America the Vulnerable by Stephen Flynn

Dr. Flynn’s book is a prescription for US security reforms from the perspective of veteran Coast Guard Officer and Security Advisor. While America the Vulnerable does not directly address the concept of sovereignty, it does explore the challenges of border security in a global economy (What Krasner classifies as Interdependence Sovereignty). Flynn sets forth a number of security vulnerabilities and solutions which, interestingly, require little international cooperation to accomplish. These solutions primarily rely on US technology and hegemony to implement system diagnostics which allow the tracking and therefore the regulation product movement and trade. Additionally, Flynn indicts the traditional conceptualization of American security as woefully inefficient. He points out that, differing from almost all other nations, “national security” in the US lexicon almost always refers to interests on foreign soil. The division of defense into hemispheres of “domestic” and “foreign” is politically desirable to the “old guard” because it limits the possibility of competition for funding. By estranging the mission of Homeland Security from the existing National Security programs a division of labor is created that ensures the continuation of the status quo for the likes of DOD, CIA, DIA, etc. Flynn cautions against such unimaginative and static approaches to security with a cautionary tale from the decline of the Roman Empire; Proconsul Quintilius Varus summarized the crushing and unexpected routing of his army by Germanic forces with the words, “Ne Cras” , or “Not like yesterday.” Poetic, no?

Of particular interests to my research is Flynn’s observation on security in the transportation industry. He cites a shipping industry maxim: “Goods at rest are goods at risk.” He further elaborates that criminal activity will usually concentrate at points of friction in the transportation network because these instances provide the best opportunities to insert contraband or extract goods. Despite Flynn’s overwhelming focus on nationally led reforms, he does concede on page 91 that “Borders represent only a territorial line where a threat might enter into a sovereign jurisdiction, but functionally the threat starts much further back.” Given this statement and an undisputable decrease in US foreign political influence, I would like to know how far Dr. Flynn believes US security policy can reach without significant contribution from other nations.

It is a good (and quick) read. You can buy it here.