During the decades since the end of the Second World War, the United States has underwritten and taken the lead in maintaining a global order that has benefited more people in more ways than at any other period in history.
But now the American-led global order is under dire threat. War is raging in the middle east and eastern Europe, fiscal and economic burdens plague our partner nations, violent extremist ideologies threaten the stability of entire regions, and state and non-state opportunists seek to exploit upheavals.
America’s leadership role remains in question, long-standing allies are not what they once were, and the U.S. is increasingly burdened by debt and domestic discord that constrain its ability to sustain its forces at a level that is commensurate with its interests.
Informed deliberations on the status of America’s military power are therefore desperately needed. It is our hope that the Index of U.S. Military Strength will help to facilitate those deliberations.
Learn the biggest challenges facing our nation’s interests and our current ability to counter the forces that threaten our national security in 2024.