Kauffman-funded book by Hoover research fellow and national security expert Kori Schake highlights a vision for reforming the U.S. State Department
In State of Disrepair, Kori Schake presents a vision of how to create a State Department that attracts entrepreneurial people and more effectively promotes and protects U.S. values and interests throughout the world. Ultimately, Schake contends that making the proposed changes is critical and necessary for those whom the department employs, for the American taxpayer, and, importantly, for the men and women in combat.
The Kauffman Foundation's Robert Litan, vice president of research and policy, calls this book "an important, innovative book that proposes a far-reaching set of reforms that are long overdue and could make the agency more successful at helping to build strong economies and stable governments across the world."
State of Disrepair grew out of Schake's opposition to a theory known as "expeditionary economics." This theory argues that the U.S. State Department has proven incapable of spurring economic growth, especially in the battles the U.S. currently is fighting in the Middle East, and, as a result, that economic development should be added to the core competency of the U.S. military. Schake agrees that the State Department has a poor record of engendering economic development, but she does not agree that the military should become the institution that undertakes this work. Rather than tasking the military with an inherently civilian duty, Schake argues that we need to focus on identifying and implementing solutions that will work toward creating a State Department that is well equipped to win wars and successfully build democracies abroad.
For questions about State of Disrepair, please contact Sarah Farber at 650.725.3523 or sfarber@stanford.edu.
