ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that although the relationship may have grown more complex, economics and national security are and will continue to be intimately intertwined. Economic forces are changing not only the structure of the international system but the manner in which it functions. National security policy therefore may come to encompass measures designed to reduce a country's vulnerability to economic influence attempts as well as the more traditional forms of preparation for military defense. To an ever greater degree, the wealth of nations has come to depend on their ability to engage successfully in international economic competition. Representative of industries as diverse as semiconductors and textiles have proclaimed the essential importance of their industries to the nation's defense and have called on the federal government to protect them against intense foreign competition. In the United States, the case for benign mercantilism generally takes the form of appeals for government action to preserve the nation's economic security.
