ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on concepts and issues in Strategic Studies to focus on three aspects of the nexus between defense, intelligence, and diplomacy. It provides an introduction to issues and debates surrounding the enduring nature and changing character of the relationship between defense, intelligence, and diplomacy. National defense, intelligence, and diplomatic functions within states are typically located within separate agencies and institutions, which raises conceptual and practical challenges for inter-organization coordination. The chapter considers these challenges in the context of the perennial quest by states to develop either explicit or implicit ‘grand’ or ‘national security’ strategies that harmonize these instruments of state power in pursuit of national policy goals. It describes debates surrounding the utility of the rational-actor model and the contenting decision-making model in the analysis of “grand strategy-making,” states’ identification of “national interests,” and the role and conduct of defense and intelligence diplomacy as an element of statecraft.
