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The Process and Politics of Defense Acquisition A Reference Handbook
David S. Sorenson
ISBN: 0-313-34843-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34843-3
228 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 12/30/2008
List Price: $75.00 (UK Sterling Price: £51.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • "Sorenson (international security studies, US Air War College) explains the complex system that supplies armaments and equipment to the US arms forces and foreign customers. He covers the evolution and current status of American defense acquisition process, the defense industrial base, the politics of weapons acquisitions, international arms sales, and reforming the process. Company profiles and primary documents are appended."
    —Reference & Research Book News     5/1/2009
Description: The United States government invests billions each year on equipping armed forces with the most advanced military equipment. The root of the American defense acquisition system is driven by a combination of national interests and domestic political requirements. While fundamentally the defense acquisition system has produced results for the United States military, improvements are needed in order to continue to move forward in advancing military tactics and technology. Exploring both the systemic and political levels of the system, Sorenson argues that the United States will fall behind if the current defense acquisition system is not reformed. This book brings together elements of this complicated system, such as national security requirements, and the changes that are needed in both the structural and political pillars. A combination of political interests and the needs of the military, serviced by an ever-shrinking defense industry, make a genuine acquisition reform even more difficult, resulting in reform that is more symbolic than genuine.

The United States military spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on defense weapons and other items to equip the growing military. These weapons come from a system that is deeply imbedded in complicated and extensively regulated procedures, controlled by a few political actors, along with international arms customers. Since the Cold War, the defense industry has shrunk significantly in production, while increasing a few powerful giant firms that now dominate the defense business. Economic structure of the system and political forces are significant tin reform efforts, creating an inefficient system. No other book explores both the process and political dynamics of the defense acquisition system. Sorenson brings together the primary elements of the defense acquisition process, including the evolution and current structure, along with the political system and actors that influence it. Through analyzing the defense contractors that help supply the industry and the growing international arms markets that now play a significant role, he explains the role that both national interest and domestic political requirements play. Consequences of the system range from criminal activity to much more common problems of inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Sorenson argues that efforts to improve the defense acquisition system are necessary in determining the future outcome of the system.
Table of Contents:
  • Table of Contents
    Glossary
    Acronyms
    Preface
    Introduction
    Chapter 1: The Defense Acquisition Process Evolves
    Chapter 2: The Current American Defense Acquisition Process
    Chapter 3: The Defense Industrial Base
    Chapter 4: The Politics of American Weapons Acquisition
    Chapter 5: International arms sales and Defense Acquisition
    Chapter 6: Reforming Defense Acquisition
    Profiles: The Boeing Company Integrated Defense Systems
    Profiles: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division
    Profiles: Lockheed-Martin
    Profiles: Curtiss-Wright
    Profiles: Raytheon
    Profiles: Northrop Grumman
    Profiles: Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies
    Profiles: The VSE Corporation
    Document 1: The Goldwater Nichols Act of 1986
    Document 2: The Executive-Legislative Budget Process
About the Author: David S. Sorenson is Professor of International Security Studies at the U.S. Air War College. He has authored and co-edited numerous books and articles on Middle East politics, defense budget politics, and national security affairs, including his most recent work, Military Base Closure (PSI, 2006).
PDF Catalogs:
PSI Catalog Fall 2008.pdf
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