“The Arsenal of Democracy: Technology, Industry, and Deterrence in an Age of Hard Choices”—Honored to Furnish a Blurb!
“A timely, essential contribution underscoring the urgency of fortifying America’s defense posture to meet China’s rising challenge. Freymann and Halem offer a clear-eyed assessment of the strategic and industrial shortfalls that must be addressed. Their historically grounded, technologically informed analysis stresses that effective deterrence requires both operational innovation and the political will to reform our defense ecosystem before it’s tested in crisis or war. The stakes are high and the clock is ticking.”
— Andrew S. Erickson, Professor of Strategy, U.S. Naval War College
Eyck Freymann and Harry Halem, The Arsenal of Democracy: Technology, Industry, and Deterrence in an Age of Hard Choices (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 2025).
The U.S. military stands at a moment of profound risk and uncertainty. China and its authoritarian partners have pulled ahead in defense industrial capacity and are fielding emerging defense technologies that put U.S. forces at risk. To deter a devastating war with China, America must rally its allies to build a new arsenal of democracy. But achieving this goal swiftly, in a time of strained budgets, requires hard choices.
The Arsenal of Democracy is the first book to integrate military strategy, industrial capacity, and emerging tech into a comprehensive deterrence framework. Other books explain why deterrence matters; this book is the essential guide to how to sustain deterrence through the 2030s. From undersea warfare and logistics to outer space, it breaks down how the U.S. deterrence system works and shows how it must adapt.
Even if America leads technologically, China’s industrial strengths would give it advantages in a protracted conflict. Congress, industry, and allied governments must work together to expand production and integrate new technologies.
