Deep Currents

John Robb just posted a great little essay over at Danger Room where he makes an argument for what will happen to security worldwide if the current crash turns into an extended global depression. It’s not pretty: nation-states “hollow out” as they lose control over portions of their territory, organized criminal groups take over wherever they can, and those groups find it easy enough to generate income that they grow in number and power. John has a nicely pointed description of what this means for the U.S.:

Unfortunately, the U.S. will be forced to navigate this dangerous environment with a small fraction of its former resources. The endless defense budgets of the last century are gone. Which means the development of the new strategies — not new gear — to fight this chaotic and complex panoply of non-state foes will become the seminal security challenge of our time.

Written: November 26th, 2008