Podcast•Mar 12, 2026•0 min
How the National Security Strategy Gets Made
In this episode, Santi Ruiz talks with former Deputy National Security Advisor Nadia Shadlow about how the U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) is crafted. Shadlow explains that the NSS is a multi‑party, coalition‑building document that articulates a president’s strategic goals, world‑view assumptions, and priorities for the American public and foreign partners. She describes the inter‑agency bargaining that shapes the language—balancing inputs from Treasury, Defense, State, and other departments—and how that language becomes a tool for later policy implementation. The conversation also touches on how the 2017 and 2025 NSSs reflected the incumbent administration’s priorities, from China to climate change, and why certain regions or issues are emphasized or omitted.
