Sharon K. Weiner is an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University. She is the author of Our Own Worst Enemy? Institutional Interests and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Expertise (2011). Weiner has also worked for the National Security Division of the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Joint Staff’s Strategic Plans and Policy directorate, among other governmental roles.

A superb look at the power of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the modern era, including the much-overlooked role service chiefs play in constraining the chairman. Sharon K. Weiner challenges some of the conventional wisdom on the legacy of Goldwater-Nichols in this must-read for defense officials and elected leaders alike.

• List of Abbreviations1. Structure, Politics, and Influence2. The Chairman and Jointness3. The Origins of Norms for the Joint Chiefs of Staff4. Creating a Stronger Chairman5. Leaving the Cold War Behind6. Transformation7. Sequestration8. The Chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Civil-Military RelationsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

Sharon K. Weiner is an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University. She is the author of Our Own Worst Enemy? Institutional Interests and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Expertise (2011). Weiner has also worked for the National Security Division of the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Joint Staff’s Strategic Plans and Policy directorate, among other governmental roles.

A superb look at the power of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the modern era, including the much-overlooked role service chiefs play in constraining the chairman. Sharon K. Weiner challenges some of the conventional wisdom on the legacy of Goldwater-Nichols in this must-read for defense officials and elected leaders alike.

• List of Abbreviations1. Structure, Politics, and Influence2. The Chairman and Jointness3. The Origins of Norms for the Joint Chiefs of Staff4. Creating a Stronger Chairman5. Leaving the Cold War Behind6. Transformation7. Sequestration8. The Chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Civil-Military RelationsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

Sharon K. Weiner is an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University. She is the author of Our Own Worst Enemy? Institutional Interests and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Expertise (2011). Weiner has also worked for the National Security Division of the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Joint Staff’s Strategic Plans and Policy directorate, among other governmental roles.

A superb look at the power of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the modern era, including the much-overlooked role service chiefs play in constraining the chairman. Sharon K. Weiner challenges some of the conventional wisdom on the legacy of Goldwater-Nichols in this must-read for defense officials and elected leaders alike.

• List of Abbreviations1. Structure, Politics, and Influence2. The Chairman and Jointness3. The Origins of Norms for the Joint Chiefs of Staff4. Creating a Stronger Chairman5. Leaving the Cold War Behind6. Transformation7. Sequestration8. The Chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Civil-Military RelationsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex