©Copyright 2012 John Charles Griswold
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Copyright 2012 John Charles Griswold i Providing for the Common Defense: Strategic Agency Adaptation and the Politics of the National Guard John Charles Griswold A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2012 Reading Committee: Peter J. May, Chair Mark A. Smith Naomi Murakawa Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Political Science University of Washington Abstract Providing for the Common Defense: Strategic Agency Adaptation and the Politics of the National Guard John Charles Griswold Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Peter J. May Department of Political Science This research examines how government agencies adapt to new or qualitatively different demands from policymakers. I argue when faced with these demands, an agency’s leaders bargain at arms length with their overseers for resources and institutional changes that enable appropriate adaptation of agency roles. The degree of adaptation is mediated by the agency’s political environment. Prior institutional arrangements and fit with leaders' images of the agency also influence agency adaptation. In negotiating this terrain, agency leaders have three overriding goals: to retain or improve bureaucratic autonomy; to maintain or enhance organizational reputation; and to reinforce the prospects for the agency survival. The degree of adaptation is reflected by changes to statute and policy that reshape the institutions and other governing arrangements for the agency. I consider the responses of different sets of leaders of the United States’ National Guard to demands imposed on the Guard as a result of civil disturbances in the 1960s and 1970s, the War th on Drugs, the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and Hurricane Katrina. Each of these cases represents different sets of qualitatively different expectations than the past that required strategic adaptation on the part of the Guard’s leadership. I trace the responses in each case, showing how some were more successful in the degree of adaptation than others. There are notable differences in bureaucratic outcomes in terms of enhancing autonomy, reputation, and agency survival. The federalist structure and the historical precedents associated with the domestic use of the armed forces serve as overriding considerations in influencing the degree of adaptation and bureaucratic success. This research spans the fields of American politics, civil-military relations, and public policy in addressing an important yet understudied question in political science – how do government agencies adapt to new missions? The main scholarly contribution is to the literature on bureaucratic politics and American political development in examining a fascinating case of agency adaptation to notable and varied demands. The focus on these aspects of the National Guard and the military more generally are particularly unique given the larger focus of research on military strategy for wars and the international dimensions of defense policy. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………...iv List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………………….v Acronyms ………………………………………………………………………………………..vi Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 A seat at the table.................................................................................................................................... 1 Putting the seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in perspective .................................................................. 4 What this is About: Explaining Agency Adaptation to New Demands ............................................. 7 Rethinking Agency Adaptation ............................................................................................................ 9 Strategic Agency Adaptation and the Politics of the National Guard ............................................. 11 Studying Strategic Adaptation ........................................................................................................... 13 What Follows ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 Unnatural Selection: The dynamics of strategic adaptation ................................................... 20 Considering Adaptation ....................................................................................................................... 22 Organizational Adaptation ................................................................................................................. 27 Strategic Adaptation – A Conceptual Framework ............................................................................ 31 Why Adapt Strategically? Autonomy, Reputation, and Survival as Desired Outcomes .................... 35 Facilitators of Strategic Adaptation .................................................................................................... 40 The role of organizational learning and culture in adaptation ............................................................ 45 Case Selection and Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 47 Strategic Adaptation: Motivating Research Questions ..................................................................... 49 Question #1: To what extent was bureaucratic autonomy enhanced? ................................................ 50 Question #2: To what extent did organizational reputation improve? ............................................... 51 Question #3: To what extent was agency survivability increased? .................................................... 52 Chapter 3 Antecedents of Adaptation: The Historical Roots of the National Guard ............................. 54 The Military, the Militia, and the National Guard’s Constitutional Roots ..................................... 56 From Institutionalization to Implementation: The Militia Act of 1792 ............................................. 60 Patchwork Politics and Military Reform: The National Guard in the Progressive Era ................ 63 From Reconstruction to the Progressive Era ...................................................................................... 63 War and the Bargain for Professionalism: The National Guard in the Progressive Era..................... 68 From World War to Cold War: The National Guard, World War II, and Beyond ...................... 74 Challenges to Survival: The Gray Board and Military Reorganization for the Cold War ................. 76 The Contemporary National Guard: A Brief Orientation ................................................................ 77 Putting the National Guard into Historical Context, 1607-1964 ...................................................... 80 Chapter 4 Change Under Fire? The National Guard and Campus Unrest............................................. 85 The National Guard Before Kent State .............................................................................................. 87 Watts and Detroit: A Prelude to Kent State ....................................................................................... 88 The Limits of Learning and Change................................................................................................... 93 The National Guard at Kent State and After ..................................................................................... 96 Thirteen Seconds at Kent State .......................................................................................................... 97 i The Aftermath .................................................................................................................................... 98 The President’s Commission on Campus Unrest ............................................................................. 100 Adaptation from without: The All-Volunteer Force, the Vietnam Drawdown and the Total Force 105 Assessing the National Guard Amidst Civil Unrest ......................................................................... 107 The National Guard and Bureaucratic Autonomy ............................................................................ 108 Reputation and Strategic Adaptation ................................................................................................ 109 Strategic Adaptation and Survival .................................................................................................... 110 Chapter 5 Crossing an American Rubicon: The National Guard and the War on Drugs ................... 111 The National Guard Before the War on Drugs ................................................................................ 114 The Military after Vietnam: Revitalizing the Reserve Component .................................................. 114 The National Guard in the War on Drugs ........................................................................................ 116 Law, Precedent, and the Military in the Counterdrug Fight ............................................................. 116 Macropolitics, Bureaucratic Politics, and the War on Drugs ........................................................... 117 Presenting a Plan - The National Guard and the Counterdrug Mission ........................................... 121 Challenges to Bureaucratic Autonomy: Perpich v. U.S. Department of Defense ...........................