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  • © 2017

US Defense Budget Outcomes

Volatility and Predictability in Army Weapons Funding

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Demonstrates in a clear and powerful way how micro-level churn within programs can occur despite macro-level stability in a large budget
  • Looks in-depth at how the Pentagon makes its acquisition decisions, how the budget process intersects with acquisition, and how Congress plays a role in all of it
  • Speaks to students, faculty, researchers, think tanks, and analysts working on budget policy, politics, and defense and security

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Hardcover Book USD 109.99
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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
  2. Why the Defense Budget Is Worth Considering

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 1-14
  3. Congress Reviews the Army’s Budget

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 15-27
  4. An Acquisition and Budgeting Primer

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 29-66
  5. Uncovering Turmoil in Stable Budgets

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 67-97
  6. Some Explanations for Budget Volatility

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 99-137
  7. Army Engagement with Congress

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 139-162
  8. A Bleak Outlook for Future Combat Systems

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 163-179
  9. Reconciling Volatility and Stability in the Defense Budget

    • Heidi Brockmann Demarest
    Pages 181-191
  10. Back Matter

    Pages 193-205

About this book

This book offers a systematic guide to the allocation of American taxpayer dollars used to provide for the common defense. With engaging and illustrative examples like the narrative of a helicopter purchase, it reveals an unexpectedly chaotic political process that produces a conversely stable aggregate defense budget. The book explores specific attempts to control or influence these turbulent funding outcomes as Congress reviews the Presidential budget request. Containing data and sources largely unavailable to researchers without access to the Department of Defense, the book should be of interest to anyone looking for a direct, current, and methodical analysis of defense budget outcomes that preserves the informal and nuanced mechanics of a political and complicated process. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, USA

    Heidi Brockmann Demarest

About the author

Heidi Brockmann Demarest is an Army officer and Director of the American Politics program in the Department of Social Sciences at the US Military Academy. She has served in multiple assignments as a military intelligence officer, most recently as the Deputy Commander of the Army’s offensive cyber brigade from 2013-2015. Her research interests include defense budgeting, defense acquisition, and socioeconomic inequality.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access