| Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the World Customs Organization's SAFE Framework are a collaborative effort between the U.S. Government, the United Nations, and the international trade community to secure the global supply chain. These programs are the response to the events of September 11 2001. The security of the United States and the integrity of its links with international commerce are the motivation behind the founding of these programs.;By examining the successes and limitations of this collaboration, this dissertation will attempt to answer the question: "What are the prospects of this partnership meeting its stated goals?" In addition to questions about its immediate promise, the dissertation will also try to assess whether such trusted shipper programs offer the possibility of their being a model approach to other issues of national defense in the post Cold War era. In other words, can this program offer a cooperative, normative framework that will accommodate competing demands of security, high volume trade, and questions concerning cost ownership and investment constraints? Some of the major elements under examination within the larger conceptual framework are: (1) economic globalization and its effect upon the current national security environment, structure and culture, (2) the realities of asymmetrical war on terrorism, (3) the similarities between transnational crime and international terrorism, operationally, structurally, and with regard to any shared purposes, (4) who should rightly bear the financial and legal onus for the protection or defense force.;The decades of deregulation and privatization have put a considerable inventory of public good assets in private hands. Therefore, national defense, the textbook example of a public good, is mostly in the form of a private asset. Today, the private sector owns most of the critical infrastructure and if it breaks or is destroyed---who is accountable for its restoration.;This dissertation's response to this question is a blend of fiscal policy and strategic defense policy. Because of the systemic aversion to regulation, conditional tax relief is proposed for businesses, which rely and, therefore, must maintain the security of the critical infrastructure. |
