Monthly Newsletter

Who is SSI?

The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College publishes national security and strategic research and analysis which serves to influence policy debate and bridge the gap between Military and Academia.

Military Strategy and Policy - Recent

Security strategy and policy are among the most important issues any state confronts, especially in a time of war. At SSI, research on these issues focuses on three primary areas: military and strategic theory; grand strategy; and the assessment and critique of critical national strategic documents:

National Security Strategy 2010 (NSS)
National Defense Strategy 2008(NDS)
Quadrennial Defense Review 2010(QDR)
National Strategy on Combating Terrorism 2006.

Dr. Robin Dorff is our Security Strategy and Policy specialist.

New References from the Military Education Research Library Network

Strategy and Policy

(10/16/06) Two new items have been added to the National Security Strategy MiPAL: an article on revitalizing public diplomacy from the Heritage Foundation, and a monograph from the Strategic Studies Institute containing essays on the U.S. response to the strategic challenges it faces in the 21st century. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this topic - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Strategy and Policy

(10/11/06) Three new items have been added to the National Security Strategy MiPAL: articles from on a preemptive strategy for the 21st century, and on counterinsurgency strategies. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this topic - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Strategy and Policy

(10/6/06) Four new items have been added to the National Security Strategy MiPAL: a report from the Congressional Budget Office on military recruiting, a Congressional hearing on the Defense Department's irregular warfare map, a Congressional Research Service report on information operations and cyberwar, and a Council on Foreign Relations report on foreign investment and national security. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this topic - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Strategy and Policy

(10/4/06) Two new items have been added to the National Security Strategy MiPAL: a RAND report on the importance of air power in counterinsurgencies, and a report from the Stanley Foundation on U.S. strategy in response to failing states. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this topic - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Added December 19, 2011

The United States and China in Power Transition

Authored by Dr. David Lai.
Historically, systematic power transitions were settled in war. Can China and the United States avoid a deadly contest and spare the world another catastrophe? What can we expect from China and the United States with respect to the future of international relations?
Added December 01, 2011

The Strategic Logic of the Contemporary Security Dilemma

Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.
This monograph is part of a continuing effort to inform the contemporary transnational security debate, move it to the strategic level, and support the best interests of the United States Government and peoples, and also those of the Western Hemisphere and the rest of the world.
Added August 31, 2011

National Security Reform 2010: A Midterm Assessment

Edited by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Robert H. Dorff, Matthew Harber.
This book includes a summary report of three panels, along with selected papers, from an April 22, 2010, colloquium in Washington, DC, on “2010: Preparing for a Mid-Term Assessment of Leadership and National Security Reform in the Obama Administration.”
Added July 13, 2011

Russia in the Arctic

Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
The Arctic is the newest sphere of international competition for energy and security access. It pits Russia against the other Arctic states. These essays fully explore and analyze what is at stake here and what Moscow has done to increase its capability and influence in the Arctic.
Added April 08, 2011

Hard Power and Soft Power: The Utility of Military Force as an Instrument of Policy in the 21st Century

Authored by Dr. Colin S. Gray.
The concepts of "hard" and "soft" power are subjected to close critical scrutiny. The author finds the latter is significantly misunderstood and therefore inappropriately assessed as a substitute for the former, the threat or the use of military force.
Added April 06, 2011

A Colloquium on U.S. National Security Policy, Military Strategy: Understanding the Environment for Contemporary Warfare

Authored by Dr. Steve Maxner, Dr. Dennis Patterson, Mr. Dave Lewis.
No problem facing the United States is more important than national security, and no institution is more involved and more affected by this problem than the U.S. military, the U.S. Army in particular. The purpose of this collaboration is to begin a dialogue that can help bridge the gap between two worlds, one where senior U.S. military officers are educated and the other where scholars work on problems that relate to the causes and conduct of war.
Added February 11, 2011

The Role of Religion in National Security Policy Since 9/11

Authored by Chaplain (COL) Jonathan E Shaw.
Is it possible to wage war against radical Muslim terrorists if your national security policy does not consider religion as power which motivates terrorist behavior? Yes, but you risk being ineffective or inefficient, or both.
Added January 31, 2011

2010 SSI Annual Strategy Conference Report "Defining War for the 21st Century"

Authored by Dr. Steven Metz, COL Phillip R. Cuccia.
SSI's XXI Strategic Conference convened many of the world's top experts to assess and debate the definition of war and the strategic implications of how it is defined.
Added December 21, 2010

A Risk-Based Approach to Strategic Balance

Authored by Colonel John A. Mauk.
This paper explores a risk-based approach to a strategically balanced force that assesses alternative postures and the viability of competing force concepts in mitigating national risk in a resource-constrained environment. This assessment also examines alternate definitions of balance and the continued relevance of U.S. conventional capabilities and nuclear deterrence.
Added December 08, 2010

Strangely Silent: The Missing Strategic Debate in the 2010 Mid-Term Elections

Authored by Dr. Robert H. Dorff.
Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the December 2010 newsletter.
Added September 23, 2010

Preparing for One War and Getting Another?

Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The idea that war or strategy is driven by a paradoxical logic is attractive, but a number of questions remain unanswered. If war has its own logic, rather than its own grammar, where does the logic of policy fit in? If the logic of strategy is paradoxical, how can it be taught? What are paradoxes, and can they be useful in guiding our strategic choices?
Added September 21, 2010

A New Chapter in Trans-American Engagement

Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring, Eva Silkwood Baker.
The critical need to develop a serious hemispheric partnership for opening “A New Chapter in Trans-American Engagement” was stressed at the 2010 Western Hemisphere Security Colloquium, held on May 25-26, 2010, in Miami, Florida. The issues and recommendations discussed emphasized that building a viable regional security partnership in the Hemisphere is not a strictly short-term, or unilateral, or even bilateral defense effort. Regional security will result only from long-term, multilateral, civil-military partnering efforts. Thus, the generalized results of the colloquium emphasize three highly interrelated needs and an associated recommendation.
Added September 09, 2010

Somalia: Line in the Sand--Identification of MYM Vulnerabilities

Authored by LTC Eloy E. Cuevas, Madeleine Wells.
Continuing instability in Somalia has increased concern that terrorists who seek to establish a foothold in Africa may use such insecure places as a safe haven and launching pad for future attacks. Several attempts have been made to establish lawful governments in Somalia; however, warlord and clan interests have managed to take center stage among the population. The Somali-based al-Shabaab (also known as the Mujahidin Youth Movement [MYM]) is a militant organization born out of both successive regional turmoil and international salafi-jihadi ideology, which continues to actively undermine the United Nations (UN)-supported African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, the fledging Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and all UN efforts to support Somalis in creating a stable state.
Added August 31, 2010

Dilemmas of Brazilian Grand Strategy

Authored by Dr. Hal Brands.
The author discusses the grand strategy Brazil has pursued under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He argues that Lula’s policies have raised Brazil’s profile and enhanced its diplomatic flexibility, but have also exposed Brazil to several potent strategic dilemmas that could compromise, or at the very least complicate, its geopolitical ascent.
Added August 27, 2010

David Galula: His Life and Intellectual Context

Authored by Ms. Ann Marlowe.
David Galula’s ideas are reflected in U.S. Army Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, and in nearly every speech that American commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq give, but until now, almost no biographical information was available about him. Arguably the greatest writer on counterinsurgency, Galula led a fascinating, although all too brief, life that gave him a bird’s eye view of most of the great conflicts of the second half of the 20th century.
Added August 27, 2010

Preparing for a Mid-Term Assessment of Leadership and National Security Reform in the Obama Administration

Authored by Jared E. Bennett, Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Robert H. Dorff.
The colloquium theme focused on the need for advancing the research and study of key national security issues by engaging the invited participants to share their expertise, and by informing interested community members of ways to develop a deeper awareness and understanding of the security reform issues facing the U.S. Government.
Added August 24, 2010

U.S. Military Forces and Police Assistance in Stability Operations: The Least-Worst Option to Fill the U.S. Capacity Gap

Authored by Colonel (Ret.) Dennis E Keller.
Stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be challenged by the lack of effective local police forces to secure the civilian population from insurgent infiltration and criminal violence. Given U.S. government legal and organizational shortfalls to train and advise foreign police forces, coupled with an operational environment characterized by local police corruption and abusiveness, this monograph proposes a way ahead for effective community based policing despite these adverse circumstances.
Added August 17, 2010

Chinese Energy Security: The Myth of the PLAN's Frontline Status

Authored by Dr. Ryan Clarke.
As the Chinese economy continues to expand at impressive rates, energy security strategies have assumed center stage in Beijing. Given that China relies heavily on energy imports, many are predicting the emergence of a blue water navy that seeks to engage in global power projection and secure China’s energy supply. These assessments are incorrect.
Added August 13, 2010

Defense Energy Resilience: Lessons from Ecology

Authored by Dr. Scott Thomas, Mr. David Kerner.
National Security relies heavily on the ready availability of energy resources in the types, quantities, and locations the military demands. While U.S. energy needs are currently met, the shrinking gap between global supply and demand draws the world closer to a tipping point at which human behavior is less predictable, competition overwhelms social and geopolitical normalizing forces, and conflict becomes more likely and more pronounced. Given concerns about future resource availability, DoD would be well served by devising and implementing a sustainable, resilient energy strategy that addresses current projections and adapts to evolving conditions.
Added August 05, 2010

Organizing to Compete in the Political Terrain

Authored by Dr. Nadia Schadlow.
The degree to which military forces can and should shape the political landscape during war--that is, who rules contested terriroty--is at the root of several ongoing debates about how to restructure the U.S. Army. Decisions about the military's appropriate role in shaping political outcomes in war are fundamental to resolving these debates and will determine the degree of organizational and educational changes that the U.S. Army must make to meet current and future security threats.
Added July 30, 2010

Project on National Security Reform: Vision Working Group Report and Scenarios

Edited by Dr. Sheila R. Ronis.
On November 26, 2008, the Project on National Security Reform submitted its 2-year study of the national security system, "Forging a New Shield," to the President, President-elect, and Congress. The work of the Vision Working Group led to the formulation of the following recommendation: The country must establish a mechanism to infuse greater foresight into the Executive Branch, and in particular the national security system. This proposed mechanism, named the Center for Strategic Analysis and Assessment, would exist and operate within the Executive Office of the President. This volume details the proposed architecture and operation of the Center.
Added July 27, 2010

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol I: Theory of War and Strategy, 4th Edition

Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.
This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy reflects both the method and manner the college uses to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. It contains essays on the general security environment, strategic thought and formulation, the elements of national power, the national security policymaking process in the United States, and selected strategic issues.
Added July 27, 2010

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol II: National Security Policy and Strategy, 4th Edition

Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.
This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy reflects both the method and manner the college uses to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. It contains essays on the general security environment, strategic thought and formulation, the elements of national power, the national security policymaking process in the United States, and selected strategic issues.
Added July 14, 2010

The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow: Essays in Memory of Mary Fitzgerald

Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank, Dr. Richard Weitz.
The essays in this volume represent both a memorial and an analytical call to action. Mary Fitzgerald of the Hudson Institute was one of the most brilliant and vivacious practitioners of the study of the Russian and Chinese militaries, whose insights helped not just to put those fields of study on the map, but also to influence U.S. military thinking.
Added July 13, 2010

2010 Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL)

Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The purpose of the Key Strategic Issues List is to provide military and civilian researchers a ready reference for issues of special interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense.
Added July 09, 2010

Who Won The Cold War?

Authored by Thomas F. Berner.
The role of George Kennan's Containment strategy in securing a U.S. victory in the Cold War has been overstated by both the right and the left.
Added July 06, 2010

The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military

Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. David Lai, Dr. Andrew Scobell.
In 2009, the People's Republic of China, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, and the PLA Air Force celebrated their 60th anniversaries. Behind China’s economic development, the PLA parades, and the spectacular celebration fireworks, the world clearly saw an ambitious China edging its way to the center stage of international economic, political, and military affairs. However, a few other major events in the last 2 years came just in time to remind the Chinese leaders, and the world as well, that China still faced a challenging future.
Added June 17, 2010

Endgame for the West in Afghanistan? Explaining the Decline in Support for the War in Afghanistan in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Germany

Authored by Charles A. Miller.
Analyses of the War in Afghanistan frequently mention the declining or shaky domestic support for the conflict in the United States and among several U.S. allies. This paper dates the beginning of this decline back to the resurgence of the Taliban in 2005-06 and suggests that the deteriorating course of the war on the ground in Afghanistan itself along with mounting casualties is the key reason behind this drop in domestic support for the war.
Added June 03, 2010

Human Intelligence: All Humans, All Minds, All the Time

Authored by Mr. Robert D. Steele.
The author explores the centrality of Human Intelligence in meeting the needs of the U.S. Army, as well as the Department of Defense, and the whole of government, for relevant information and tailored intelligence essential to creating a national security strategy; for defining whole of government policies that work in harmony; for acquisition of the right capabilities at the right price in time to be useful; and for operations, both local and global.
Added June 01, 2010

Rethinking Leadership and "Whole of Government" National Security Reform: Problems, Progress, and Prospects

Edited by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Jeffrey A. Engel.
On June 24, 2009, in Washington, DC, the Bush School of Government and Public Service and Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College conducted a conference on Leadership and Government Reform. Two panels discussed "Leader Development in Schools of Public Affairs" and "Leadership, National Security and 'Whole of Government' Reforms." The authors in this volume are from universities and policy institutes focused on international affairs, history, foreign policy, intelligence, and national and homeland security.
Added May 21, 2010

Implications of a Changing NATO

Authored by COL Phillip R. Cuccia.
What is the future of NATO and what should be included in the new NATO Strategic Concept due to come out at the end of 2010? This monograph takes a look at these questions and offers a few recommendations.
Added May 17, 2010

Sufism in Northern Nigeria: A Force for Counter-Radicalization?

Authored by Dr. Jonathan N. C. Hill.
This monograph examines the roles played by the Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya Sufi Brotherhoods in countering Islamic radicalism in northern Nigeria.
Added May 11, 2010

Crime, Violence, and the Crisis in Guatemala: A Case Study in the Erosion of the State

Authored by Dr. Hal Brands.
In this monograph, the author argues that rampant crime and violence have led to a full-blown crisis of the democratic state in Guatemala. He discusses the various criminal groups active in that country, and outlines a strategy for improving public order, strengthening government institutions, and combating the root causes that inform criminal activity.
Added May 06, 2010

Decisionmaking In Operation IRAQI FREEDOM: The Strategic Shift of 2007

Authored by Dr. Steven Metz.
Was the 2007 decision to surge forces into Iraq effective in turning the war from a potential disaster to a possible success?
Added April 29, 2010

Reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)

Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
Why does the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) warrant support as a nonproliferation convention?
Added April 23, 2010

Shades of CORDS in the Kush: The False Hope of "Unity of Effort" in American Counterinsurgency

Authored by Mr. Henry Nuzum.
Counterinsurgency (COIN) requires an integrated military, political, and economic program best developed by teams that field both civilians and soldiers. This Paper describes the benefits that unity of command at every level would bring to the American war in Afghanistan.
Added April 19, 2010

Short of General War: Perspectives on the Use of Military Power in the 21st Century

Edited by Dr. Harry R Yarger.
In this anthology, students in the U.S. Army War College Class of 2008 critically examine the emerging 21st century security environment and offer diverse and innovative thoughts on how military power should be applied in situations short of general war.
Added April 16, 2010

The Construction of Liberal Democracy: The Role of Civil-Military Institutions in State and Nation-Building in West Germany and South Africa

Authored by Dr. Jack J. Porter.
West Germany’s and South Africa’s experiences remind U.S. policymakers of the tremendous obstacles and challenges that confront states as they attempt to install liberal, democratic political institutions.
Added April 14, 2010

The State-Owned Enterprise as a Vehicle for Stability

Authored by Dr. Neil Efird.
State-owned enterprises affect stability in conflict-prone environments, and decisive control of them creates positive or negative conditions. However, it is a challenge to know how and when to use these enterprises, and a good set of metrics is necessary to measure their effectiveness.
Added April 12, 2010

Criminal Sovereignty: Understanding North Korea's Illicit International Activities

Authored by Dr. Paul Rexton Kan, Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr., Mr. Robert M. Collins.
North Korea’s criminal conduct—smuggling, trafficking and counterfeiting—is well known, but the portion of the government, Office Number 39, which directs it, is understudied or overlooked. This shadowy part of an already opaque government is examined to reveal how it conducts its activities and supports the longevity of the regime.
Added April 05, 2010

Put Warning Bells on World Finance

Authored by Dr. Leif Rosenberger.
Dr. Leif Rosenberger recommends the creation of an international financial Early Warning System (EWS) that can alert policymakers to pending financial crises.
Added March 31, 2010

Teaching Strategy: Challenge and Response

Edited by Dr. Gabriel Marcella.
No subject is more essential in the preparation of national security professionals and military leaders than the teaching of strategy, from grand to military strategy. Nor is there one that is more timeless and intellectually demanding. The questions dealing with teaching strategy—why we should study it, what we should teach, and how we should teach it—may bear most directly on the system of PME. However, the answers need to be applied much more broadly across a wider range of our society today. For only then can we expect to regain strategic competence, not just in the crisis of the moment but in a sustained manner well into the 21st century. The contributions to this edited volume will advance that society-wide discussion and debate. This book should stimulate discussion and introspection that will in time enhance the security of our nation.
Added March 26, 2010

Synchronizing U.S. Government Efforts toward Collaborative Health Care Policymaking in Iraq

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas S. Bundt.
A primary catalyst in achieving our strategic ends in Iraq is through the formulation of a consolidated and cooperative strategic health care policy to enable the successful operation of the Iraqi health care system. An often-cited criticism of U.S. policy, however, is that after the end of major hostilities and transition into stabilization operations, we fall short in post-conflict planning and execution. This analysis highlights some of these operational deficiencies, and it provides recommendations for achieving a more coordinated, functional, and thereby synchronous strategic health care policy. These proposals will enable the U.S. Government (USG) to address health policy operations in stabilization and transitional phase contexts currently and in the future.
Added March 22, 2010

Decisionmaking in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM: Removing Saddam Hussein by Force

Authored by Dr. Steven Metz. Edited by Professor John R. Martin.
The Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) is pleased to initiate its latest monograph series, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM Key Decisions. SSI started this project in an effort to give leaders of the U.S. Armed Forces some important insights into how military advice was provided to the Nation’s civilian leadership during the many years—including the months before the invasion—of the war in Iraq. Dr. Metz starts this series with an impressive review of the decision to remove Saddam Hussein by force. The Strategic Studies Institute hopes that this and the succeeding monographs will generate debate on just how the United States made decisions—some of them disastrous—about Iraq. The resulting better understanding of the decisions should lead to strengthening of the processes—where appropriate—so that the military and civilian leadership forge better decisions in the future.
Added March 04, 2010

Foreign Policy Continuity: War Finds Us

Authored by Mr. Lawrence Kaplan.
Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the March 2010 newsletter.
Added February 17, 2010

Do Oil Exports Fuel Defense Spending?

Authored by Dr. Clayton K. S. Chun.
Rising oil prices facilitate the acquisition of greater resources and perhaps economic development. But oil revenues can also drive a government to finance massive military equipment purchases like Saudi Arabia did in 1979. The nature of governments that rely on raw material extraction and long-term development of military programs may affect how their current and future spending occurs regardless of oil prices. How nations decide to use their national wealth helps explain some of the perennial problems facing oil and commodity exporting nations and provides insights into their relations with other countries.
Added February 12, 2010

Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability in Mexico, Colombia, and the Caribbean: Implications for U.S. National Security

Authored by Mr. Evan Brown, Dr. Dallas D. Owens.
The growing violence and instability in Mexico and the Caribbean will clearly demand greater attention from the United States in the future. As the trafficking organizations continue to defy authorities, undermine governance, and escalate violence, Mexico has become much more of a national security challenge rather than simply a border problem. This conference offered an important opportunity to assess these threats, and to consider what can be done to counter them.
Added January 22, 2010

Security and Stability in Africa: A Development Approach

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Clarence J. Bouchat (USAF, Ret.).
The security and stability of Africa has recently become an important national issue. However, to be effective this growing interest must be rooted in the desire to overcome centuries of ignorance and misunderstanding about the conditions and people of Africa.
Added January 19, 2010

Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk

Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
With any attempt to assess security threats, there is a natural tendency to focus first on the worst. Consider the most recent appraisals of Pakistan’s nuclear program. Normally, the risk of war between Pakistan and India, and possible nuclear escalation, would be bad enough. Now, however, most American security experts are riveted on the frightening possibility of Pakistani nuclear weapons capabilities falling into the hands of terrorists who are intent on attacking the United States. Presented with the horrific implications of such an attack, the American public and media have increasingly come to view nearly all Pakistani security issues through this lens.
Added January 15, 2010

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)

Authored by Mr. Daniel Alderman.
Participants in this conference sought to understand the PLA's evolving view of its roles and responsibilities in a changing global security landscape.