Strategic Studies Institute

Military Strategy and Policy Studies

Added November 07, 2008

Type: Student (Carlisle) Papers

Unity of Command in Afghanistan: A Forsaken Principle of War. Authored by COL Ian Hope.

The author discusses the traditional importance of unity of command in American doctrine and practice from World War I until now, and how this principle has been forsaken in the evolution of military command for Afghanistan. He argues for a renewal of understanding of the importance of unity of command and recommends amending the Unified Command Plan to invest one "supreme commander" with responsibility for the current Operation ENDURING FREEDOM Joint Operations Area.

Added November 04, 2008

Type: Monograph

Known Unknowns: Unconventional "Strategic Shocks" in Defense Strategy Development. Authored by Mr. Nathan P. Freier.

Historically, defense strategy demonstrates three flaws: (1) it is generally reactive, (2) it lacks sufficient strategic imagination, and (3) as a result, it is vulnerable to surprise. The current administration confronted a game-changing “strategic shock” in its first 8 months in office. The next team would be well-advised to expect the same kind of unconventional and nonmilitary shock to DoD convention early in its first term.

Added October 31, 2008

Type: Op-Ed

Living Perilously in a Bubble. Authored by Dr. Leonard Wong.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the November 2008 newsletter.

Added October 22, 2008

Type: Colloquium Report

Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President's Agenda. Edited by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Robert H. Dorff, Lisa Moorman.

The Bush School of Government and Public Service held a conference on “Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President’s Agenda” on March 20, 2008, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, Texas A&M University. The conference addressed national and international security reforms and the next presidency.

Added October 01, 2008

Type: Op-Ed

Dueling Natures. Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the October 2008 newsletter.

Added September 25, 2008

Type: Monograph

The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy. Authored by Dr. Stephen D. Biddle, Mr. Jeffrey A. Friedman.

Critics of irregular-warfare transformation often cite the 2006 Lebanon campaign as evidence that modern nonstate actors can wage conventional warfare in state-like ways. This analysis assesses this claim via a detailed analysis of Hezbollah’s conduct of the campaign at the tactical through theater-strategic levels of war.

Added September 17, 2008

Type: Book

The "People" in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China's Military. Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. Andrew Scobell, Mr. Travis Tanner.

On September 28, 2007, under the joint leadership of the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute and NBR’s Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies, approximately 70 leading experts on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) convened at Carlisle Barracks, PA, for a 2-day discussion on the Chinese military’s human infrastructure. Presentations and discussions focused on identifying trends in PLA recruitment, education, training, personnel management, and demographics.

Added August 06, 2008

Type: Monograph

China-Russia Security Relations: Strategic Parallelism without Partnership or Passion? Authored by Dr. Richard Weitz.

This report maintains that, although Chinese-Russian relations have improved along several important dimensions, security cooperation between Beijing and Moscow has remained limited, episodic, and tenuous. Nevertheless, U.S. national security planners should prepare for possible major discontinuities in Sino-Russian relations. American officials should pursue a mixture of “shaping and hedging” policies that aim to avert a hostile Chinese-Russian alignment while preparing the United States to better counter one, should it nevertheless arise.

Added July 31, 2008

Type: Op-Ed

Real Change or Retrenchment? Authored by Dr. Douglas V. Johnson, II.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the August 2008 newsletter.

Added July 16, 2008

Type: Book

Key Strategic Issues List, July 2008. Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

The Key Strategic Issues List gives researchers, whether military professionals or civilian scholars, a ready reference of those issues of particular interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. Its focus is strategic, rather than operational or tactical. Every year, the KSIL helps guide research efforts to the mutual benefit of the defense community and individual researchers.

Added July 07, 2008

Type: Op-Ed

Expand the U.S. Military? Not So Fast. Authored by Dr. Steven Metz.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the July 2008 newsletter.

Added June 12, 2008

Type: Monograph

Wars of Ideas and the War of Ideas. Authored by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

The author discusses several types of wars of ideas so as to achieve a better understanding of what wars of ideas are.

Added June 09, 2008

Type: Book

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol. I: Theory of War and Strategy, 3rd Edition. Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

Volume I of the U.S. Army War College Guide (USAWC) to National Security Issues corresponds roughly to one of the two core courses that the Department of National Security and Strategy (DNSS) teaches: “Theory of War and Strategy.”

Added June 09, 2008

Type: Book

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol. II: National Security Policy and Strategy, 3rd Edition. Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

Volume II of the U.S. Army War College Guide (USAWC) to National Security Issues corresponds roughly to one of the two core courses that the Department of National Security and Strategy (DNSS) teaches: “National Security Policy and Strategy.”

Added June 03, 2008

Type: Monograph

From the New Middle Ages to a New Dark Age: The Decline of the State and U.S. Strategy. Authored by Dr. Phil Williams.

The author contends that the long-term decline of the state will move the world into a New Dark Age in which the forces of chaos and disorder will be almost overwhelming. Alternative options for the U.S. response to the security challenges posed by such an environment are examined.

Added May 16, 2008

Type: Monograph

U.S. Foreign Policy and Regime Instability. Authored by Dr. James Meernik.

Do American military ties with other nations help prevent violence and terrorism? Or are foreign states more likely to experience domestic unrest and instability in part because of an American military presence?

Added May 01, 2008

Type: Book

Global Climate Change National Security Implications. Edited by Dr. Carolyn Pumphrey.

Contributors to this volume agree that climate change is a threat deserving of serious attention. They stress the need for greater planning and coordination and for further research as well as the utility of engagement—military to military and state to state—on environmental issues. They differ as to whether the Armed Forces should play a leading or supporting role, but agree that they can—and already do—make a valuable contribution.

Added April 03, 2008

Type: Op-Ed

The Strategy Deficit. Authored by Mr. Nathan P. Freier.

Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the April 2008 newsletter.

Added February 08, 2008

Type: Book

Developing Strategic Leaders for the 21st Century. Authored by Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland.

The attack on the World Trade Center and subsequent conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan changed forever how Americans think about “national security.” These events expanded not only the number and scope of issues, but also the overall complexity of the process. Consequently, the requirement for interagency decisionmaking accelerated, demands for greater policy flexibility increased, and an interagency process that was largely confined to a few departments of the Federal Government now involves a multitude of new players and allied states.

Added January 10, 2008

Type: Colloquium Brief

COIN of the Realm: U.S. Counterinsurgency Strategy. Authored by Dr. Steven Metz, Ralph Wipfli.

Given the wide-ranging and deep impact of counterinsurgency, the participants in the "Future Defense Dilemmas" seminar conducted by The Brookings Institution and the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, explored two key questions: (1) Is the United States pursuing and executing the right strategy? And (2) Does the military’s focus on counterinsurgency detract from other defense and security needs?

Added January 08, 2008

Type: Book

The Interagency and Counterinsurgency Warfare: Aligning and Integrating Military and Civilian Roles in Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations. Edited by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Jay W. Boggs.

The contemporary challenges underpinning interagency cooperation within the U.S. Government are not entirely new. This monograph addresses the security, stability, transition, and reconstruction missions that place the most pressure on interagency communication and coordination.