Strategic Studies Institute

Military Strategy and Policy Studies

Added December 27, 2012

Type: Student (Carlisle) Papers

Insanity: Four Decades of U.S. Counterdrug Strategy. Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Michael F. Walther.

The author provides context to the former DOJ Drug Intelligence Chief’s declaration that the U.S. 40-year national drug strategy is a failure. He argues that the expensive and largely-ineffective supply-reduction strategy should be abandoned in favor of a new, science-based, demand-reduction model.

Added December 19, 2012

Type: Monograph

Venezuela as an Exporter of 4th Generation Warfare Instability. Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.

We must adapt our approach to the overwhelming reality that just as the world has evolved from an industrial society to an information-based society, so has warfare. The reality of this evolution demonstrates the need for a new paradigm of conflict based on the fact that information—not firepower—is the currency upon which war is now conducted. The new primary center of gravity is public opinion and political leadership. The “new” instruments of power are intelligence, public diplomacy, media, time, and flexibility. The one thing that remains the same is that one level or another of compulsion still defines war.

Added December 13, 2012

Type: Monograph

A National Security Staff for the 21st Century. Authored by Dr. Jack A. LeCuyer.

View the Executive Summary

This monograph offers a new model for the management of the national security system—at the strategic level—which is the first step in transforming our national security system to meet the challenges and opportunities of the global security environment of the 21st century. This monograph provides a proposed response to Section 1072 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the President to report to Congress on the organizational changes required to implement the National Security Strategy of May 2010.

Added November 30, 2012

Type: Book

Learning by Doing: The PLA Trains at Home and Abroad. Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. David Lai, Mr. Travis Tanner.

The papers presented in this latest volume in a series on the PLA are a timely and critical look at an evolving and expanding Chinese military and provide context for the changes we may see as the PLA continues to modernize.

Added November 23, 2012

Type: Book

The Energy and Security Nexus: A Strategic Dilemma. Edited by Dr. Carolyn Pumphrey.

It is hard to overstate the importance of energy. Energy literally drives the global economy. Without question, the links between energy and security are significant, but how so? This book explores the connections between energy and security (human, national, and international) and provides considerable discussion on how best to resolve this strategic dilemma.

Added October 31, 2012

Type: Monograph

State-Building Challenges in a Post-Revolution Libya. Authored by Dr. Mohammed El-Katiri.

Following the overthrow of Muammar Qadhafi, Libya’s National Transitional Council inherited a difficult and volatile domestic situation. The new leadership faces serious challenges in all areas of statehood. Libya’s immediate future is of critical importance, consequently, it is especially important for Libya's interim government to build the political institutions for a functioning modern democratic state.

Added October 29, 2012

Type: Monograph

How Nation-States Craft National Security Strategy Documents. Authored by Dr. Alan G. Stolberg.

This monograph compares and contrasts how different countries craft their national security strategy documents. It highlights similarities as well as differences, and provides lessons learned that all national strategy makers can apply.

Added October 12, 2012

Type: Letort Papers

A "Hollow Army" Reappraised: President Carter, Defense Budgets, and the Politics of Military Readiness. Authored by Professor Frank L. Jones.

For more than 30 years, the term “hollow army” has represented President Carter’s alleged willingness to allow American military capability to deteriorate in the face of growing Soviet capability. The true story is more complicated than the metaphor suggests.

Added October 09, 2012

Type: Monograph

The Future of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case of the Army in Europe. Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.

View the Executive Summary

The January 2012 announcement that the United States would reduce the number of Brigade Combat Teams in Europe captured media, popular, and scholarly attention, prompting many to ask: Is the United States turning its back on Europe as it pivots to Asia? Do the Europeans have the wherewithal to defend themselves? Are forward-based U.S. land forces necessary at all? Given the necessity of capable, interoperable coalition partners for the future security threats Washington most expects to encounter, the role of America’s forward military presence in Europe remains as vital as it was at the dawn of the Cold War, but for different reasons. Dr. Deni’s monograph forms a critical datapoint in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of American Landpower.

Added September 25, 2012

Type: Monograph

Lead Me, Follow Me, Or Get Out of My Way: Rethinking and Refining the Civil-Military Relationship. Authored by Dr. Mark R. Shulman.

Troubled relations between the armed forces and civil society sap the vitality of the republic and undermine the effectiveness of the military. This timely monograph launches a discussion about what kind of civil-military relationship we have and how to improve it.

Added September 25, 2012

Type: Other

Key Strategic Issues List Update No. 2. Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

This is an update to the 2012-13 Key Strategic Issues List. It includes topics from U.S. Army Pacific G-5, Plans and U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE).

Added September 21, 2012

Type: Monograph

Russia and the Current State of Arms Control. Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

The chapters in this volume focus on Russian developments in arms control in the light of the so-called New Start Treaty signed and ratified in 2010 by Russia and the United States in Prague, Czech Republic.

Added September 19, 2012

Type: Monograph

The Prospects for Security Sector Reform in Tunisia: A Year After the Revolution. Authored by Dr. Querine Hanlon.

The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, and in the year since the revolution, Tunisia has undergone a remarkable transition to democratic rule. The legacy of the previous regime looms large, however, as Tunisia’s new government faces major challenges implementing Security Sector Reform.

Added September 12, 2012

Type: Monograph

Perspectives on Russian Foreign Policy. Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

Charles de Gaulle said that states are cold monsters. To see how perhaps one of the coldest of these monsters thinks about and acts in world politics take a look at these essays from SSI’s annual Russia conference of September 26-27, 2011.

Added August 30, 2012

Type: Monograph

The Promise and Pitfalls of Grand Strategy. Authored by Dr. Hal Brands.

This monograph offers a critical analysis of the idea of “grand strategy.” It explains why grand strategy is simultaneously so important and so difficult to do, and offers suggestions for how U.S. officials might approach the challenges of grand strategy in the 21st century.

Added August 30, 2012

Type: Other

2012-13 KSIL Update No. 01. Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.

This is an update to the 2012-13 Key Strategic Issues List. It includes topics from I Corps, USACE, UNC/CFC/USFK, and U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH).

Added August 16, 2012

Type: Monograph

Transnational Organized Crime, Terrorism, and Criminalized States in Latin America: An Emerging Tier-One National Security Priority. Authored by Douglas Farah.

The emergence of new hybrid (state and nonstate) transnational criminal/terrorist franchises in Latin America operating under broad state protection now pose a tier-one security threat for the United States. Similar hybrid franchise models are developing in other parts of the world, making understanding the new dynamics an important factor in a broader national security context.

Added August 10, 2012

Type: Monograph

Arms Control and European Security. Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank, COL Louis H. Jordan, Jr.

Is the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty dead, or waiting to be reborn? These three papers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia illuminate the complexities and dilemmas facing any attempt to raise the vexed issue of conventional arms control in Europe.

Added August 08, 2012

Type: Monograph

Culture, Identity, and Information Technology in the 21st Century: Implications for U.S. National Security. Authored by Dr. Pauline Kusiak.

The author describes strategic trends in cultural change and identity formation in the 21st century and suggests that the beliefs and values of foreign societies may increasingly, and more directly, impact our own national security in a future dominated by information technology.

Added August 01, 2012

Type: Monograph

Against All Odds: Relations between NATO and the MENA Region. Authored by Dr. Florence Gaub.

Whereas NATO had no relationships with the Middle East and North Africa at all until 1994, it has expanded now to an extent where the League of Arab States mandated its Libya mission in 2011. This monograph explains this unlikely development.

Added August 01, 2012

Type: Monograph

2012-13 Key Strategic Issues List. 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 25, 2012

Type: Book

The Next Arms Race. Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.

As the United States and Russia negotiate to bring their number of deployed nuclear weapons down, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel continue to bump their numbers up while a growing number of smaller states develop “peaceful” nuclear programs that will bring them closer to getting bombs if they choose. Welcome to the brave new world of tighter, more opaque nuclear competitions, the focus of The Next Arms Race—a must read for policy analysts and planners eager to understand and prevent the worst.

Added July 05, 2012

Type: Book

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol 2: National Security Policy and Strategy, 5th Ed.. Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

This edition of the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues reflects both the method and manner that the U.S. Army War 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 03, 2012

Type: Student (Carlisle) Papers

End Game Strategies: Winning the Peace. Authored by Lieutenant Colonel William L. Peace, Sr.

What lessons can be learned from the occupation of Germany after World War II and from Iraq after Operation IRAQI FREEDOM? This Carlisle Paper analyzes both the similarities and differences between the occupations of both countries and suggests how lessons learned from both can be applied to the future.

Added June 22, 2012

Type: Book

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol. 1: Theory of War and Strategy, 5th Ed.. Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.

This edition of the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues reflects both the method and manner that the U.S. Army War 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 June 07, 2012

Type: Monograph

Can Russia Reform? Economic, Political, and Military Perspectives. Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.

Can or will Russia reform its state, economy, and armed forces at the same time? These papers provide an answer to those questions.

Added May 22, 2012

Type: Monograph

The Role of Small States in the Post-Cold War Era: The Case of Belarus. Authored by Dr. Dmitry Shlapentokh.

The absence of a single center of power or a few centers of power — as was the case during the Cold War — provides the opportunity even for small states, sandwiched between much stronger states, to move with comparative ease from one center of power to another. Even when small states become finally attached to one of these centers, their attachment is not absolute, and freedom of action is still preserved. This provides the opportunity for small states, such as Belarus, to move from one center of power to another or to engage in a sort of geopolitical gamesmanship.

Added May 10, 2012

Type: Book

Disjointed Ways, Disunified Means: Learning from America's Struggle to Build an Afghan Nation. Authored by Colonel Lewis G. Irwin.

Remarkably ambitious in its audacity and scope, NATO’s irregular warfare and nation-building mission in Afghanistan has struggled to meet its nonmilitary objectives by most tangible measures. This book explores shortfalls in the U.S. Government’s strategic planning processes and the mechanisms for interagency coordination of effort that have contributed to this situation, as well as reforms needed to meet emerging 21st century national security challenges.

Added April 27, 2012

Type: Monograph

Ambassador Stephen Krasner's Orienting Principle for Foreign Policy (and Military Management)—Responsible Sovereignty. Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.

This monograph takes the logic of the contemporary security dilemma to another level. The intent is to operationalize and elaborate Ambassador Stephen Krasner’s "Responsible Sovereignty" orienting principle for foreign policy and military management.

Added April 17, 2012

Type: Book

Conflict Management and "Whole of Government": Useful Tools for U.S. National Security Strategy? Edited by Dr. Volker C. Franke, Dr. Robert H. Dorff.

Intended to facilitate dialogue between academic experts, military leaders, policymakers, and civilian practitioners, this edited volume provides a state of the art analysis of current whole of government (WoG) approaches and their effectiveness for coordinating stabilization and peacebuilding efforts. It explores the question: Can “smart power”—using the right tool for each operational context—successfully shift the burden of stability operations to civilian actors and enable the timely scaling-down of military deployments?

Added April 12, 2012

Type: Book

Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO. Edited by Dr. Tom Nichols, Dr. Douglas Stuart, Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland.

What is the role that tactical or non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNWs) play in NATO defense policy and strategy? This book examines the key issues surrounding this question as the Alliance seeks to redefine itself in the 21st century and meet the requirements in the Defense and Deterrence Policy Review.

Added March 29, 2012

Type: Book

Project on National Security Reform - Vol. 2: Case Studies Working Group Report. Authored by Dr. Richard Weitz.

The case studies in this volume confirm that flawed responses recur in issue areas as diverse as biodefense, public diplomacy, and military intervention as well as across presidential administrations. The piecemeal national security organizational reforms enacted to date have not fostered improved policy outcomes or decisionmaking, while capability building, especially in the civilian national security agencies, remains less than optimal.

Added February 24, 2012

Type: Monograph

Categorical Confusion? The Strategic Implications of Recognizing Challenges Either as Irregular or Traditional. Authored by Dr. Colin S. Gray.

"First, do no harm" is a golden rule for both medicine and strategic theory. Challenges to national security are simply challenges, they are neither irregular nor traditional.