Regional Issues

China Landpower Studies Center | June 3, 2025

Assessing the PLA’s Strengths and Weaknesses for Achieving the PRC’s Goals

This chapter examines the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) within the context of its modernization process and argues that the persistence of shortcomings may undercut the confidence senior leaders would prefer

China Landpower Studies Center | May 20, 2025

China Landpower Studies Center Newsletter II

In our second newsletter, we will share the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) team’s latest analysis and insights on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China

With Daniel Noboa returning to the presidency and a new Chinese ambassador on the way, China-Ecuador relations are at an inflection point.From April 22-25, I had the opportunity to travel to Quito, Ecuador, to address an international forum on China

China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas

The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.In the coming three months, China will have a number of opportunities

China Landpower Studies Center | April 29, 2025

Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response

The US government threats of tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not do more to control illicit fentanyl flows into the United States have cast new attention on the growing problem of transnational organized crime that has wrought violence

Parameters | Spring 2025
March 20, 2025 — Welcome to the Spring 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Russia, Ukraine, and NATO; Strategic Competition and Managing National Security; and Joint Sustainment Strategies), the regular Civil-Military Relations Corner installment, and a review essay... MORE

Thompson’s Rifle Battalion: The Original Unit of the Army of the United Colonies (Now the United States Regular Army)
April 22, 2025 — Why is 1775 depicted on the official flag of the US Army? Why did Congress form the Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion as the first non-militia unit in the army of the United Colonies? Who was the battalion’s commander, William Thompson? What happened to Thompson and his rifle battalion during the rest of the American Revolution?... MORE

Thompson’s Rifle Battalion: The Original Unit of the Army of the United Colonies (Now the United States Regular Army) | John A. Bonin

North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation
March 18, 2025 — The deployment of North Korean forces to Ukraine marks a critical inflection point in global security dynamics, challenging long-held assumptions about the limits of cooperation between authoritarian states. This development, unprecedented in its implications, reveals even absent formal alliances or ideological cohesion, the strategic realignment among authoritarian states has the potential to reshape the global order and future conflicts... MORE

North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation
Jake Rinaldi

Toward a More Effective DoD Contribution to Strategic Competition in the Western Hemisphere
February 21, 2025 — Innovative new thinking is needed on the security challenges the People’s Republic of China poses in Latin America and the Department of Defense’s role in the US response, including (1) enhanced security cooperation that helps key democratic partners succeed and provides the United States leverage and situational awareness, and (2) anticipating how the People’s Republic of China may exploit its commercial and other activities in the region in times of war... MORE

Toward a More Effective DoD Contribution to Strategic Competition in the Western Hemisphere | R. Evan Ellis

Assessing the Effectiveness of US Army Campaigning in the Indo-Pacific
January 8, 2025 — Applying the military instrument of power is essential to deterrence and assurance in the Indo-Pacific. This essay explores the underappreciated application of Landpower in this critical region and assesses the effects of a few activities that assure allies and partners and deter the People’s Republic of China. The discreet examples in this short article hopefully provide a better foundation for understanding military dynamics in the region and allow for better future assessments of integrated deterrence efforts... MORE

Assessing the Effectiveness of US Army Campaigning in the Indo-Pacific | Colonel Richard D. Butler and Jimmy Bell

China’s Next Step in Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: A New Reserve Service System
December 5, 2024 — The Chinese Communist Party’s massive active-duty army—the largest in the world—understates the manpower available to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during a future protracted war. Despite the hundreds of thousands of combat troops garrisoned around the country, a prolonged war of attrition will require more than movement of forces from one side of the country to another... MORE

China’s Next Step in Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army: A New Reserve Service System | Joshua M. Arostegui

Pretexts for War and the Preinvasion Crisis in Ukraine
December 5, 2024 — The US strategy in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine appeared to undermine Russian efforts to justify the war. While studies of international crises typically focus on the goals of deterrence and escalation management, recent events in Ukraine show that counterjustification is another important objective. Russia used covert activities and deception to try and create a pretext for its invasion, and the United States aggressively countered these efforts... MORE

Pretexts for War and the Preinvasion Crisis in Ukraine | Ron Gurantz

Parameters | Winter 2024–25
November 21, 2024 — Welcome to the Winter 2024–25 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific, Security Cooperation, and Historical Studies), and the regular Civil-Military Relations Corner installment... MORE

Bargaining for Justice: Ukraine, Gaza, and the Ethics of Conflict Termination
September 23, 2024 — As wars in Ukraine and Gaza continue with little end in sight, the sense of urgency to determine how they should end is increasing, given how the wars could end. A just war aims to establish a better state of peace, but a better state of peace may not always be achievable, and even when it is achievable, it may not be good enough. When that is the case, actors must determine on what terms to settle... MORE

Bargaining for Justice: Ukraine, Gaza, and the Ethics of Conflict Termination | C. Anthony Pfaff

The Role of America’s European Allies in the Russia-Ukraine War, 2022–24
September 19, 2024 — What more can US allies in Europe do to assist Ukraine militarily? More broadly, what can the United States expect from its closest allies in Europe in strategic competition with Russia and China? In this monograph, John R. Deni and Lisa A. Aronsson assess whether US allies and partners in Europe can continue providing military assistance to Ukraine or expand assistance, while preserving their own national... MORE