Regional Issues

SRAD | Jan. 5, 2026

How Maduro’s capture went down – a military strategist explains what goe...

The predawn seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026 was a complicated affair. It was also, operationally, a resounding success for the U.S. military.Operation Absolute Resolve achieved its objective of seizing Maduro through a

SRAD | Aug. 26, 2025

Loyal Paraguay: The Peña Government’s Strategic Choice to Stay with Taiwan

From August 11-15, 2025, the author was in Asuncion, Paraguay, in an International Republican Institute (IRI) event hosted by that nation’s President Santiago Peña, bringing together government officials, diplomats, businesspersons, and civil

SRAD | Aug. 15, 2025

The Economic Argument for Keeping US Forces in Europe

NATO’s Hague summit earlier this summer has generally been viewed as a qualified success, despite — or perhaps because of — its unusually short and focused agenda. The new 5 percent defense spending commitment deserves most of the credit for this

SRAD | Aug. 13, 2025

Election, Crisis, and U.S. Opportunity in Bolivia

Bolivia, strategically at the center of South America, faces a critical election that will define its direction in its current profound economic, political and security crisis, its future relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), its

SRAD | July 22, 2025

More Than a Numbers Game: Comparing US and Chinese Landpower in the Paci...

As the US Army organizes, trains, and equips for an unforeseen future, service decisions should create or amplify relative operational advantages over the US military’s rising foe—the People’s Liberation Army. Discerning critical differences between

Category: SRAD

Book Review: The Ageless Call to Serve: Rethinking Military Service for A Changing World
March 5, 2026 — At age 63, psychiatrist Lanny Snodgrass defied convention by joining the Army, challenging long-held beliefs about age and military readiness. Drawing on decades of clinical experience with veterans and young soldiers, he exposes the psychological toll of sending teenagers to war while advocating for the wisdom and resilience older recruits can bring. This provocative and inspiring book reimagines military service for a modern world, urging a shift from age-based limits to capability-based inclusion... MORE

Cover of The Ageless Call to Serve: Rethinking Military Service for A Changing World by LTC Lanny Snodgrass, MD, PhD

Book Review: The Airborne Mafia: The Paratroopers Who Shaped America’s Cold War Army
March 5, 2026 — In this gripping organizational history, Robert F. Williams reveals how a tight-knit group of World War II paratroopers rose to dominate the US Army’s leadership and reshape its doctrine during the Cold War. Through bold innovation and a fiercely held airborne culture, figures like Ridgway, Taylor, and Gavin transformed civil-military relations, atomic warfare planning, and airmobile strategy. The Airborne Mafia uncovers how subcultures can wield extraordinary influence, leaving a legacy that still echoes through today’s military institutions... MORE

Cover of The Airborne Mafia: The Paratroopers Who Shaped America’s Cold War Army by Robert F. Williams

Book Review: Hard Broke: Asymmetric Warfare, Great Power Competition, and Institutional Paralysis
March 5, 2026 — Institutional inertia can be as dangerous as enemy fire—discover why rapid adaptation remains critical for future conflicts. From IEDs to unmanned systems, this analysis asks: Can the Army evolve fast enough to meet tomorrow’s threats?... MORE

Cover for Hard Broke: Asymmetric Warfare, Great Power Competition, and Institutional Paralysis by Colonel Matthew D. Matter, US Army (Ret.)

Book Review: Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee
March 5, 2026 — In this groundbreaking study, Peter Banseok Kwon uncovers how South Korea’s defense industry became the engine of its rapid modernization under President Park Chung Hee. Drawing on declassified archives and firsthand interviews, Kwon reveals a hidden alliance of military, scientific, and industrial forces that transformed Korea into a global economic power. Cornerstone of the Nation reframes the “Miracle on the Han River” as a story of militarized industrialization, offering fresh insights into authoritarian development and Cold War geopolitics... MORE

Cover of Cornerstone of the Nation: The Defense Industry and the Building of Modern Korea under Park Chung Hee by Peter Banseok Kwon

Book Review: The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi
March 5, 2026 — In this sweeping analysis, T. V. Paul traces India’s decades-long journey to global prominence, revealing how aspirations for major power status have been shaped—and often stalled—by internal contradictions and external constraints. Blending hard-power metrics with soft-power dynamics, Paul explores India’s evolving role as a “swing power” in the Indo-Pacific and its complex rivalry with China. From Nehru’s nonalignment to Modi’s assertive nationalism, this book offers a compelling framework for understanding India’s place in the shifting global order... MORE

Cover of The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi by T.V. Paul

Book Review: Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars
March 5, 2026 — Fry’s book, Women in Intelligence, uncovers stories of women working in intelligence and espionage during wartime. Using recently declassified files, she brings to light stories of individuals and the advances in women’s suffrage during the two World Wars. The reviewer sees this as an essential work that makes a significant contribution to the history of intelligence efforts and recommends it to practitioners of the military profession... MORE

Cover of Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars by Helen Fry

Book Review: Strategy and Grand Strategy
March 5, 2026 — Joshua Rovner’s Strategy and Grand Strategy is a compelling and essential exploration of how nations succeed—or fail—when aligning military strategy with broader security goals. Through vivid historical case studies and sharp analysis, Rovner reveals how misunderstanding or ignoring the relationship between strategy (a theory of victory) and grand strategy (a theory of security) can lead to disastrous outcomes. This book is a must-read for anyone involved in national security, defense planning, or the study of statecraft in an era of technological and geopolitical complexity... MORE

Cover of Strategy and Grand Strategy by Joshua Rovner

Book Review: Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons
March 5, 2026 — Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons discusses the American nuclear weapons enterprise by analyzing arguments from the past and situations in the present. The author explains the field of nuclear anthropology and the effects of having a long-term nuclear stockpile, as well as how research of nuclear weapons has developed over time, computer modeling, and nuclear forensics. The reviewer considers it “a readable, thought-provoking book that makes this dense subject accessible.”... MORE

Cover of COUNTDOWN: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons by Sarah Scoles

SSI Live 122 – On Iran
March 5, 2026 — In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Dr. Jacob Stoil, a research professor of Middle East Security Studies at the Strategic Studies Institute, regarding the ongoing operations against Iran. The conversation explores the historical context of tensions with Iran and examines current and futures challenges that region may face in light of recent events... MORE

Slide for SSI Live Podcast Episode122: On Iran

Fighting for Intelligence in Large-Scale Combat Operations: The Role of the Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion–Next
March 3, 2026 — This article contends the US Army’s proposed intelligence and electronic warfare battalion–next concept constitutes an organizational solution essential for achieving intelligence dominance in large-scale combat operations. Transcending legacy formations that are predicated on specific intelligence disciplines, this innovative design furnishes a functionally oriented, modular, and layered architecture that affords the requisite analytic capabilities, agility, and endurance for the contemporary battlefield. The analysis incorporates lessons extracted from the Russia-Ukraine War, US Army experimental endeavors, assessments of peer threats, and doctrinal evolutions, thereby providing readers of US Army War College Press publications with vital insights into how the Army is adapting to the future of warfare... MORE

Slide far Fighting for Intelligence in Large-Scale Combat Operations: The Role of the Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion–Next