Recent Publications

Climate Impact on National Security
October 12, 2017 — ISGP Institute on Science for Global Policy, USAWC Strategic Studies Institute Why does climate matter for the security of the nation and its citizens?A series of critical evaluations and recommendations focused on how current and deteriorating climate/weather conditions impact U.S. national security and U.S. military missions, domestically and... MORE

A Typology of Arguments about Drone Ethics
October 10, 2017 — Author: Dr Mary ManjikianView the Executive Summary Many different actors oppose the use of unmanned autonomous weapons (UAV’s) from adversary states, to international governmental organizations to policymakers and academics. However, the basis for their opposition varies, as do the assumptions behind their arguments. This Letort Paper lays out... MORE

Toward a NATO of the Gulf? The Challenges of Collective Defense Within the GCC
September 28, 2017 — Author: Dr Jean-Loup SamaanView the Executive Summary Although collective security in the Gulf is the topic of numerous policy publications, most of the available literature focuses on the political environment without considering the operational requirements of this scenario. This monograph offers an evaluation of Gulf defense cooperation programs... MORE

Strategic Landscape, 2050: Preparing the U.S. Military for New Era Dynamics
September 14, 2017 — Author: Mr Roman MuzalevskyView the Executive Summary A series of megatrends will present a major challenge to the United States in the coming decades, exposing it to crises and opportunities on the battlefield and in the market. The U.S. military should stand ready to harness these dynamics to retain its edge in an operational environment marked... MORE

The Clash of the Trinities: A New Theoretical Analysis of the General Nature of War
September 11, 2017 — Author: MAJ Daniel D. MaurerView the Executive Summary This monograph reimagines war’s fundamental nature, extending Clausewitz’s theory of its political origin and “Trinitarian” elements in a way that embraces alternative, sociological explanations like that of John Keegan. Ultimately, it proposes a new way to visualize the complexities of war’s... MORE

Building Partner Capacity in Africa: Keys to Success
August 29, 2017 — Editor: Prof Frank L JonesView the Executive Summary The fiscal year (FY) 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a title to reform the Department of Defense (DoD) security cooperation, has far-reaching implications for U.S. defense interests in Africa. As the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee notes, “the Department of... MORE

Parameters VOL. 47 NO. 2 SUMMER 2017
August 28, 2017 — Editor: Dr Antulio J Echevarria II The Summer issue of Parameters opens with an essay by Sir Lawrence Freedman entitled “Beyond Surprise Attack.” Surprise, argues Freedman, can come in any number of forms, and sometimes those that come in the middle or end of a campaign prove the most decisive.Our first forum, Reevaluating Diplomatic & Military... MORE

Rotational Deployments vs. Forward Stationing: How Can the Army Achieve Assurance and Deterrence Efficiently and Effectively?
August 25, 2017 — Author: Dr John R DeniView the Executive Summary The Army’s force posture is out of balance, with a greater percentage of troops stationed in the United States than at any time since the late 1940s. This has forced an over-reliance on lengthy, continuous rotational deployments to achieve deterrence and assurance in theaters such as northeast Asia... MORE

Strategic Insights: Lost in Translation
August 17, 2017 — Author: Dr M Chris Mason In a change from the Vietnam War—where the U.S. military trained at least 45,000 deploying service members to speak Vietnamese and probably twice that number—for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, apart from some remotely-based intelligence specialists doing classified work, the U.S. military trained almost no deploying... MORE

What Should the U.S. Army Learn From History? Recovery From a Strategy Deficit
July 26, 2017 — Author: Dr Colin S GrayView the Executive Summary Does history repeat itself? This monograph clearly answers “no,” firmly. However, it does not argue that an absence of repetition in the sense of analogy means that history can have no utility for the soldier today. This monograph argues for a “historical parallelism,” in place of shaky or false... MORE

The Army War College Review Vol. 3 No. 2
July 24, 2017 — Authors: Colonel James M. Efaw, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin R. Jonsson, Lieutenant Colonel Asariel Loria, Commander Mark O’Connell, Colonel Stephen E. Schemenauer The Army War College Review, a refereed publication of student work, is produced under the purview of the Strategic Studies Institute and the United States Army War College. An electronic... MORE

Strategic Insights: U.S.-China Relations: Avoiding the Traps
July 19, 2017 — Professor John F. TroxellMuch has been written about the rise of China and the tensions that this has put on the international system. The potential for conflict between the United States and China can be compared to the Peloponnesian War, as told by the ancient historian Thucydides, and the inevitability of that war because of Sparta’s fear of a... MORE