Recent Publications

China Center Director Series – China Aerospace Studies Institute
May 27, 2024 — Episode 4 features Dr. Brendan Mulvaney is the director of the department of the Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). In this episode, Mulvaney introduces CASI, its mission, researchers, product lines, and more. The organization is the Department of Air Force’s premiere center for the study of China and its aerospace capabilities... MORE

China-Argentina Space Engagement
May 23, 2024 — This work examines China - Argentine Space Collaboration, with a focus on the PRC Operated Deep Space Radar Facility in Neuquén. It argues that in interest of national development, and in the context of hopes for benefit from Argentina’s broader relationship with China, in an era of less pronounced strategic competition between the PRC and the... MORE

China-Argentina Space Engagement | R. Evan Ellis
Background photo of China and Argentina’s deep space ground station antennas from Wikimedia, April, 2022 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Estaci%C3%B3n_de_Espacio_Profundo_de_la_CLTC-CONAE-NEUQUEN_en_abril_2022_02.jpg)

“International Law, Self-Defense, and the Israel-Hamas Conflict”
May 23, 2024 — This podcast examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this... MORE

China Center Director Series – China Landpower Studies Center
May 20, 2024 — In episode 3 of CLSC Dialogues, COL Rich Butler, director of the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) in the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College, discusses the scope and mission of the CLSC and introduces its researchers and 2024 conference theme. The CLSC stood up in January 2024 to tackle questions about China’s emergence as a global power and its implications for the US military... MORE

Book Review: The Wandering Army: The Campaigns that Transformed the British Way of War
May 20, 2024 — European Military History | Author: Huw J. Davies | Reviewed by Dr. James D. Scudieri, senior research historian, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College | Senior research historian Dr. James D. Scudieri lends his expertise to review King’s College London academic Huw J. Davies’s most recent book, a “powerful monograph” on the 1750–1850... MORE

Cover for The Wandering Army: The Campaigns That Transformed the British Way of war

Book Review: Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military
May 20, 2024 — Civil-Military Relations | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols, US Army War College class of 2023 | Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols provides a thoughtful review of Duke University professor Peter D. Feaver’s book on the reasons for—and proposed ways to maintain—the “high public confidence”... MORE

Cover for Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military

Book Review: Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition
May 20, 2024 — Military Theory | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain, US Army War College class of 2010 | Retired US Army chaplain Dr. Wylie W. Johnson reviews Christian Nikolaus Braun’s dissertation-turned-book on a “casuistic” approach to just war informed by the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Johnson... MORE

Cover for Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition

Book Review: Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences
May 20, 2024 — Military History | Editors: Timothy G. Heck and Walker D. Mills | Reviewed by Dr. J.P. Clark, associate professor of strategy, Basic Strategic Art Program, US Army War College | Dr. J.P. Clark provides a thoughtful analysis of this anthology on retreat, an "under-studied topic in the US military." The book covers case studies spanning from the... MORE

Cover for Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion and Consequences

AI, Trust, Culture, and the Military (Part 1)
May 15, 2024 — Contesting Paul Scharre’s influential vision of “centaur warfighting” and the idea that autonomous weapon systems will replace human warfighters, this podcast proposes that the manned-unmanned teams of the future are more likely to be minotaurs, teams of humans under the control, supervision, or command of artificial intelligence. It examines the likely composition of the future force and prompts a necessary conversation about the ethical issues raised by minotaur warfighting. The guests also explore culture and trust in relation to AI and the military. ... MORE

Dr. Evan Ellis on the Central Role of Paraguay in South America
May 13, 2024 — Paraguay as a Linchpin Both Literally and Figuratively – Paraguay sits at the crossroads of both illicit and licit activities in South America, with implications stretching from arms trafficking to the drug trade to Hezbollah's fundraising to China-Taiwan issues. How is the relatively new government of President Santiago Peña dealing with Paraguay's many challenges, including significant corruption? What are the promises and perils it faces politically, economically, and militarily? Dr. Evan Ellis joined SSI Live host John R. Deni for a deep dive on Paraguay, including a readout of Evan''s meeting with President Peña... MORE

Argentina: Security Challenges and the Government Response
May 13, 2024 — Summary: In addition to Argentina’s profound economic crisis, the nation faces serious security challenges. These include use of the country as a drug transit zone, including cocaine from Bolivia and Peru bound for Europe and marijuana from Paraguay. Such criminal activities have caused violent struggles between groups for transport routes in... MORE

In addition to Argentina’s profound economic crisis, the nation faces serious security challenges. These include use of the country as a drug transit zone, including cocaine from Bolivia and Peru bound for Europe and marijuana from Paraguay.

China’s Use of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower in Asia
May 9, 2024 — This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and influence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response. ... MORE