Recent Publications

2009 Key Strategic Issues List
July 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Unlike other lists that generally reflect issues which are operational or tactical in nature, the focus of the Key Strategic Issues List is strategic. The spotlight is, in other words, on those items that senior Army and Department of Defense leaders should consider in providing military advice and formulating... MORE

Criminals, Militias, and Insurgents: Organized Crime in Iraq
July 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Phil Williams Dr. Williams looks in detail at major criminal activities, including the theft, diversion, and smuggling of oil, the kidnapping of both Iraqis and foreigners, extortion, car theft, and the theft and smuggling of antiquities. He also considers the critical role played by corruption in facilitating and strengthening organized... MORE

Pakistan – The Most Dangerous Place in the World
July 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Larry P Goodson Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the July 2009 newsletter.Read Now MORE

China’s Maritime Quest
June 1, 2009 — Author: Dr David Lai Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the June 2009 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Strategic Implications of Emerging Technologies
June 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Antulio J Echevarria II KEY INSIGHTS:• The conference could only scratch the surface regarding the strategic implications of several important emerging technologies, namely, biogenetics, biometrics, nanotechnologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, alternative energies, and electromagnetic weaponry. More research is needed in the form... MORE

New Partnerships for a New Era: Enhancing the South African Army’s Stabilization Role in Africa
June 1, 2009 — Author: Prof Deane-Peter Baker Since emerging from the mire of its apartheid past, South Africa has become a key player in Sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge of creating a truly national military, during a period in which South Africa has also wrestled with tough internal socio-economic problems, has left the South African National Defence Force... MORE

Challenges and Opportunities for the Obama Administration in Central Asia
June 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank President Obama has outlined a comprehensive strategy for the war in Afghanistan which is now the central front of our campaign against Islamic terrorism. The strategy strongly connects our prosecution of that war to our policy in Pakistan and internal developments there as a necessary condition of victory. But the... MORE

American Grand Strategy after War
May 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Dallas D Owens, Mr Ionut C Popescu Academic grand strategists are very much aware of the importance of, the need for, and situational determinants of grand strategy after a change in the strategic environment, typified by a hot or cold war. The difficulty of predicting the time, importance, or response to the next “significant” period... MORE

Cultural Dimensions of Strategy and Policy
May 1, 2009 — Author: COL Jiyul Kim There has been a growing recognition in the post-Cold War era that culture has increasingly become a factor in determining the course of today’s complex and interconnected world. The U.S. experience in Afghanistan and Iraq extended this trend to national security and military operations. There is also a growing recognition by... MORE

Mexico’s Narco-Insurgency and U.S. Counterdrug Policy
May 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Hal Brands In late 2007, the U.S. and Mexican governments unveiled the Merida Initiative. A 3-year, $1.4 billion counternarcotics assistance program, the Merida Initiative is designed to combat the drug-fueled violence that has ravaged Mexico of late. The initiative aims to strengthen the Mexican police and military, permitting them to... MORE

State and Nonstate Associated Gangs: Credible “Midwives of New Social Orders”
May 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring The monograph examines contemporary populism and neopopulism, 21st century socialism, and a nonstate actor (al-Qaeda) seeking regional and global hegemony. They are: first, paramilitary gang permutations in Colombia that are contributing significantly to the erosion of the Colombian state and its democratic institutions,... MORE

Preventing Iraq from Slipping Back into Sectarian Chaos
May 1, 2009 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the May 2009 newsletter.Read Now MORE