Recent Publications

On the 5th Security Force
June 26, 2024 — In episode 11 of CLSC Dialogues, Colonel Rich Butler and Colonel Brandon Teague discuss the 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade and its contributions to the US Indo-Pacific and how persistent presence and advisory roles contribute to the concept of integrated deterrence. Teague also shares some recent operations activities his team has participated in and their key accomplishments... MORE

PODCAST: Chinese Strategy and Statecraft: Coercion and Competition in the Indo-Pacific
June 24, 2024 — What are the objectives of China’s foreign and security policies under Xi Jinping? What is the role of Australia and other middle powers in responding to Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific? Are the United States’ China policies set to change with future shifts in the international order? In this episode, Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Dan... MORE

Chinese Strategy and Statecraft: Coercion and Competition in the Indo-Pacific•
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Dan Blumenthal
The National Security Podcast

PODCAST: Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security Forces
June 24, 2024 — Episode 107 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how China uses its paramilitary and internal security forces to project power abroad and build global influence.Our guests begin by dissecting the Chinese security apparatus: contrasting the People’s Liberation Army with the CCP’s internal police forces and paramilitaries. They then explore how... MORE

Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security Forces
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and LTG Charles W. Hooper
The Irregular Warfare Podcast

"Arming Allies and Partners: How Foreign Military Sales Can Change the China Problem"
June 18, 2024 — In episode 10 of CLSC Dialogues, MAJ Brennan Deveraux, national security researcher in the Strategic Studies Institute, and Josh Arostegui, research director and chair of the China Landpower Studies Center, discuss Deveraux's recent article, "Arming Allies and Partners: How Foreign Military Sales Can Change the China Problem," in which he proposes ... ... MORE

Book Review: Cold Rivals: The New Era of US-China Strategic Competition
June 18, 2024 — Naval War College associate professor Dr. Jeffrey Reeves provides a thoughtful critique of this anthology on relations between the United States and China. After a brief note on US-Chinese relations during the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations, Reeves offers suggestions for further reading and implies that the book, while providing a “historical account of US-China relations and [chronicling] its evolution,” is not unique in its contributions compared to similar literature, though he does praise two chapters on economics and technology that “stand out.”... MORE

Book Review: Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats
June 18, 2024 — Dr. John A. Nagl overviews Andrew Hoehn and Thom Shanker’s contributions with their recent book, Age of Danger, which is “well worth readers’ attention.” Nagl describes Hoehn and Shanker’s emphasis on the importance and relationship between the US intelligence community and the US Department of Defense. His review also focuses on the US relationship with China and Russia, the latter of which is featured as “[t]he acute threat” in what Nagl calls “the book’s best chapter.”... MORE

Book Review: The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall
June 18, 2024 — Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths provides an insightful review of Professor Eliot A. Cohen’s book on leadership lessons through the lens of William Shakespeare’s work, a method that “helps readers see common challenges in new ways.” Griffiths describes Cohen’s structural approach to the book—a blend of modern examples with Shakespearean counterparts—and writes that The Hollow Crown’s “effective structure allows chapters to stand on their own while remaining part of a cohesive whole.” Griffiths also notes that “[a] deep appreciation for Shakespeare’s works is not required to enjoy the book,” and that, though the book “occupies an unusual literary space,” it would “rest easily on a bookshelf alongside biographies and excellent leadership texts.”... MORE

Book Review: The Decline and Fall of Republican Afghanistan
June 18, 2024 — Foreign-policy expert Dr. Whitney Grespin reviews a “deservedly cutting reflection on mistakes made and lessons not learned during the Afghanistan War.” She notes the book’s “valuable perspective,” as one of the authors was in Kabul when it fell. Distilling the book’s contents into a detailed, useful overview, Grespin provides a helpful roadmap for readers interested in these topics and concludes the book is “[a] necessary read for practitioners engaged in security assistance.”... MORE

"Building a Purposeful Research Agenda”
June 18, 2024 — The China Landpower Studies Center Director Richard Butler and Joshua Arostegui, the center’s research director and chair, discuss the center’s research agenda. Previously, Butler outlined the center’s mission and how the research agenda answers large campaign questions across the perspectives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States, and US allies and partners. ... MORE

Russian Warships, Venezuelan Elections, and a Fabricated Crisis with Guyana in the Caribbean?
June 17, 2024 — The deployment of Russian warships to the Caribbean is Kabuki theater. For 15 years, a Russia whose international power projection capabilities have deteriorated significantly since the end of the Cold War has periodically sent limited, yet still threatening forces to the U.S. near abroad, in response to U.S. activities in what it regards as its... MORE

Russian Warships, Venezuelan Elections, and a Fabricated Crisis with Guyana in the Caribbean?

R. Evan Ellis

“Taiwan’s Contribution to Liberal Order and the Future of US-Taiwan Relations”
June 13, 2024 — Strengthening ties with Taiwan is the best chance the United States has to preserve the liberal international order in Asia and improve its security relative to China. This study offers a normative perspective on how Taiwan can contribute to US-led international institutions and the Asian regional order and reduce conflict risk. It concludes with recommendations for the United States and its partners to integrate Taiwan... MORE

The Harding Project
June 12, 2024 — Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths and Sergeant First Class Leyton Summerlin of the Harding Project discuss military discourse and why it matters, the impact of professional writing, tips for aspiring writers, and more. Named after Major General Edwin Forrest Harding, the Harding project focuses on US Army professional publications with the intent to renew and revive them. ... MORE