Recent Publications

Cognitive Performance Enhancement for Multi-domain Operations
December 9, 2022 — Despite its desire to achieve cognitive dominance for multi-domain operations, the Army has yet to develop fully and adopt the concept of cognitive performance enhancement. This article provides a comprehensive assessment of the Army’s efforts in this area, explores increasing demands on soldier cognition, and compares the Army’s current approach to its adversaries. Its conclusions will help US military and policy practitioners establish the culture and behaviors that promote cognitive dominance and success across multiple domains... MORE

What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare
December 5, 2022 — The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the long-term energy dependencies on Moscow that Europe will neither be able to resolve quickly nor without great sacrifice. Russia’s hybrid warfare—a combination of kinetic strikes against key infrastructure, information manipulation, malign finance, economic coercion, and cyber operations—has used Ukraine to target the heart of Europe’s energy security. This war has forced the Continent to consider how to realize its economic, environmental, and geostrategic energy goals on its own. This study found systemic dependencies and cyber vulnerabilities in critical energy infrastructure throughout the European continent could impact the Alliance’s political stability and threaten military effectiveness. Forward mobility and troop readiness are affected directly by energy shortfalls and increasing cyber vulnerabilities across NATO. The main findings related to cyber and malign influence provide a sobering view of the challenges of hybrid warfare on energy security in NATO nations. ... MORE

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield
December 2, 2022 — Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging... MORE

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2 by Sarah J. Lohmann.

SRAD Director’s Corner: Preserving Taiwan as Strategic Imperative
December 1, 2022 — In the fourth installment of the SRAD Director’s Corner, Shatzer focuses on the Taiwan/China relationship. He reviews The Trouble with Taiwan: History, the United States and a Rising China by Kerry Brown and Kalley Wu Tzu-hui and Taiwan Straits Standoff: 70 Years of PRC–Taiwan Cross-Strait Tensions by Bruce A. Elleman and shows how these books might help strategists better understand the contentious and violent history of cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China so they can deal with the problem today and in the future. ... MORE

Parameters | Winter 2022–23
November 18, 2022 — Parameters | Winter 2022–23From the Acting Editor in ChiefConrad C. CraneIn FocusPresent Danger: Nuclear Power Plants and Modern WarfareHenry D. SokolskiPutin Chooses between a Series of Bad OptionsJeffrey D. McCauslandIndo-PacificIndian Perspectives: Insights for Indo-American PartnershipTyrell O. MayfieldSecurity Force Assistance Brigades and US... MORE

Parameters Summer 2023 Issue US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare
November 9, 2022 — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced the United States and its NATO partners to be confronted with the impact of hybrid warfare far beyond the battlefield. Targeting Europe’s energy security, Russia’s malign influence campaigns and malicious cyber intrusions are affecting global gas prices, driving up food costs, disrupting supply chains and... MORE

Putin Chooses between a Series of Bad Options
November 4, 2022 — Now that Vladimir Putin has chosen a path of escalation in his unnecessary war of aggression against Ukraine, it is imperative Western policymakers know the consequences and how he might escalate further. This podcast examines recent events on the battlefield; the implications of the announced annexation of territory, mobilization of forces, and threats to employ “all means” to defend Russian territory; the domestic ramifications and Russian thinking on “hybrid warfare”; and the possible weaponization of food and energy as Putin determines future escalatory steps. It will assist American and European leaders in determining policies to deal with the ongoing crisis at this moment and prepare for an uncertain future. ... MORE

Religion and Resistance
November 1, 2022 — The Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churchesin Resistance Efforts in the War Against RussiaHeather S. Gregg, 2022, the Foreign Policy Research InstituteAs the Russian-instigated war in Ukraine nears its first-year anniversary, resistance—population-based efforts to frustrate and repel an occupying force—remains an important piece of the... MORE

Coercing Fluently: The Grammar of Coercion in the Twenty-first Century
October 31, 2022 — To illustrate the logic and grammar of coercion, this analysis relies on decision-theory methods, such as game theory, that examine the strategic decision-making process in interactions with adversaries and partners. The intent here is not to offer predictive models of rational-actor behavior. Rather, the intent is to use game theory and similar approaches to understand how coercion works better. This analysis considers competitive interactions between actors that have discrete and qualifiable, if not quantifiable, preferences and who behave rationally, though this analysis acknowledges the behavior that is considered rational is frequently informed by nonrational social, cultural, and psychological factors. Considering these competitive interactions allows one to identify “rules of thumb” that can orient and guide actors as they compete... MORE

Present Danger: Nuclear Power Plants in War
October 28, 2022 — After Russia’s unprecedented seizure of Ukraine’s nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhya, the United States needs to adjust its military planning and policies to cope with hostile military forces’ targeting, seizure, and garrisoning of armed forces at large, operating nuclear plants and clarify its policies regarding possible US targeting of such plants. This podcast analyzes these concerns. It compares Russia’s assaults with previous strikes against research reactors and nonoperating nuclear plants in the Middle East and clarifies what new military measures and policies will be needed to cope with military operations against large, operating nuclear plants. US Army and Pentagon officials, as well as military and civilian staff, will discover ways to mitigate and reduce future military harm to civilians in war zones and understand the operational implications of military assaults on and seizures of civilian nuclear facilities. ... MORE

A Preliminary Look from Washington at Colombia’s New Direction and Security Challenges
October 28, 2022 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis, October 2022This work examines the likely direction of the Gustavo Petro administration in Colombia in the arena of economic, security and foreign policy, and associated challenges. Its analysis is based on key personnel appointments, statements, and initial policy actions. It argues that the administration will likely have the... MORE

A Preliminary Look from Washington at Colombia’s New Direction and Security Challenges (Gustavo Petro Familia)

Biden’s National Security Strategy: A New Era in Eurasia
October 28, 2022 — Robert E. Hamilton, October 26, 2022, the Foreign Policy Research Institute Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a reorientation of US national security policy toward “constraining” Russia While China remains the long-term US focus, the new National Security Strategy (NSS) sees Russia as a “profoundly dangerous” state that poses an “immediate... MORE