Recent Publications

China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Launcher: Reshaping the PLA Army's Role in a Cross-Strait Campaign
November 15, 2023 — With its fielding of the PCH191 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) and its variety of long-range precision munitions, the PLA Army (PLAA) has become arguably the most important contributor of campaign and tactical firepower during a joint island landing campaign against Taiwan. No longer simply the primary source of amphibious and air assault forces,... MORE

"China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Lau" by Joshua Arostegui (usnwc.edu)

China has acquired a global network of strategically vital ports
November 8, 2023 — Carol V. Evans | A decade ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Maritime Silk Road, the oceanic component of his flagship Belt and Road Initiative aimed at improving China’s access to world markets by investing in transportation infrastructure. The initiative’s investments have since slowed as Chinese growth falters, the United States... MORE

The expansion is critical to China’s economic power and has significant military implications as well, analysts say. “This is not coincidental,” said Carol Evans, director of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College. “I firmly believe there is a strategic aspect to the particular ports they’re targeting for investment.”

Background photo credit: A dockworker passes by a container ship at the Chinese-operated port of Djibouti in 2015. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images), from the article https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/china-ports-trade-military-navy/

Implications of the Israel-Hamas War for the Global Strategic Environment
November 7, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | The unfolding war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization is like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Hamas’ unconscionable, extensively planned terror unleashed against Israel on October 7 has set in motion tragically predictable actions, likely to accelerate the fundamental transformation underway in the global... MORE

Implications of the Israel-Hamas War for the Global Strategic Environment
by R. Evan Ellis
https://www.indrastra.com/2023/11/implications-of-israel-hamas-war-for.html

Iran’s Re-engagement with Latin America
November 3, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | The article presents the resumption of Iran’s relations with Latin America and the opportunities this offers for political and economic interaction. It highlights Iran’s acceptance into the BRICS during the organization’s summit in Johannesburg in 2023, which accelerated the reestablishment of Iran’s contacts with the international... MORE

Iran’ Re-engagement with Latin America
by R. Evan Ellis
https://revistas.ceeep.mil.pe/index.php/seguridad-y-poder-terrestre/article/view/43/81

Comparing China’s Engagement in Africa and Latin America
October 21, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | There are substantial commonalities in Beijing’s engagement between the two regions, but also differences that provide insights into how China-based entities make, and adapt, policies. On October 12-13, 2023, the Jack D. Gordon Institute of Florida International University (FIU) hosted an event bringing together Africa and Latin... MORE

Comparing China’s Engagement in Africa and Latin America
R. Evan Ellis
There are substantial commonalities in Beijing’s engagement between the two regions, but also differences that provide insights into how China-based entities make, and adapt, policies.
https://thediplomat.com/2023/10/comparing-chinas-engagement-in-africa-and-latin-america/

Image credits: Chinese flag from Pexels.com, world map overlay from FreePik.com

Security Challenges Facing the Dominican Republic and the Government Response
October 18, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | From September 24-28, 2023, a trip was made to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to present a paper on crime and violence in the Caribbean at a forum organized by Funglode,[2] one of the country’s leading think tanks. As part of this visit, he held a dialogue with a wide range of former and current security personnel and other... MORE

Security Challenges Facing the Dominican Republic and the Government Response
R. Evan Ellis
ntroduction
From September 24-28, 2023, a trip was made to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to present a paper on crime and violence in the Caribbean at a forum organized by Funglode,[2] one of the country’s leading think tanks. As part of this visit, he held a dialogue with a wide range of former and current security personnel and other experts on the security challenges facing the nation.

The Dominican Republic’s economy, closely linked to that of the United States (U.S.) through geography, family ties and the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR),[3] is one of the fastest growing in the region.[4] Despite the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,[5] tourism has recovered remarkably. The country has a vibrant democratic political culture and, unlike many of its Caribbean and Central American neighbors with whom it shares close linguistic and cultural ties, has managed to maintain significantly lower levels of violence and gang activity.

(https://ceeep.mil.pe/2023/10/18/retos-de-seguridad-a-los-que-se-enfrenta-la-republica-dominicana-y-la-respuesta-del-gobierno/?lang=en)

Background image credit: CEEP

The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
October 17, 2023 — Book Review: The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr. | Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense | Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The... MORE

Book Review: The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/28
Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.
Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers, Krepinevich asks: How do states gain advantages in military competition during periods of disruptive change? How are developmental technologies best incorporated into legacy military structures? Or are entirely new structures necessary?

Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
October 17, 2023 — Book Review: Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Author: Paul Scharre| Reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research and analysis, managing partner, C/O Futures, LLC | Award-winning author Paul Scharre’s latest work, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, envisions artificial... MORE

Book Review: Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/27

Author: Paul Scharre

Reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research and analysis, managing partner, C/O Futures, LLC

TEASER: Award-winning author Paul Scharre’s latest work, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, envisions artificial intelligence as ushering in a “new industrial revolution” with big military, economic, and political implications. The reviewer sees this “readable, tightly structured” book as “fascinating and important work from a US national security studies perspective” and “after-hours supplemental reading for US military and policy professionals who want to understand the political-military importance of AI and its strategic (in fact, civilizational) implications for the future.”

Implications of the Hamas Terror Attacks and the Israeli Response on Latin America and the Global Strategic Environment
October 13, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | My heart goes out to the almost 1,000 Israelis brutally slaughtered by Hamas on October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks this week. Few not actually living this moment in Israel, and certainly not me, can truly understand the grief and outrage that Hamas’ acts of depravity have sparked among Israelis. A nation forged from history’s most... MORE

Evan Ellis - Implications of the Hamas Terror Attacks and the Israeli Response on Latin America and the Global Strategic Environment
(for IndraStra at https://www.indrastra.com/2023/10/implications-of-hamas-terror-attacks.html)

Expert Analysis on Latest Attacks in Ukraine
October 6, 2023 — John R. Deni | Military expert John Deni talks to CNN's Laila Harrak about Russian attacks on civilians, and the question of U.S. aid.Watch the video here: Expert analysis on latest attacks in Ukraine | CNN (https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/07/exp-ukraine-laila-guest-fst-100702aseg1.cnn)CNN Host Laila Guest interviews John R. Deni on the... MORE

Expert Analysis on Latest Attacks in Ukraine
US Army War College | Strategic Studies Institute

Military expert John Deni talks to CNN's Laila Harrak about Russian attacks on civilians, and the question of U.S. aid.
Expert analysis on latest attacks in Ukraine | CNN (https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/07/exp-ukraine-laila-guest-fst-100702aseg1.cnn)

CNN Host Laila Guest interviews John R. Deni on the current situation in Ukraine.

Photo is a screenshot of the CNN interview.

The Impact of the Turn to the Left on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in Latin
October 5, 2023 — R. Evan Ellis | This work uses the comparative method, complemented by quantitative data, to examine engagement by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Latin America as a function of government type, across a range of activities, including trade, investment, infrastructure projects, security relations, and technical architectures over the past... MORE

R. Evan Ellis
This work uses the comparative method, complemented by quantitative data, to examine engagement by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Latin America as a function of government type, across a range of activities, including trade, investment, infrastructure projects, security relations, and technical architectures over the past two decades. The findings indicate that the PRC establishes distinct and often broader forms of engagement with populist, anti-US governments, although this does not necessarily translate into a higher volume of PRC investment or overall trade with those governments. This is the first major work in the growing China–Latin America literature to explicitly analyze the dynamics of PRC engagement across regime type. It contributes to strategic analysis of the PRC challenge in the region by the operational force, including the identification of risks, and the formulation of responses, including credible messaging, in support of a coordinated whole-of-government response to the PRC challenge.

Read now: The Impact of the Turn to the Left on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in Latin

Image adapted from FreePik (https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/coronavirus-map_7456298.htm)

The Air War in Vietnam
September 21, 2023 — 76th Birthday of Air Force | Book Review: The Air War in Vietnam Author: Michael E. Weaver | Reviewed by Vince Alcazar, Air Force (retired) planner and fighter pilot, Department of Defense | The Air War in Vietnam addresses President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration’s use of airpower (or lack of it) and why American airpower underperformed, as... MORE

Book Review by Vince Alcazar of
The Air War in Vietnam

Author: Michael E. Weaver
Reviewed by Vince Alcazar, Air Force (retired) planner and fighter pilot, Department of Defense

The Air War in Vietnam addresses President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration’s use of airpower (or lack of it) and why American airpower underperformed, as well as airpower innovations that influenced the US warfare model in the Vietnam War. The reviewer bills this work as “…an indispensable volume of airpower scholarship. It is a richly developed analysis of airpower in a decade-long war with challenging hybrid characteristics and shifting US strategies.”