Recent Publications

From Chaos to Cohesion: A Regional Approach to Security, Stability, and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
April 1, 2013 — Author: Ms Diane E Chido View the Executive SummaryPrevention is the key to effective policies in Africa, whether the issue is equitable resource exploitation, ethnic conflict, infectious diseases, or famine. African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have moved beyond their initial purpose of a loose confederation of trading partners to become... MORE

Op-Ed: Drones Are Making A Difference In Yemen
March 13, 2013 — Dr. W. Andrew TerrillUnmanned aerial vehicles (often known as drones) have recently been the subject of intense controversy due to their use in remote parts of the world to target individuals designated as terrorists. This concern is appropriate, because many aspects of their use are clearly in need of scrupulous legal and ethical consideration... MORE

Colloquium Brief: Kingston Conference on International Security (KCIS-2012): International Security in an Age of Austerity
March 4, 2013 — Mr. Dru LauzonA Partnership Between Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen's University, Chair of Defence Management Studies, Queen's University, and Land Force Doctrine and Training System of the Canadian ForcesKey Insights. While the threat of another... MORE

Cyberspace: Malevolent Actors, Criminal Opportunities, and Strategic Competition Conference
March 4, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. BunkerThe “Cyberspace: Malevolent Actors, Criminal Opportunities, and Strategic Competition” conference was held on November 1-2, 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA. The conference was sponsored by the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, University of Pittsburgh, and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War... MORE

Governance, Identity, and Counterinsurgency: Evidence from Ramadi and Tal Afar
March 1, 2013 — Author: Dr Michael Fitzsimmons View the Executive SummaryThe premise of most Western thinking on counterinsurgency is that success depends on establishing a perception of legitimacy among local populations. The path to legitimacy is often seen as the improvement of governance in the form of effective and efficient administration of government and... MORE

Op-Ed: Thinking Inside A New Box: The Coming of the New Age of Mutualism; The End of Another
February 11, 2013 — COL Louis H. Jordan, JrThe recent announcement by the President on the transfer of responsibility for Afghan society back to the Afghan government, and the new role of U.S. forces as a trainers and advisors in the support of this objective, elicited many reactions from opposing points of view here at home. However, what is missing in the dialog is... MORE

Strategic Stability: Contending Interpretations
February 1, 2013 — Authors: Mr Elbridge A Colby, Mr Michael S Gerson What is strategic stability and why is it important? This edited collection offers the most current authoritative survey of this topic, which is central to U.S. strategy in the field of nuclear weapons and great power relations. A variety of authors and leading experts in the field of strategic... MORE

Talking Past Each Other? How Views of U.S. Power Vary between U.S. and International Military Personnel
February 1, 2013 — Author: COL Richard H M Outzen View the Executive SummaryThe 21st century U.S. military seldom operates alone. Except for initial entry and organizational training, it works almost always with and through foreign partners. Yet over the past decade, anecdotal evidence suggests that U.S. military organizations and personnel have trouble... MORE

Routine, Disciplined, and Results-Oriented: Joint Plans and Operations (JPOx) and Decisionmaking Processes in U.S. Forces-Iraq (USF-I)
January 31, 2013 — Colonel Matthew Q. DawsonLarge organizations, whether military or civilian, require routine processes and active leadership to ensure that the amount of time and energy spent on internal oversight and management is minimized; strategies, plans, and operations are synchronized; decisionmaking is facilitated; and output or productivity is maximized... MORE

Op-Ed: The Need For A “Half-Pivot to the Americas”
January 10, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. BunkerMuch discussion has been generated over the still relatively new U.S. strategic “Pivot to Asia” and what this will mean for our national defense policy and force structure. This pivot represents what will become a multi-year shift from the legacy of 9-11, with over a decade’s focus on ground and counterinsurgency operations in... MORE

Op-Ed: Can Sanctions Be More Effective Than Military Action In Iran?
December 7, 2012 — Dr. W. Andrew Terrill The United States and its allies are currently seeking to use international sanctions to prevent Iran from developing the technology leading to a nuclear weapons capability. It remains uncertain if the sanctions will be effective, and the U.S. leadership has correspondingly announced that all options—including military... MORE

Venezuela as an Exporter of 4th Generation Warfare Instability
December 1, 2012 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring Almost no one seems to understand the Marxist-Leninist foundations of Hugo Chavez’s political thought. It becomes evident, however, in the general vision of his “Bolivarian Revolution.” The abbreviated concept is to destroy the old foreign-dominated (U.S. dominated) political and economic systems in the Americas, to take... MORE

Cover for Venezuela as an Exporter of 4th Generation Warfare Instability