Recent Publications

Colloquium Brief: The Energy and Security Nexus: A Strategic Dilemma
July 15, 2011 — Key Insights. The U.S. is relatively well placed when it comes to energy security (defined as security from shocks in prices). We are finding more fossil fuels — especially natural gas — and are otherwise buffered from disaster by advantages ranging from the existence of strategic reserves to market mechanisms that plug gaps in our supply. In the future, we have less to fear from diminishing supply than from rising demand, especially in rapidly industrializing countries. The U.S. should engage in a policy of strategic restraint in the Middle East: military force is not the best instrument to use in securing energy supplies. However, the U.S. Armed Forces can increase energy efficiency, provided this does not undermine the effectiveness of its fighting forces... MORE

Colloquium Brief: Conflict Management: A Tool for U.S. National Security Strategy
July 6, 2011 — Ms. Mackenzie Duelge, Esq., Dr. Volker C. FrankeA Partnership Between the U.S. Army War College, and Kennesaw State UniversityKey Insights: Security and development go hand-in-hand. Especially in fragile and failing states, the military is increasingly involved in peace- and nation-building efforts. However, military involvement is reaching... MORE

Op-Ed: A National Strategic Narrative and Grand Strategy for the 21st Century
July 1, 2011 — Dr. Jack A. LeCuyer Former U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Gordon L. Sullivan, when commenting on his program for the Louisiana Maneuvers, which were designed to help define Force XXI and the Army’s role in modern warfare in the information age after Operation DESERT STORM, once remarked “that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will... MORE

The Changing Face of Afghanistan, 2001-08
July 1, 2011 — Author: COL Deborah Hanagan Based on the reporting of major American news media, one could have drawn the conclusion that the Bush administration had paid little attention to Afghanistan or that its strategy focused mainly on military operations in the country. This conclusion would have been inaccurate. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of... MORE

Russia in the Arctic
July 1, 2011 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank The Arctic has returned with a vengeance as an area of international contention. Beginning in 2007, Russia has continued to make aggressive moves and claims regarding territory in the Arctic Ocean. These moves undoubtedly have been prompted by global climate change and the importance of energy, with which Russia believes... MORE

Russian Military Politics and Russia's 2010 Defense Doctrine

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy: Intersecting Trajectories
July 1, 2011 — Author: Mr Sarwar A Kashmeri NATO used to be the world’s most formidable military alliance. But its original reason for existence, the Soviet Union, disintegrated years ago, and its dreams of being a world cop are withering in the mountains of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the European Union’s (EU) Common Security & Defense Policy (CSDP) has deployed 27... MORE

The New Aztecs: Ritual and Restraint in Contemporary Western Military Operations
July 1, 2011 — Author: Dr Zhivan Alach The Western way of war has come full circle. After centuries of evolution toward increased totality and brutality, it has turned back once again to the ritualistic and restrained methods of primitive warfare. Largely, this has been due to an interaction between the perceived lack of utility in contemporary warfare,... MORE

Puncturing the Counterinsurgency Myth: Britain and Irregular Warfare in the Past, Present, and Future

Understanding the North Korea Problem: Why It Has Become the “Land of Lousy Options”
July 1, 2011 — Author: COL William A Boik This monograph provides a timely analysis and thoughtful insights into the challenges faced by the United States in developing a strategy for North Korea. The author examines the complex history of U.S. policy toward North Korea over the last decade that has left the United States in a position of having virtually no... MORE

Improvised Explosive Devices in Iraq, 2003-09: A Case of Operational Surprise and Institutional Response

The Arab Upheavals and the Future of the U.S. Military Policies and Presence in the Middle East and the Gulf
June 27, 2011 — Dr. W. Andrew TerrillSummaryThe political and social upheaval in the Arab World known as the Arab Spring is one of the most significant set of events to unfold in the Middle East since the fall of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. The United States seeks a democratic outcome to all of these conflicts and is also concerned about the human... MORE

Colloquium Brief: Post-Heroic Warfare?
June 17, 2011 — Mr. Conor Tucker, Ms. Erin FitzgeraldA Partnership Between the U.S. Army War College, University of Oxford, and The Australian Land Warfare Studies Centre The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, the University of Oxford Changing Character of War Programme, and the Australian Land Warfare Studies Centre partnered to conduct an... MORE

Op-Ed: U.S. Intelligence at a Crossroads
June 17, 2011 — Dr. Stephen J. Blank Despite the killing of Osama bin Laden, this is not and should not be a time for euphoria concerning the state of U.S. intelligence. Even though all praise is due to everyone who participated in the often fruitless, but ultimately rewarding search for bin Laden, the success of this mission should not lead us to complacency... MORE

Resolving Insurgencies
June 1, 2011 — Author: Dr Thomas R Mockaitis Understanding how insurgencies may be brought to a successful conclusion is vital to military strategists and policymakers. This study examines how past insurgencies have ended and how current ones may be resolved. Four ways in which insurgencies have ended are identified. Clear-cut victories for either the government... MORE