Recent Publications

Op-Ed: Will the Syrian Civil War Last 10 More Years?
December 30, 2013 — Dr. W. Andrew TerrillThe Syrian civil war began in March 2011 when large numbers of peaceful protestors began demanding an end to the brutal autocratic rule of President Bashar Assad. Many Syrian demonstrators hoped that their dictatorship could be overthrown as easily as those in Tunisia and Egypt as part of the regional process now known as the... MORE

New Realities: Energy Security in the 2010s and Implications for the U.S. Military
December 30, 2013 — Dr. Robert J. Bunker, LTC John D. Colwell, JrRevolutionary changes among energy producers and dramatically altered patterns of energy consumption across the planet are having profound implications for American national security in general and the U.S. Army specifically. For example, the reduced saliency of Africa and the Middle East as energy... MORE

Dangerous Ground: The Spratly Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches
December 27, 2013 — Author: LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) View the Executive SummaryThe Spratly Islands warrant better understanding by U.S. policymakers in order to discuss nuanced responses to the region’s challenges. To attain that needed understanding, legal aspects of customary and modern laws are explored to analyze the differences between competing... MORE

Politics and Economics in Putin’s Russia
December 10, 2013 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank View the Executive SummaryIn one way or another, the papers included in this monograph, from the Strategic Studies Institute’s annual conference on Russia in May 2012, all point to the internal pathologies that render Russian security a precarious affair at the best of times. As the editor suggests, the very fact of this... MORE

U.S. Governmental Information Operations and Strategic Communications: A Discredited Tool or User Failure? Implications for Future Conflict
December 3, 2013 — Author: Dr Steve Tatham View the Executive SummaryThrough the prism of operations in Afghanistan, the author examines how the U.S. Government’s Strategic Communication (SC) and, in particular, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Information Operations (IO) and Military Information Support to Operations (MISO) programs, have contributed to U.S... MORE

What Is Next for Mali? The Roots of Conflict and Challenges to Stability
November 20, 2013 — Author: Dr Dona J Stewart View the Executive SummaryIn March 2012, the government of Mali, one of the most touted symbols of Africa’s democratic potential, fell in a military-executed coup. At the same time, a 4-decades old rebellion among Tuaregs seeking autonomy or independence reached new heights fueled by weapons from Libya and the belief that... MORE

Washington’s Debt, Beijing’s Bubble, and the Discussion No One is Having
November 15, 2013 — Mr. Ian ButtonWashington, we have a problem. The economy is staggering its way out of the global financial crisis and none too quickly. Across the nation, unemployment rates in excess of 7 percent continue to pinch the pockets of middle-class Americans. The much-coveted AAA credit rating that once blessed Washington’s financial decisions has since... MORE

State Collapse, Insurgency, and Counterinsurgency: Lessons from Somalia
November 14, 2013 — Author: Dr J Peter Pham View the Executive SummaryFor more than 2 decades, Somalia has been the prime example of a collapsed state, resisting multiple attempts to reconstitute a central government, with the current internationally-backed regime of the “Federal Republic of Somalia” struggling just to maintain its hold on the capital and the... MORE

Building Better Armies: An Insider’s Account of Liberia
November 12, 2013 — Author: Dr Sean McFate View the Executive SummaryRecent events in Mali, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere demonstrate that building professional indigenous forces is imperative to regional stability, yet few success stories exist. Liberia is a qualified “success,” and this study explores how it was achieved by the program’s chief... MORE

Reforming the Police in Post-Soviet States: Georgia and Kyrgyzstan
November 6, 2013 — Author: Dr Erica Marat View the Executive SummaryThis report identifies and explains the determinants of police reform in former Soviet states by examining the cases of Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The two cases were chosen to show two drastically different approaches to reform played out in countries facing arguably similar problems with state-crime... MORE

Central Asia After 2014
November 3, 2013 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank View the Executive SummaryAs NATO and the United States proceed to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, the inherent and preexisting geopolitical, security, and strategic challenges in Central Asia become ever more apparent. The rivalry among the great powers: the United States, China, Russia, India, and others to a... MORE

Changing Minds In The Army: Why It Is So Difficult and What To Do About It
October 28, 2013 — Authors: Dr Stephen J Gerras, Dr Leonard Wong View the Executive SummaryHistory and organizational studies both demonstrate that changing one’s mind is quite difficult, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that this change needs to occur. This monograph explains how smart, professional, and incredibly performance-oriented Army senior leaders... MORE