Recent Publications

Regional Fears of Western Primacy and the Future of U.S. Middle Eastern Basing Policy
December 1, 2006 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill The United States has a core national interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East as well as containing or eliminating threats emanating from that region. Yet, there is often disagreement on the ways to best achieve these goals. The author seeks to present his analysis of how the United States and... MORE

Challenging Transformation’s Clichés
December 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Critical thinkers analyze and refine ideas underpinning the foundation of American defense policy and military strategy today so the defense community can apply them in strategy and force development. This is an ongoing process: new ideas emerge, are tested, and adopted, revised, or discarded. The author... MORE

Russian Nonproliferation Policy and the Korean Peninsula
December 1, 2006 — Authors: Dr Yong-Chool Ha, Dr Beom-Shik Shin Efforts to resolve the threat posed to Northeast Asia's security by North Korea's nuclear proliferation through six-party negotiations are proceeding with great difficulty. As in any multilateral process, a major problem is understanding the goals and perspectives of each of the participants. This... MORE

Transformation’s Uncontested Truths
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the November 2006 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Russian Defense Reform: Current Trends
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Irina Isakova Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the topic of Russian defense policy has not received great attention. The rebuilding of Russian military strength is a high priority of President Vladimir Putin, and one to which he and his subordinates have devoted considerable time and resources. Therefore, inattention to Russian... MORE

Defense Transformation: To What, For What?
November 1, 2006 — Author: COL Kevin Reynolds “What form is transformation taking and what end(s) are the armed forces transforming to obtain?” The author argues that U.S. foreign and national security policies should drive the pace and direction of defense transformation, but finds that all too often the military’s weapons systems preferences determine the shape and... MORE

The NATO-Russia Partnership: A Marriage of Convenience or a Troubled Relationship?
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Four years after the NATO-Russia Council came into being, it represents a picture in ambivalence and incomplete realization of partnership. This monograph focuses on the Russian side of this growing estrangement. It finds the Russian roots of this ambivalence or alienation in the increasingly visible manifestations of an... MORE

Russia, Iran, and the Nuclear Question: The Putin Record
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Robert O Freedman The author analyzes the Russo-Iranian relationship through the spring of 2006. This issue is vitally important in U.S. foreign policy, not just as it relates to Iran and the overall issue of nonproliferation, especially in the Middle East, but also as U.S. foreign policy pertains to relations with Moscow. Thus this... MORE

Iran, Iraq, and the United States: The New Triangle’s Impact on Sectarianism and the Nuclear Threat
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Sherifa D Zuhur This monograph considers the issues of Iranian influence in Iraq, and its impact on continuing sectarian violence there. It also questions the claims that a Shi'a crescent of power is solidifying by examining the distinct features of Iraqi versus Iranian Shi'ism and political Islam. Iran and Iraq havehistorically... MORE

Confronting the Unconventional: Innovation and Transformation in Military Affairs
October 1, 2006 — Author: Dr David Tucker Are there limits to military transformation? Or, if it seems obvious that there must be limits to transformation, what are they exactly, why do they arise, and how can we identify them so that we may better accomplish the transformation that the U.S. military is capable of? If limits to military change and transformation... MORE

Alliances and American National Security
October 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall One of the greatest challenges facing the United States today is the translation of its overwhelming might into effective influence. Traditionally, the United States has leveraged its power through bilateral and multilateral alliances. However, the end of the Cold War and the events of September 11, 2001, have... MORE

Defense, Development, and Diplomacy (3D): Canadian and U.S. Military Perspectives
October 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College (USAWC); Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and the Canadian Land Forces Doctrine and Training System cosponsored a colloquium at Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on June 21-23, 2006.Read Now MORE