Recent Publications

Op-Ed: What If They Threw a War and…
February 1, 2011 — Mr. Lawrence KaplanThis is the February Op-Ed of the SSI NewsletterAs a member of the media who reported on the U.S. military in Iraq, I had numerous opportunities to measure the “gap” between the press corps and the Armed Forces. One of these came a few years ago at a grubby Italian restaurant near a military base in North Carolina, where I was... MORE

2010 SSI Annual Strategy Conference Report “Defining War for the 21st Century”
February 1, 2011 — Authors: COL Phillip R Cuccia, Dr Steven Metz The Strategic Studies Institute's XXI Annual Strategy Conference, held at Carlisle Barracks from April 6-8, 2010, addressed the topic of the meaning of war. While it did not seek to produce a definitive answer to questions about the nature and definition of war, it did highlight the crucial questions... MORE

Cover for 2010 SSI Annual Strategy Conference Report “Defining War for the 21st Century”

Coherence and Contrasts
January 13, 2011 — COL (R) Charles D. Allen On November 18, 2010, two late night television shows provided fanfare for two men from different ends of the leadership spectrum. One man’s example epitomized tactical and direct-level leadership; the other was the definition of strategic leadership. To me, it came together while watching interviews that were less than 20... MORE

Civil-Military Relations in Medvedev’s Russia
January 1, 2011 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank The best recent scholarship on Russian civil-military relations explicitly addresses this issue’s importance for both domestic and external security. An inquiry into the present state of those relations under conditions of defense reform and the current international situation is of immense analytical and policy relevance... MORE

Predictions, Observations, and the Free Lunch
January 1, 2011 — Author: COL Louis H Jordan Jr Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the January 2011 newsletter.Read Now MORE

The Conflicts in Yemen and U.S. National Security
January 1, 2011 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill Yemen is not currently a failed state, but it is experiencing huge political and economic problems that can have a direct impact on U.S. interests in the region. It has a rapidly expanding population with a resource base that is limited and already leaves much of the current population in poverty. The government obtains... MORE

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Nuclear Power’s Global Expansion: Weighing Its Costs and Risks
December 1, 2010 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski When security and arms control analysts list what has helped keep nuclear weapons technologies from spreading, energy economics is rarely, if ever, mentioned. Yet, large civilian nuclear energy programs can—and have—brought states quite a way towards developing nuclear weapons; and it has been market economics, more than... MORE

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Strangely Silent: The Missing Strategic Debate in the 2010 Mid-Term Elections
December 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Robert H Dorff Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the December 2010 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Cover for Strangely Silent: The Missing Strategic Debate in the 2010 Mid-Term Elections

Russia’s Prospects in Asia
December 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank These three chapters originated in an SSI conference in January 2010 and go to the heart of a question of vital significance for both Asia and Russia, namely what are Russia’s prospects in Asia. The three chapters outline the challenges Russia faces in Asia, the nature of the dynamic and complex Asian security... MORE

La Familia Drug Cartel: Implications for U.S.-Mexican Security
December 1, 2010 — Author: Dr George W Grayson La Familia Michoacana burst onto the national stage on September 6, 2006, when ruffians crashed into the seedy Sol y Sombra nightclub in Uruapan, Michoacán, and fired shots into the air. They screamed at the revelers to lie down, ripped open a plastic bag, and lobbed five human heads onto the beer-stained black and white... MORE

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A Risk-Based Approach to Strategic Balance
December 1, 2010 — Author: COL John A Mauk The United States requires a national security strategy and a force posture that reflect the nation’s economic and emotional capacity to implement the strategy. Recently published strategic concepts fail to accommodate these requirements. Current Secretary of Defense guidance to the Services is to develop a strategically... MORE

America’s Most Committed Muslim Ally
November 1, 2010 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the November 2010 newsletter.Read Now MORE

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