Recent Publications

Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice
November 1, 2004 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice is the first critical history of the intellectual roots and actual application of the strategic doctrine of nuclear mutual assured destruction or MAD. Written by the world's leading French, British, and American military policy planners and... MORE

Unlearning Counterinsurgency
November 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Steven Metz Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the November 2004 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in the 21st Century: Reconceputalizing Threat and Response
November 1, 2004 — Authors: Dr Steven Metz, LTC Raymond A Millen Modern insurgency warfare presents fresh challenges for the United States, which must re-conceptualize its approach to fighting such conflicts. Because the dominant characteristics of insurgency--protractedness and ambiguity--effectively stymie the American military's approach to war, the United States... MORE

Shadows of Things Past and Images of the Future: Lessons for the Insurgencies in Our Midst
November 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring This monograph begins with a short discussion of contemporary insurgency. It makes the argument that, in studying terror war, guerrilla war, or any other common term for insurgency war, we find these expressions mischaracterize the activities of armed groups that are attempting to gain political control of a nation-state... MORE

Islamic Rulings on Warfare
November 1, 2004 — Authors: LTCDR Youssef H Aboul-Enein, Dr Sherifa D Zuhur The global war on terror (GWOT) and the battles with specific Islamist groups is, to some degree, a war of ideas. With a better understanding of Islamic concepts of war, peace, and Muslim relations with non-Muslims, those fighting the GWOT may gain support and increase their efficacy. The... MORE

Confronting an Irregular and Catastrophic Future
October 1, 2004 — Author: Mr Nathan P Freier Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the October 2004 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Civil-Military Cooperation in Peace Operations: The Case of Kosovo
October 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Thomas R Mockaitis The humanitarian intervention in Kosovo provides an excellent case study of civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) in peace operations. The intervention required 40,000 heavily armed combat troops from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries to provide security and coordinate relief efforts with the UN, the OSCE, and over... MORE

Current and Future Challenges for Asian Nonproliferation Export Controls: A Regional Response
October 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Scott A Jones As Asia develops into a clearly demarcated economic "region," it is confronted by similar export control challenges as those faced in Europe with the advent of the Common Market. As such, a regional system of export control standards and practices emerged as a means to ensure not only economic parity, but regional and... MORE

Civil-Military Change in China: Elites, Institutes, and Ideas After the 16th Party Congress
September 1, 2004 — Authors: Dr Andrew Scobell, Dr Larry M Wortzel In November 2002, the Chinese Communist Party held its 16th Congress and formally initiated a sweeping turnover of senior leaders in both the Party and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The meeting heralded not merely a new set of personalities in positions of political and military power, but also... MORE

A Nation at War in an Era of Strategic Change
September 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Williamson Murray The President, Secretary of Defense, and the Army's Chief of Staff have all stated that the United States is a "Nation at War." The U.S. military faces significant strategic challenges as it continues to transform the force and improve interagency integration into joint operations, all the while engaging in active... MORE

Uncomfortable Questions Regarding the inevitable Succession of Power in Cuba
September 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the September 2004 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Fighting in the Gray Zone: A Strategy to Close the Preemption Gap
September 1, 2004 — Authors: CMDR Joanne M Fish, LTC Samuel F McCraw, COL Christopher J Reddish The 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) identified the proliferation, privatization, and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by terrorist groups and rogue states as the critical nontraditional threat of the 21st century. We argue preemption is ill-suited for... MORE