Recent Publications

Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability in Mexico, Colombia, and the Caribbean: Implications for U.S. National Security
January 1, 2010 — Authors: Mr Evan Brown, Dr Dallas D Owens Key Insights from the conference included:(1) The relationships between powerful criminal groups and states are complex and create transnational issues of corruption and the production, transportation, marketing, and consumption of illegal products and services that have national security implications for... MORE

Something Brewing in Venezuela
January 1, 2010 — Author: COL Phillip R Cuccia Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the January 2010 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Medvedev’s Plan: Giving Russia a Voice but not a Veto in a New European Security System
January 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Richard J Krickus The author addresses the question of how to give Russia a voice but not a veto in a new European security system and provides some provocative recommendations. Most specifically, he proposes that the time has come to provide Russia with a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) and agrees that those who argue against it... MORE

Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk
December 1, 2009 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski Unfortunately, a nuclear terrorist act is only one—and hardly the most probable—of several frightening security threats Pakistan now faces or poses. We know that traditional acts of terrorism and conventional military crises in Southwest Asia have nearly escalated into wars and, more recently, even threatened Indian and... MORE

Russia Challenges the Obama Administration
December 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the December 2008 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Cover for Russia Challenges the Obama Administration

War without Borders: The Colombia-Ecuador Crisis of 2008
December 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Gabriel Marcella Unprotected borders are a serious threat to the security of a number of states around the globe. Indeed, the combination of weak states, ungoverned space, terrorism, and international criminal networks make a mockery of the Westphalian system of international order. Latin American countries are experiencing all of these... MORE

Regional Spillover Effects of the Iraq War
December 1, 2008 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill The Iraq war has been one of the dominant factors influencing U.S. strategic thinking in the Middle East and globally since 2003. Yet the problems of this highly dynamic and fluid war have sometimes forced U.S. policymakers to address near-term issues that cannot be safely postponed at the expense of long-term strategic... MORE

HAMAS and Israel: Conflicting Strategies of Group-Based Politics
December 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Sherifa D Zuhur Efforts to separate HAMAS from its popular support and network of social and charitable organizations have not been effective in destroying the organization, nor in eradicating the will to resist among a fairly large segment of the Palestinian population. It is important to consider this Islamist movement in the context... MORE

PLA Missions Beyond Taiwan
November 1, 2008 — Author: Mr Marc Miller The interplay between China’s armed forces and its complex foreign policy and international security environment was examined in order to understand the requirements of several newly emerging PLA missions, and to consider how these specific interactions affect policy towards Taiwan and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Three... MORE

The View from There
September 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Sherifa D Zuhur Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the September 2008 newsletter.Read Now MORE

The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy
September 1, 2008 — Authors: Dr Stephen D Biddle, Mr Jeffrey A Friedman Many now see future warfare as a matter of nonstate actors employing irregular methods against Western states. This expectation has given rise to a range of sweeping proposals for transforming the U.S. military to meet such threats. In this context, Hezbollah’s 2006 campaign in southern Lebanon... MORE

U.S. Counterterrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa: Understanding Costs, Cultures, and Conflicts
September 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Donovan C Chau Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has never been the centerpiece of U.S. foreign and defense policy. Yet the current struggle between the United States and its allies against terrorist groups and individuals motivated by Islamic extremism thrusts SSA forward as a front in the global conflict. The author asks, centrally, what is the... MORE