Recent Publications

Why North Korea Survives
February 20, 2024 — Here’s how the Kim regime has proven so resilient.North Korea’s recent jettisoning of reunification with South Korea as a national goal has raised much speculation about Pyongyang’s goals and strategy. Relatively overlooked in recent debates over whether the Kim regime might be preparing for war with South Korea—more than it is usually, anyway—is... MORE

Why North Korea Survives
Here’s how the Kim regime has proven so resilient.
Sheena Chestnut Greitens

A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners—Second Edition
October 30, 2020 — Mr. Gary J. Schmitt, 2020With the United States facing two major revisionist powers, Russia and China, as well as additional security threats from North Korea, Iran, and jihadist terrorism, a critical advantage for the United States is its global network of alliances and strategic partners. As the 2018 National Defense Strategy states, “Alliances... MORE

Cover for A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners—Second Edition

A Few Questions About China’s Air Defense Identification Zone and Its Aftermath
March 22, 2014 — China declared an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea on November 23, 2013 (See Figure 1). This move set off a security and political tsunami in the Western Pacific. The United States immediately denounced China’s sudden and unilateral act. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, the European Union, and many... MORE

Op-Ed: The Romance of Great Powers in Northeast Asia
October 23, 2012 — Dr. David Lai The Strategic SettingNortheast Asia is a place where five of the world's most powerful nations meet: China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. Three of these countries have the world's largest economies (the U.S., China, and Japan), and three of them have the largest militaries (China, the U.S., and Russia). In... MORE

The Next Arms Race
July 1, 2012 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski The New Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (New START) agreement was reached in 2011, and both Russia and the United States are bringing nuclear strategic warhead deployments down to roughly 1,500 on each side. In the next round of strategic arms reduction talks, though, U.S. officials hope to cut far deeper; perhaps as low... MORE

Prospects from Korean Unification
April 1, 2008 — Author: COL (Australian Army) David Coghlan Throughout the 1990s, predictions of Korean reunification were rife. Since then, enthusiasm for such predictions have faded, and although the underlying assumption of reunification remains, forecasts of when and how this will occur have been more subdued. Reunification poses two distinct yet... MORE

The North Korean Ballistic Missile Program
February 25, 2008 — Author: Dr Daniel A Pinkston North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs have drawn international attention for years. In the early 1960s, Pyongyang began to pursue the capability to produce advanced weapons systems, including rockets and missiles. However, foreign assistance and technology, particularly from China and the Soviet... MORE

Iraqi Security Forces and Lessons from Korea
December 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Sheila Miyoshi Jager Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the December 2006 newsletter.Read Now MORE

China and North Korea: From Comrades-In-Arms to Allies at Arm’s Length
March 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Andrew Scobell At first, it might not seem surprising to have a formal military alliance that has endured more than 4 decades between two communist neighbors, China and North Korea. After all, their armed forces fought shoulder-to-shoulder in the Korean War 50 years ago. However, Beijing's ties to Pyongyang have weakened considerably... MORE

Tacit Acceptance and Watchful Eyes: Beijing’s Views about the U.S.-ROK Alliance
January 24, 1997 — Author: Dr Fei-Ling Wang In October 1995, the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute and the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University, in partnership with the Defense Nuclear Agency and The Korea Society, hosted in Seoul, Korea, an international workshop on the U.S.-ROK Alliance. For nearly a half century, the security... MORE

The Invitation to Struggle: Executive and Legislative Competition over the U.S. Military Presence on the Korean Peninsula
May 1, 1996 — Author: Dr William E Berry Jr This monograph was presented originally at the International Workshop on the U.S.-ROK Alliance held in Seoul, Korea, in October 1995. The Strategic Studies Institute co-hosted this workshop in collaboration with the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University and in partnership with The Korea Society and... MORE

Conference Report: International Workshop on the U.S.-ROK Alliance
March 11, 1996 — Author: COL Donald W Boose Jr In October 1995, scholars, military officers, diplomats, journalists, public figures, and concerned private citizens of the two alliance partners and regional states gathered in Seoul, Korea, to assess the impact of these changes and to seek new directions for the alliance. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to... MORE