Recent Publications

Parameters | Summer 2024
May 29, 2024 — The Summer issue is out! In this edition: "What American Policymakers Misunderstand about the Belt and Road Initiative" by Zenel Garcia and Phillip Guerreiro; A Major's Perspective “Professional Discourse Is Shaping the Force”; Civil-Military Relations Corner, "Introduction to the US Army War College Civil-Military Relations Center"; "Exploring the Nexus of Military and Society at a 50-Year Milestone" by Patricia M. Shields; For the latest on the Russia-Ukraine War, Middle East, and Professional Development, check out the new issue... MORE

Strategic Insights: Strategic Implications of Brexit
June 24, 2016 — Author: Dr John R DeniThe momentous decision of British voters to leave the European Union (EU) is already having major repercussions in both economics and politics. In the former, investors fled uncertainty for more stable opportunities, while in the latter there are already calls for another Scottish independence referendum. In the worlds of... MORE

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Political and Socio-Economic Change: Revolutions and Their Implications for the U.S. Military
September 1, 2014 — Author: Dr John R Deni View the Executive SummaryDramatic political, economic, and social changes across both the Greater Middle East and Latin America over the last several years—in some instances revolutionary, in others evolutionary—have had profound implications for global security generally and U.S. security specifically. Policymakers in... MORE

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Defense Planning for National Security: Navigation Aids for the Mystery Tour
March 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Colin S Gray View the Executive SummaryThe challenge that is defense planning includes: "educated futurology" and the humanities as methodological approaches; futurists and scenarios, trend spotting and defense analysis; the impossibility of science in studying the future; the impossibility of verification by empirical testing of... MORE

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A “Hollow Army” Reappraised: President Carter, Defense Budgets, and the Politics of Military Readiness
October 1, 2012 — Author: Prof Frank L Jones For more than 3 decades, the term “hollow army” or the more expansive idiom, “hollow force,” has represented President Carter’s alleged willingness to allow American military capability to deteriorate in the face of growing Soviet capability. The phrase continues to resonate today. In this current period of declining... MORE

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The Political Context Behind Successful Revolutionary Movements, Three Case Studies: Vietnam (1955-63), Algeria (1945-62), and Nicaragua (1967-79)
March 1, 2008 — Author: LTC Raymond A Millen Following the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the new world order did not bring about a closure of revolutionary warfare. In fact, the Soviet-inspired wars of liberation against imperialism have been eclipsed by reactionary, jihadist wars. By all indications in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia, and Iraq, Islamic militants... MORE

North Korean Civil-Military Trends: Military-First Politics to a Point
September 1, 2006 — Author: Mr Ken E Gause Civil-military relations is one of the most challenging dimensions to deal with regarding North Korea. Since 1998, Pyongyang's foremost policy has been declared as "military-first." While experts debate the precise meaning and significance of this policy, considerable consensus exists that it gives the leading role to the... MORE

The Revolution in Military Affairs: Prospects and Cautions
June 23, 1995 — Author: Dr Earl H Tilford Jr The current Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) is taking place against the background of a larger historical watershed involving the end of the Cold War and the advent of what Alvin and Heidi Toffler have termed "the Information Age." In this essay, Dr. Earl Tilford argues that RMAs are driven by more than... MORE

Mexico in Crisis
May 31, 1995 — Author: Dr Donald E Schulz This is the first of a two-part report on the causes and nature of the crisis in Mexico, the prospects for the future, and the implications for the United States. In this initial study, the author analyzes the crisis as it has developed over the past decade-and-a-half, with the primary focus being on the 6-year term of... MORE