Recent Publications

A “New” Dynamic in the Western Hemisphere Security Environment: The Mexican Zetas and Other Private Armies
September 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring This monograph is intended to help political, military, policy, opinion, and academic leaders think strategically about explanations, consequences, and responses that might apply to the volatile and dangerous new dynamic that has inserted itself into the already crowded Mexican and hemispheric security arena, that is, the... MORE

New Partnerships for a New Era: Enhancing the South African Army’s Stabilization Role in Africa
June 1, 2009 — Author: Prof Deane-Peter Baker Since emerging from the mire of its apartheid past, South Africa has become a key player in Sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge of creating a truly national military, during a period in which South Africa has also wrestled with tough internal socio-economic problems, has left the South African National Defence Force... MORE

Challenges and Opportunities for the Obama Administration in Central Asia
June 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank President Obama has outlined a comprehensive strategy for the war in Afghanistan which is now the central front of our campaign against Islamic terrorism. The strategy strongly connects our prosecution of that war to our policy in Pakistan and internal developments there as a necessary condition of victory. But the... MORE

Provincial Reconstruction Teams: How Do We Know They Work?
March 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Carter Malkasian, Dr Gerald Meyerle Over the past 6 years, provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) have played a growing role in the U.S. counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan. PRTs are one of several organizations working on reconstruction there, along with civilian development agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International... MORE

Stability Operations and State Building: Continuities and Contingencies
October 1, 2008 — Author: COL Greg Kaufmann The Department of Defense published its Directive 3000.05, “Military Support for Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) Operations,” in November 2005, to address this area of state building and stability operations. The process of arriving at this point, however, indicates that no consistent view of the... MORE

From the New Middle Ages to a New Dark Age: The Decline of the State and U.S. Strategy
June 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Phil Williams Security and stability in the 21st century have little to do with traditional power politics, military conflict between states, and issues of grand strategy. Instead they revolve around the disruptive consequences of globalization, declining governance, inequality, urbanization, and nonstate violent actors. The author... MORE

Jordanian National Security and the Future of Middle East Stability
January 1, 2008 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill The United States and Jordan have maintained a valuable mutually-supportive relationship for decades as a result of shared interests in a moderate, prosperous, and stable Middle East. In this monograph, the author highlights Jordan’s ongoing value as a U.S. ally and considers ways that the U.S.-Jordanian alliance might... MORE

The Interagency and Counterinsurgency Warfare: Aligning and Integrating Military and Civilian Roles in Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations
December 1, 2007 — Author: Mr Jay W Boggs, Dr Joseph R Cerami For decades since the formation of the defense establishment under the 1947 National Security Act, all U.S. cabinet departments, national security agencies, and military services involved in providing for the common defense have struggled to overcome differences in policy and strategy formulation,... MORE

Kuwaiti National Security and the U.S.-Kuwaiti Strategic Relationship after Saddam
September 1, 2007 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill The U.S.-Kuwaiti military and political relationship has been of considerable value to both countries since at least 1990. This alliance was formed in the aftermath of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s brutal invasion of Kuwait and the U.S. decision to free Kuwait with military force in 1991. Saddam’s later defeat and... MORE

Negotiation in the New Strategic Environment: Lessons from Iraq
August 1, 2007 — Author: Mr David M Tressler In stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations like the U.S. mission in Iraq, negotiation is a common activity. The success or failure of the thousands of negotiations taking place daily between U.S. military officers and local civilian and military leaders in Iraq affects tactical and... MORE

The Politics of Identity: History, Nationalism, and the Prospect for Peace in Post-Cold War East Asia
April 1, 2007 — Author: Dr Sheila Miyoshi Jager Both the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula harbor real dangers for the Northeast Asian region. The clash between an increasingly divergent nationalist identity in China and in Taiwan represent a new challenge for U.S. policy in this area. Similarly, the rise of pan-Korean nationalism in South Korea, and an... MORE

Regional Fears of Western Primacy and the Future of U.S. Middle Eastern Basing Policy
December 1, 2006 — Author: Dr W Andrew Terrill The United States has a core national interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East as well as containing or eliminating threats emanating from that region. Yet, there is often disagreement on the ways to best achieve these goals. The author seeks to present his analysis of how the United States and... MORE