Recent Publications

Strategic Insights: The Coming Perfect Storm of Europe
April 15, 2016 — Lieutenant Colonel Michael A. Adelberg A collection of social and security trends are at play in Europe that may threaten the peace and stability of the continent. The array of challenges, threats, and frictions could converge at such a point that an unintentional spark could ignite a major crisis or even a regional war of some type.The most... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: The Coming Perfect Storm of Europe

India’s Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications
December 1, 2012 — Author: Dr Harsh V Pant View the Executive SummarySince 2001, the situation in Afghanistan has afforded New Delhi an opportunity to underscore its role as a regional power. India has a growing stake in the development of peace and stability in Afghanistan; and the 2011 India-Afghan strategic partnership agreement underlines India’s commitment to... MORE

Cover for India's Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications

Ambassador Stephen Krasner’s Orienting Principle for Foreign Policy (and Military Management)—Responsible Sovereignty
April 27, 2012 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring The principle security threat of the past several centuries—war between or among major powers—is gone. Two new types of threats have been introduced into the global security arena. Violent nonstate actors and other indirect political, economic, and social causes of poverty, social exclusion, corruption, terrorism,... MORE

Cover for Ambassador Stephen Krasner's Orienting Principle for Foreign Policy (and Military Management)—Responsible Sovereignty

Short of General War: Perspectives on the Use of Military Power in the 21st Century
April 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Harry R Yarger At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the United States is involved in two ongoing wars, faces a significant international terrorist threat, and is witnessing an escalation of international resistance to its leadership of the global world order. Looking out to 2025, many see the potential for a prolonged... MORE

Security and Stability in Africa: A Development Approach
January 1, 2010 — Author: LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) The security and stability of Africa has recently become an important national issue readily seen in the increased time, effort, and resources now devoted to the continent by such new organizations as the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). This paper seeks to overcome centuries of ignorance and... 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

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

Growing U.S. Security Interests in Central Asia
October 1, 2002 — Author: Dr Elizabeth Wishnick The author assesses U.S. security interests and military activities in Central Asia. She notes that strengthening the Central Asian states against terrorism and assisting their transition to stable and prosperous nations are difficult and fraught with danger. In particular, there is the risk that the U.S. military... MORE

Nonstate Actors in Colombia: Threat and Response
May 1, 2002 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring Colombia's deeply rooted and ambiguous warfare has reached crisis proportions in that Colombia's "Hobbesian Trinity" of illegal drug traffickers, insurgents, and paramilitary organizations are creating a situation in which life is indeed "nasty, brutish, and short." The first step in developing a macro-level vision,... MORE

Opening Pandora’s Box: Ethnicity and Central Asian Militaries
October 1, 1998 — Author: LTC Dianne L Smith The author examines whether ethnic consciousness affects military service and the specific roles played by ethnic groups within the armed forces, or if military institutions affect ethnicity. The Soviets used military service as a tool to break down ethnicity and create a "New Soviet Man." They failed. Do Central Asian... MORE