Recent Publications

Civil-Military Relations: Guidelines in Politically Charged Societies
May 6, 2022 — Current events warrant a review of US civil-military relations doctrine. This article examines eight principles of military subordination to elected civilian officials and addresses the fundamental question at the heart of civil-military relations theory and practice—what options, if any, does the military have when civilian leadership disregards military advice? Examples drawn from US history provide an important framework to understand the complex interrelational dynamics at play. ... MORE

Old and New Insurgency Forms
March 1, 2016 — Author: Dr Robert J BunkerThis monograph creates a proposed insurgency typology divided into legacy, contemporary, and emergent and potential insurgency forms, and provides strategic implications for U.S. defense policy as they relate to each of these forms. The typology clusters, insurgency forms identified, and their starting dates are as... MORE

Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future
November 1, 2011 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank This book presents several essays analyzing Russia’s extensive nuclear agenda and the issues connected with it. It deals with strategy, doctrine, European, Eurasian, and East Asian security agendas, as well as the central U.S.-Russia nuclear and arms control equations. This work brings together American, European, and... MORE

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy: Intersecting Trajectories
July 1, 2011 — Author: Mr Sarwar A Kashmeri NATO used to be the world’s most formidable military alliance. But its original reason for existence, the Soviet Union, disintegrated years ago, and its dreams of being a world cop are withering in the mountains of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the European Union’s (EU) Common Security & Defense Policy (CSDP) has deployed 27... MORE

Foreign Policy Continuity: War Finds Us
March 1, 2010 — Author: Mr Lawrence Kaplan Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the March 2010 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Cover for Foreign Policy Continuity: War Finds Us

India’s Strategic Defense Transformation: Expanding Global Relationships
November 1, 2009 — Author: LTC Brian K Hedrick India’s transformation to modernize its military, obtain “strategic partnerships” with the United States and other nations, and expand its influence in the Indian Ocean and beyond includes a shift from an emphasis on the former Soviet Union as the primary supplier of defense articles to a western base of supply and an... MORE

Kazakhstan’s Defense Policy: An Assessment of the Trends
February 9, 2009 — Author: Mr Roger N McDermott Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, since its independence, has successfully avoided favoring any one country based on what Astana styles as a “multi-vectored” approach to foreign policy. Yet, in terms of its conduct of defense and security policies, this paradigm simply does not fit with how the regime makes policy in its... 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

Transforming to Effects-Based Operations: Lessons from the United Kingdom Experience
January 1, 2008 — Author: Dr Andrew M Dorman The author examines the extent to which the United Kingdom (UK) has transitioned to effects-based operations to ascertain: (1) Areas where the U.S. Army could draw lessons from UK policies; (2) Areas where the U.S. Army and the British Ministry of Defence could develop integrated or complementary approaches and doctrines... MORE

Russian Defense Reform: Current Trends
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Irina Isakova Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the topic of Russian defense policy has not received great attention. The rebuilding of Russian military strength is a high priority of President Vladimir Putin, and one to which he and his subordinates have devoted considerable time and resources. Therefore, inattention to Russian... MORE

The NATO-Russia Partnership: A Marriage of Convenience or a Troubled Relationship?
November 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Four years after the NATO-Russia Council came into being, it represents a picture in ambivalence and incomplete realization of partnership. This monograph focuses on the Russian side of this growing estrangement. It finds the Russian roots of this ambivalence or alienation in the increasingly visible manifestations of an... MORE

Alliances and American National Security
October 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall One of the greatest challenges facing the United States today is the translation of its overwhelming might into effective influence. Traditionally, the United States has leveraged its power through bilateral and multilateral alliances. However, the end of the Cold War and the events of September 11, 2001, have... MORE