Recent Publications

China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas
May 8, 2025 — The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.In the coming three months, China will have a number of opportunities to advance its multilateral engagement with the Americas, leveraging discontent among many... MORE

China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas | R. Evan Ellis

Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response
April 29, 2025 — The US government threats of tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not do more to control illicit fentanyl flows into the United States have cast new attention on the growing problem of transnational organized crime that has wrought violence and corruption at all levels in Mexico. This work, based on the authors research in interviews with... MORE

Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response | R. Evan Ellis

Waging War without Disruption: China’s People’s Armed Police in a Future Conflict
April 24, 2025 — As one of the three branches of China’s armed forces, the People’s Armed Police (PAP) (人民武装警察) operates alongside the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (人民解放军) and the militia (民兵) as a key instrument of Chinese Communist Party power. According to the Science of Military Strategy, a foundational textbook used to educate senior Chinese military officers, the People’s Armed Police is tasked with meeting the strategic requirements of “multi-functional integration, stability and rights maintenance” (多能一体，维稳维权)... MORE

Waging War without Disruption: China’s People’s Armed Police in a Future Conflict | Jake Rinaldi

The Impact of China on US Interests in Latin America
February 21, 2025 — President Trump’s statements regarding the influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the Panama Canal, and the focus on the issue as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s February 2025 trip to Central America and the Caribbean have focused U.S. and global attention on the strategic importance of the challenges posed by PRC in the... MORE

The Impact of China on US Interests in Latin America | R. Evan Ellis

Freezing Point: PLA Army Expeditionary Units Lack Readiness for Extreme and Hazardous Cold Weather
February 20, 2025 — In 2024, the US Department of Defense promulgated the latest edition of its Arctic Strategy, highlighting the need to enhance domain awareness and operational readiness to safeguard US and allied interests in the Arctic region. The Arctic possesses vast resource potential, is geographically linked to the US homeland and allied territories, and is a strategic avenue for US force projection in the Indo-Pacific theater... MORE

Freezing Point: PLA Army Expeditionary Units Lack Readiness for Extreme and Hazardous Cold Weather | Jake Vartanian

China Landpower Studies Center Newsletter I
January 31, 2025 — With the start of the New Year, the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) would like to share with you the team’s latest analysis and insights on the People's Liberation Army (PLA).If you find value in this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and invite them to subscribe.Quarterly Highlights: Understanding the PRC’s Selective Use of... MORE

Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the Future Challenges for Hellscape
January 14, 2025 — In a future Taiwan contingency, the United States and its allies and partners are poised to leverage large-scale autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations to counter China’s anti-access/area denial strategy. This approach aims to mitigate... MORE

Rethinking Denial: The People’s Liberation Army’s Laser Systems and the Future Challenges for Hellscape | Jake Rinaldi and Jake Vartanian

China in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A New Dynamic in Critical Mineral Procurement
October 17, 2024 — Critical minerals will continue to grow in importance across the globe in the coming decades as technological advancements require greater quantities of these materials. The 2023 US Department of Energy Critical Materials Assessment report listed seven materials as critical in the short term because of their uses for magnets, batteries, and fuel cells: dysprosium, neodymium, gallium, graphite, terbium, iridium, and cobalt... MORE

Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson Jr.: Central Pacific Theater Army Commander for Admiral Chester W. Nimitz 1943–45
July 11, 2024 — Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson Jr. commanded US Army Forces in Central Pacific Area and US Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas. He served as de facto theater Army commander to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from August 1943 to June 1945, executing the range of what are now the Army war-fighting and Joint functions... MORE

Landpower, Homeland Defense, and Defending Forward in US Indo-Pacific Command
July 1, 2024 — Homeland defense does not begin at the water’s edge, at least not on the east and west coasts of the United States. In the twenty-first–century geopolitical environment, the definition of homeland defense must now extend well beyond North American shores. The network of US military forces stationed throughout the Indo-Pacific provides a strong... MORE

Slde for Landpower, Homeland Defense, and Defending Forward in US Indo-Pacific Command

"Building a Purposeful Research Agenda”
June 18, 2024 — The China Landpower Studies Center Director Richard Butler and Joshua Arostegui, the center’s research director and chair, discuss the center’s research agenda. Previously, Butler outlined the center’s mission and how the research agenda answers large campaign questions across the perspectives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States, and US allies and partners. ... MORE

China Center Director Series – China Landpower Studies Center
May 20, 2024 — In episode 3 of CLSC Dialogues, COL Rich Butler, director of the China Landpower Studies Center (CLSC) in the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College, discusses the scope and mission of the CLSC and introduces its researchers and 2024 conference theme. The CLSC stood up in January 2024 to tackle questions about China’s emergence as a global power and its implications for the US military... MORE