Recent Publications

“Daoism and Design: Mapping the Conflict in Syria”
May 16, 2023 — In contemporary military operations, some problems are so complex they do not give way to linear solutions but require problem management instead. Combining the fundamentals of Dao De Jing philosophy with the US military design process offers a new perspective to analyze complex security problems, devise management strategies, and plan military operations. Applying this new approach to the complex security environment in Syria allows for a nonlinear mapping of long-term goals and a new perspective on relationships between key actors, environmental factors that restrict changes in the security environment, and where planners should focus their attention. ... MORE

Parameters | Spring 2023
March 3, 2023 — The US Army War College has published The US Army War College Quarterly – Parameters, a refereed journal for contributions concerning contemporary strategy and Landpower, since 1971. Parameters is a product line of the US Army War College Press, which publishes and disseminates research and analysis for Army leaders and other defense experts in multiple forms... MORE

The US Army War College Quarterly, Parameters, is a refereed forum for contemporary strategy and Landpower issues. It furthers the education and professional development of senior military officers and members of government and academia concerned with national security affairs.

Russia’s Forever Wars: Syria and the Pursuit of Great Power Status
June 1, 2021 — Robert E. Hamilton, 2021, the Foreign Policy Research InstituteSeptember 2021 marks the sixth anniversary of the Russian Federation’s intervention in the Syrian civil war. A patient, flexible strategy set against irresolute and muddled Western strategies allowed Moscow to achieve its initial aim of preventing the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime... MORE

Cover for Russia’s Forever Wars: Syria and the Pursuit of Great Power Status

Cooperation, Competition, and Compartmentalization
April 8, 2021 — Russian-Turkish Relations and Their Implications for the West Robert E. Hamilton, 2021, the Foreign Policy Research InstituteThe relationship between the Russian Federation and Republic of Turkey is one of the most important bilateral relationships in Eurasia today. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) original adversary and one of its... MORE

Cooperation, Competition, and Compartmentalization:
Russian-Turkish Relations and Their Implications for the West

Russia’s War in Syria: Assessing Russian Military Capabilities and Lessons Learned
June 1, 2020 — Robert E. Hamilton, 2020, the Foreign Policy Research InstituteThis edited volume, Russia’s War in Syria: Assessing Russian Military Capabilities and Lessons Learned, published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, sets out to examine the Russian Federation’s way of war in Syria. It consists of seven chapters, authored by nine subject-matter... MORE

Cover for Russia’s War in Syria: Assessing Russian Military Capabilities and Lessons Learned

Russia’s Syria Problem
October 8, 2018 — Dr. Robert E. Hamilton, Oct 2018The Russians are discovering that success on the battlefield doesn’t automatically translate to achievement of political goals. Several recent publications and organizations have proclaimed victory for Russia and the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war. President Obama’s prediction back in the autumn of 2015 that... MORE

A Security Role for the United States in a Post-ISIS Syria?
September 14, 2018 — Author: Mr Gregory AftandilianSyria has become one of the most vexing and complex problems for U.S. strategic planners in recent times. Currently, the United States has about 2,000 troops in the northeastern part of the country whose primary mission has been to aid the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up primarily of Kurds and some Arab... MORE

Cover for A Security Role for the United States in a Post-ISIS Syria?

Strategic Insights: After the Smoke Clears in Syria: Dilemmas for U.S. Strategy Remain
May 18, 2018 — Dr. Christopher J. Bolan In the wake of recent U.S. and Israeli military strikes, the potential for expanded U.S. military engagement in the Syrian civil war is growing and U.S. policymakers will need to plot a smart strategic course ahead. In doing so, they will need to conduct an honest appraisal of America’s interests in Syria and wrestle with... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: After the Smoke Clears in Syria: Dilemmas for U.S. Strategy Remain

Strategic Insights: The Assad Regime and Chemical Weapons
May 18, 2018 — Dr. Robert J. BunkerOn April 7, 2018, insurgents and civilians in a rebel enclave in Douma, east of Damascus, Syria, were subjected to a chemical weapons attack during an offensive conducted by Assad regime and allied Russian and Iranian-linked ground forces. At least 42 individuals were reported to have been killed in the attack due to... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: The Assad Regime and Chemical Weapons

Strategic Insights: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) and Trinidad and Tobago: Establishing a Dangerous Presence in the Western Hemisphere
May 13, 2016 — Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz In his National Security Strategy (February 2015), President Barack Obama stated that, “the threat of catastrophic attacks against our homeland by terrorists has diminished but still persists . . . Our adversaries are not confined to a distinct country or region. Instead, they range from South Asia through the Middle... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) and Trinidad and Tobago: Establishing a Dangerous Presence in the Western Hemisphere

Joining the New Caravan: ISIS and the Regeneration of Terrorism in Southeast Asia
June 25, 2015 — Dr. Zachary AbuzaIntroduction.Since early-2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made gradual inroads into Southeast Asia. There are an estimated 500 Southeast Asians, not including family and kin, in Iraq and Syria fighting for ISIS, as well as al-Nusra, which at first attracted far more Southeast Asians. Since August 2014, there has... MORE

The Gulf Moment: Arab Relations Since 2011
May 4, 2015 — Author: Dr Florence Gaub View the Executive SummaryThis monograph examines the impact that the “Arab Spring” has had on how Arab states relate to each other post-regime change and post-Islamist electoral victory. It shows that the region is undergoing a profound change as some traditional regional policy actors are paralyzed by internal turmoil... MORE