Recent Publications

“China, the Illiberal Counter-Order, and the Role of Values in the Strategic Response”
November 7, 2024 — Dr. R. Evan Ellis discusses his recent article written for the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs titled, “China, the Illiberal Counter-Order, and the Role of Values in the Strategic Response.” This illuminating discussion covers what China is doing differently than the Soviets during the Cold War, and how new technology is playing a role in enabling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) objectives... MORE

“Closing the Gap: Officer Advanced Education STEM+M (Management)”
August 28, 2024 — The Army has made insufficient progress in arming its officers with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and management (STEM+M) knowledge. The contemporary battlefield is faster paced, technologically enabled, and data driven, requiring officers to possess more skills, knowledge, and experience. We examine the Army’s history with STEM education and show that, in terms of education, ... ... MORE

2024 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
July 24, 2024 — The United States faces a complex and ever-changing global environment. The 2024 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment is designed to guide the collective defense community to research and write about critical national security challenges to help the Army prepare for a wide range of potential conflicts and threats... MORE

The 2024 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment sets the foundation for cutting-edge research to understand the ever-evolving security environment domestically and internationally.

China, the Illiberal Counter-Order, and the Role of Values in the Strategic Response
July 22, 2024 — The dynamics of the international order in the third decade of the 21st Century are changing profoundly. The magnitude and complexity of the change are illustrated by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, in both its initial failure, and in the ability of the Putin administration in Russia to sustain its costly campaign. The new international... MORE

Parameters | Summer 2024
May 29, 2024 — The Summer issue is out! In this edition: "What American Policymakers Misunderstand about the Belt and Road Initiative" by Zenel Garcia and Phillip Guerreiro; A Major's Perspective “Professional Discourse Is Shaping the Force”; Civil-Military Relations Corner, "Introduction to the US Army War College Civil-Military Relations Center"; "Exploring the Nexus of Military and Society at a 50-Year Milestone" by Patricia M. Shields;... MORE

The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
October 17, 2023 — Book Review: The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr. | Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense | Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The... MORE

Book Review: The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/28
Author: Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.
Reviewed by Zachery Tyson Brown, defense analyst, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Andrew F. Krepinevich has questions for policymakers when it comes to emerging technologies and warfare. In The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers, Krepinevich asks: How do states gain advantages in military competition during periods of disruptive change? How are developmental technologies best incorporated into legacy military structures? Or are entirely new structures necessary?

Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
September 21, 2023 — 76th Birthday of Air Force | Book Review: Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space Bleddyn E. Bowen | Reviewed by Jeffrey Caton, colonel, US Air Force (retired), and president, Kepler Strategies LLC | Based on three key arguments, Original Sin covers the development of spacepower during the Cold War, space technology’s progress,... MORE

Book Review by Jeffrey Caton of:
Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space
Author: Bleddyn E. Bowen

Reviewed by Jeffrey Caton, colonel, US Air Force (retired), and president, Kepler Strategies LLC

Based on three key arguments, Original Sin covers the development of spacepower during the Cold War, space technology’s progress, and the weapons, planning and doctrine that surround space warfare. The reviewer notes, “What sets Original Sin apart from similar books is the outstanding context it provides and its willingness to challenge trite slogans attached to spacepower.”

2023 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
August 24, 2023 — The United States operates within a global context that is increasingly complex, interconnected, and unpredictable. The Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment serves as a guide to define broadly the contemporary security landscape and the diverse range of interests that shape our national security agenda... MORE

2023 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
The Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment serves as a guide for academics and practitioners in the defense community on the current challenges and opportunities in the strategic environment. This year’s publication outlines key strategic issues across the four broad themes of Regional Challenges and Opportunities, Domestic Challenges, Institutional Challenges, and Domains Impacting US Strategic Advantage. These themes represent a wide range of topics affecting national security and provide a global assessment of the strategic environment to help focus the defense community on research and publication. Strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China and the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remain dominant challenges to US national security interests across the globe. However, the evolving security environment also presents new and unconventional threats, such as cyberattacks, terrorism, transnational crime, and the implications of rapid technological advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence. At the same time, the US faces domestic and institutional challenges in the form of recruiting and retention shortfalls in the all-volunteer force, the prospect of contested logistics in large-scale combat operations, and the health of the US Defense Industrial Base. Furthermore, rapidly evolving security landscapes in the Arctic region and the space domain pose unique potential challenges to the Army’s strategic advantage.
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/962/

The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War
June 21, 2023 — Technology and War Book Review: The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War Robert J. Bunker Author: Mark Galeottii | Reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research and analysis, managing partner, C/O Futures LLC | In this field guide, Galeotti departs from his customary focus on Russia and covers a broad area of... MORE

Technology and War – Book Review: The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War
Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

“Technology and Strategic Surprise - Adapting to an Era of Open Innovation”
September 21, 2020 — Technological revolutions affecting state power are either open or closed. The precursor to the digital age is not the twentieth century, with state-controlled programs yielding nuclear weapons, but the late nineteenth century, when tinkerers invented the radio, airplane, and high explosives—all crucial to subsequent wars. To avoid strategic... MORE

“Disintegrating the Enemy - The PLA’s Info-Messaging”
September 4, 2020 — The lessons of counterinsurgency have deeper implications for cyber conflict than previous research has identified. Two decades of experience in Iraq and Afghanistan provide insights into the cyber strategy of defending forward including treating major cybersecurity and technology companies as host-nation partners and focusing on winning the hearts... MORE

Senior Conference 55—The Emerging Environment in the Indo-Pacific Region: Drivers, Directions, and Decisions
March 4, 2020 — Editors: Dr Terry Babcock-Lumish, COL Tania Chacho, MAJ Tom Fox, MAJ Zachary Griffiths As the Indo-Pacific region enters a period of uncertainty, this monograph details the proceedings of West Point’s 2019 Senior Conference 55. Scholars and practitioners convened to discuss and debate strategic changes, and experts shared thoughts during keynote... MORE

Cover for Senior Conference 55—The Emerging Environment in the Indo-Pacific Region: Drivers, Directions, and Decisions