Recent Publications

GL-6–Equipped ZTZ-96A Main Battle Tanks Highlight the PLAA’s Emphasis on Incorporating Lessons Learned from the Russia-Ukraine War for Taiwan
June 24, 2026 — Joaquin Camarena and Anthony Costanzo... MORE

CLSC Quick Take: GL-6–Equipped ZTZ-96A Main Battle Tanks Highlight the PLAA’s Emphasis on Incorporating Lessons Learned from the Russia-Ukraine War for Taiwan by Joaquin Camarena and Anthony Costanzo

China Maritime Report #55: Loading the Well Deck: The PLA Navy's Maturing Role in Projecting Joint Ground Forces
June 24, 2026 — Since 2023, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has established an annualized rhythm of loading PLA Army (PLAA) combat, engineering, and support units onto PLA Navy (PLAN) amphibious ships for international exercises. This integration signals a maturation in Chinese expeditionary logistics, providing Beijing with the proven framework to project sustained, multi-domain combat mass well beyond its regional periphery... MORE

China Maritime Report #55: Loading the Well Deck: The PLA Navy's Maturing Role in Projecting Joint Ground Forces by Joshua Arostegui

Turning Tactical Victories into Strategic Success: Counterinsurgency in the Irish Civil War, 1922–23
June 23, 2026 — The fundamentals the Irish National Army used in the Irish Civil War (1922–23) are a model for the successful application of a classic counterinsurgency which, if understood earlier, could have made a difference in the United States’ most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. John A. Nagl and Gareth Prendergast explain... MORE

Decisive Point podcast: Turning Tactical Victories into Strategic Success: Counterinsurgency in the Irish Civil War, 1922–23, by John A. Nagl and Gareth Prendergast

Academic Year 2026–27 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
June 22, 2026 — The United States faces a complex and ever-changing global environment. The 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 prepare the Army for a wide range of potential conflicts and threats... MORE

Slide for Academic Year 2026–27 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment

Systems Over Steel: How China is Redefining Amphibious Armor Survivability
June 22, 2026 — The contemporary discourse on drone-driven warfare rarely suggests the end of maneuver, but it highlights an increasingly perilous gap between tactical movement and force survivability in a hypertransparent environment. Against this backdrop, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s sustained commitment to amphibious armor invites examination of how a high-end force intends to bridge that gap in the contested littoral space... MORE

Systems Over Steel: How China is Redefining Amphibious Armor Survivability by Joshua Arostegui, published by the Modern War Institute at West Point

Beyond Denuclearization: China and North Korea’s Evolving Relationship
June 17, 2026 — Michael Long... MORE

SRAD Quick Take: Beyond Denuclearization: China and North Korea’s Evolving Relationship by Michael Long

Book Review: Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
June 15, 2026 — Economic tools are reshaping global power in ways military professionals cannot ignore. From sanctions to tech controls, modern statecraft is increasingly defined by financial and industrial leverage... MORE

Cover of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, by Edward Fishman

Book Review: War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips
June 15, 2026 — This review of War in the Smartphone Age highlights Matthew Ford’s argument that mass smartphone use is transforming modern warfare. Using recent conflicts, the book shows how civilian-generated data and connectivity accelerate decision making and reshape the conduct of war... MORE

Cover of War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips, by Matthew Ford

Book Review: America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation
June 15, 2026 — This review of America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation highlights how Michael A. Hunzeker and Mark A. Christopher assess allied perceptions of US reliability in a Taiwan crisis. Drawing on extensive interviews with policymakers in Australia, Japan, and South Korea, the book argues these perceptions—rather than raw military power alone—will shape allied responses and the broader strategic outcome... MORE

Cover of America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation, by Michael A. Hunzeker and Mark A. Christopher

Book Review: The Boundaries of War: Local and Global Perspectives in Military History
June 15, 2026 — The Boundaries of War: Local and Global Perspectives in Military History, edited by Lee L. Brice and Timothy M. Roberts, challenges traditional narratives by exploring how warfare is shaped by both local conditions and global forces. Through case studies ranging from ancient Rome to the World Wars, the book asks whether military history should be understood through regional uniqueness or broader transnational patterns. This thought-provoking collection redefines how we study conflict by bridging the gap between micro-level experiences and macro-level trends... MORE

Cover of The Boundaries of War: Local and Global Perspectives in Military History, edited by Lee L. Brice and Timothy M. Roberts

Book Review: A Violent Peace: A Global Military History of the Interwar Peace
June 15, 2026 — In A Violent Peace: A Global Military History of the Interwar Peace, editors Ian Ona Johnson and Robert Clemm challenge the myth of a tranquil interlude between the world wars by revealing a landscape of persistent and widespread conflict. Spanning four continents, the book uncovers forgotten wars, ideological clashes, and military transformations that shaped the global order long before 1939. This compelling volume reframes the interwar years as a violent and formative era, essential to understanding the trajectory of twentieth-century warfare... MORE

Cover of A Violent Peace: A Global Military History of the Interwar Peace, edited by Ian Ona Johnson and Robert Clemm

SSI Live 125 – Europe’s Role in a Taiwan Crisis
June 12, 2026 — In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Dr. John Deni on his ongoing research concerning Europe’s potential involvement in a war in the Pacific. The conversation explores the challenges of coalition management and the unique contributions the United States could request from its European allies... MORE

SSI Live podcast: Europe’s Role in a Taiwan Crisis, Brennan Deveraux and Dr. John Deni