Recent Publications

Parameters | Spring 2025
March 20, 2025 — Welcome to the Spring 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Russia, Ukraine, and NATO; Strategic Competition and Managing National Security; and Joint Sustainment Strategies), the regular Civil-Military Relations Corner installment, and a review essay... MORE

Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry
April 15, 2025 — Turn your excess national defense champions into continental ones.Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and questions about the American commitment to NATO have cast a spotlight on European efforts to safeguard security on the continent. But today, the major hurdles confronting Europe are no longer defense spending and industrial capacity. At both the... MORE

Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry | Dr. John R. Deni

A Drawdown of US Forces in Europe Is All but Certain
April 15, 2025 — Here’s how the Pentagon can rebalance its approach to the continent without sacrificing US interests.The Trump administration has only just begun to fill its ranks with the political appointees who will flesh out the future of US defense policy. One item sure to be on their agenda is a review of US military deployments around the world, known in... MORE

A Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Europe Is All but Certain | John R. Deni

Commanding General of America's First Corps
April 14, 2025 — Today we are talking with Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane, the commanding general of America's I Corps, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Having served with distinction at all levels of the Army and Joint Force, he now leads the Army's senior tactical headquarters in the Indo-Pacific. Today we'll be chatting about his views of the operational environment and the hard work the Corps is doing across the Indo-Pacific... MORE

CLSC Dialogues | Commanding General of America’s First Corps

How Chinese Leaders Conceptualize Protracted War
April 11, 2025 — You're listening to CLSC Dialogues, a China Landpower Studies Center production. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, the U.S. Army War College, or any other agency of the U.S. government. I’m Jake Rinaldi, a defense analyst at the China Landpower... MORE

CLSC Dialogues – Ep 21 – Dan Rice – How Chinese Leaders Conceptualize Protracted War

Book Review: The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913
April 8, 2025 — The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913, by John L. Hopkins, traces the story of the Gettysburg reunion from its inception in 1908 to its fruition in 1918, covering the community perspective, the veterans’ search for reconnection, spectators’ thoughts on the spectacle, and more. In the words of reviewer Wylie W. Johnson, “The takeaway for senior leaders from this compelling book is the overriding necessity for reconciliation.”... MORE

Cover for The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913

Book Review: Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice
April 8, 2025 — Today’s force still has plenty to learn about counterinsurgency from Operation Desert Storm. John Nagl’s Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice “a book about counterinsurgency and its journey from the far periphery of US military doctrine to its center, for better and, some would argue, for worse.” The reviewer notes, Nagl’s work “provides a tangible example of the impact junior leaders can have on the service.”... MORE

Cover for Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice

Book Review: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
April 8, 2025 — Zachary E. Griffiths’ review of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, portrays Ethan Mollick’s book as a concise, easy-to-read tour of artificial intelligence—a user’s guide of sorts. With insightful information about how to use AI, Mollick’s work also covers the history of artificial intelligence and ethical and legal issues that come with using large language models. In his review, Griffiths recommends all Army officers read this book... MORE

Cover for Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Book Review: Unit X: how the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War
April 8, 2025 — Bureaucracy versus technology. The Pentagon versus Silicon Valley. Is cooperation possible? If you have ever wondered how the US military and civilian technological institutions can work together to America’s advantage, Robert D. Bradford III’s review of Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War explores the story of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and its connection to the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley... MORE

Cover for Unit X: how the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War

Book Review: Next War: Reimagining How We Fight
April 8, 2025 — In Next War: Reimagining How We Fight, by John Antal, the author’s goal is to “draw lessons and conclusions from the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Israeli-Hamas War, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.” He highlights nine disrupters that he claims are changing modern warfare. Reviewer Jeffery Caton sees room for improvement. ... MORE

Cover for Next War: Reimagining How We Fight

Amid Trump Tariffs, Where Do China-Mexico Ties Stand?
March 24, 2025 — Mexico’s government is attempting to downplay its relationship with China to avoid Trump’s ire, but ties continue beneath the surface. In the beginning of March 2025, I traveled to Mexico to speak with a range of officials and experts about activities by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its companies in the country, among other topics.In... MORE

Amid Trump Tariffs, Where Do China-Mexico Ties Stand? | R. Evan Ellis

North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation
March 18, 2025 — The deployment of North Korean forces to Ukraine marks a critical inflection point in global security dynamics, challenging long-held assumptions about the limits of cooperation between authoritarian states. This development, unprecedented in its implications, reveals even absent formal alliances or ideological cohesion, the strategic realignment among authoritarian states has the potential to reshape the global order and future conflicts... MORE

North Korea in Ukraine: Analyzing Authoritarian Cooperation
Jake Rinaldi