Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College
Recent Publications
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Added February 05, 2013
Strategic Stability: Contending Interpretations
Edited by Elbridge A. Colby, Michael S. Gerson.
This edited volume offers the most current authoritative contemporary survey of the concept of strategic stability, a central plank in U.S. policy on nuclear weapons and great power relations. -
Added January 31, 2013
Talking Past Each Other? How Views of U.S. Power Vary between U.S. and International Military Personnel
Authored by Colonel Richard H. M. Outzen.
View the Executive Summary
The gap between the U.S. military’s self-image and its image in the eyes of an international military audience is examined. When considering U.S. power, do response patterns indicate great difference between how U.S. military officers view themselves and how they are viewed by their international peers? If so, is there anything that the United States can do about it, or does a fundamental and pathological anti-Americanism predetermine outcomes? -
Added December 31, 2012
The Impact of President Felipe Calderón’s War on Drugs on the Armed Forces: The Prospects for Mexico’s “Militarization” and Bilateral Relations
Authored by Dr. George W. Grayson.
View the Executive Summary
The ever wider involvement of the armed forces in Mexican life is examined by addressing the question: “Is Mexican society being ‘militarized’?” If the answer is “yes,” what will be the probable impact on relations between the United States and its southern neighbor? -
Added December 26, 2012
India's Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications
Authored by Dr. Harsh V. Pant.
View the Executive Summary
India's perpetually reactive foreign policy ensured that India has been reacting to the actions of other actors in Afghanistan for the last decade without developing an autonomous posture. This will have serious consequences for Indian security once Western forces depart Afghanistan in 2014. -
Added December 19, 2012
Venezuela as an Exporter of 4th Generation Warfare Instability
Authored by Dr. Max G. Manwaring.
We must adapt our approach to the overwhelming reality that just as the world has evolved from an industrial society to an information-based society, so has warfare. The reality of this evolution demonstrates the need for a new paradigm of conflict based on the fact that information—not firepower—is the currency upon which war is now conducted. The new primary center of gravity is public opinion and political leadership. The “new” instruments of power are intelligence, public diplomacy, media, time, and flexibility. The one thing that remains the same is that one level or another of compulsion still defines war. -
Added December 13, 2012
A National Security Staff for the 21st Century
Authored by Dr. Jack A. LeCuyer.
View the Executive Summary
This monograph offers a new model for the management of the national security system—at the strategic level—which is the first step in transforming our national security system to meet the challenges and opportunities of the global security environment of the 21st century. This monograph provides a proposed response to Section 1072 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the President to report to Congress on the organizational changes required to implement the National Security Strategy of May 2010. -
Added November 30, 2012
Learning by Doing: The PLA Trains at Home and Abroad
Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. David Lai, Mr. Travis Tanner.
The papers presented in this latest volume in a series on the PLA are a timely and critical look at an evolving and expanding Chinese military and provide context for the changes we may see as the PLA continues to modernize. -
Added November 23, 2012
The Energy and Security Nexus: A Strategic Dilemma
Edited by Dr. Carolyn Pumphrey.
It is hard to overstate the importance of energy. Energy literally drives the global economy. Without question, the links between energy and security are significant, but how so? This book explores the connections between energy and security (human, national, and international) and provides considerable discussion on how best to resolve this strategic dilemma. -
Added November 14, 2012
Jihadist Cells and "IED" Capabilities in Europe: Assessing the Present and Future Threat to the West
Authored by Dr. Jeffrey M. Bale.
The increasing diffusion and application of expertise acquired by jihadists in fabricating “improvised explosive devices” and the extent to which local jihadist cells in the West may or may not be connected to veteran terrorist groups and networks in other countries and regions are vital concerns for Western military forces and security and intelligence agencies as they relate to these veteran terrorist groups and networks in other countries and regions of the world. -
Added November 02, 2012
Beyond the Battlefield: Institutional Army Transformation Following Victory in Iraq
Authored by Lieutenant Colonel G. Scott Taylor.
Learning lessons from past conflicts is essential to avoid repeating the same mistakes in future wars. Even more important, it is critical to apply those lessons to institutional change to inculcate the lessons of the past conflict–this Paper highlights some of the author’s observations on changes that should be integrated into the institutional Army to ensure that the hard-earned lessons of counterinsurgency fighting and stability operations achieved in the sands of Iraq and hills of Afghanistan are not lost over the years ahead as we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan. -
Added October 31, 2012
State-Building Challenges in a Post-Revolution Libya
Authored by Dr. Mohammed El-Katiri.
Following the overthrow of Muammar Qadhafi, Libya’s National Transitional Council inherited a difficult and volatile domestic situation. The new leadership faces serious challenges in all areas of statehood. Libya’s immediate future is of critical importance, consequently, it is especially important for Libya's interim government to build the political institutions for a functioning modern democratic state. -
Added October 29, 2012
How Nation-States Craft National Security Strategy Documents
Authored by Dr. Alan G. Stolberg.
This monograph compares and contrasts how different countries craft their national security strategy documents. It highlights similarities as well as differences, and provides lessons learned that all national strategy makers can apply. -
Added October 24, 2012
Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus
Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
The insurgency in the North Caucasus is virtually unknown outside Russia, but it is the greatest threat to Russia’s domestic security. These studies open that “ black box” and provide much analysis that should lead to further reflection on the issues of Islamist insurgency and counterinsurgency. -
Added October 12, 2012
A "Hollow Army" Reappraised: President Carter, Defense Budgets, and the Politics of Military Readiness
Authored by Professor Frank L. Jones.
For more than 30 years, the term “hollow army” has represented President Carter’s alleged willingness to allow American military capability to deteriorate in the face of growing Soviet capability. The true story is more complicated than the metaphor suggests. -
Added October 09, 2012
The Future of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case of the Army in Europe
Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary
The January 2012 announcement that the United States would reduce the number of Brigade Combat Teams in Europe captured media, popular, and scholarly attention, prompting many to ask: Is the United States turning its back on Europe as it pivots to Asia? Do the Europeans have the wherewithal to defend themselves? Are forward-based U.S. land forces necessary at all? Given the necessity of capable, interoperable coalition partners for the future security threats Washington most expects to encounter, the role of America’s forward military presence in Europe remains as vital as it was at the dawn of the Cold War, but for different reasons. Dr. Deni’s monograph forms a critical datapoint in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of American Landpower. -
Added September 25, 2012
Lead Me, Follow Me, Or Get Out of My Way: Rethinking and Refining the Civil-Military Relationship
Authored by Dr. Mark R. Shulman.
Troubled relations between the armed forces and civil society sap the vitality of the republic and undermine the effectiveness of the military. This timely monograph launches a discussion about what kind of civil-military relationship we have and how to improve it. -
Added September 21, 2012
Russia and the Current State of Arms Control
Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
The chapters in this volume focus on Russian developments in arms control in the light of the so-called New Start Treaty signed and ratified in 2010 by Russia and the United States in Prague, Czech Republic. -
Added September 19, 2012
The Prospects for Security Sector Reform in Tunisia: A Year After the Revolution
Authored by Dr. Querine Hanlon.
The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, and in the year since the revolution, Tunisia has undergone a remarkable transition to democratic rule. The legacy of the previous regime looms large, however, as Tunisia’s new government faces major challenges implementing Security Sector Reform. -
Added September 17, 2012
Hidden Dragon, Crouching Lion: How China's Advance in Africa is Underestimated and Africa's Potential Underappreciated
Authored by David E. Brown.
In 2010, China eclipsed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner. Beijing has accomplished this by using a tied aid, trade, and development finance strategy to promote its commercial and political interests on the continent, and its status as a rising global power. This monograph examines the origins of China’s rapid economic advance in Africa; whether this advance will help or hurt Africa; and, the implications that this ecomomic advance will have for the United States. -
Added September 12, 2012
Perspectives on Russian Foreign Policy
Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
Charles de Gaulle said that states are cold monsters. To see how perhaps one of the coldest of these monsters thinks about and acts in world politics take a look at these essays from SSI’s annual Russia conference of September 26-27, 2011. -
Added August 30, 2012
The Promise and Pitfalls of Grand Strategy
Authored by Dr. Hal Brands.
This monograph offers a critical analysis of the idea of “grand strategy.” It explains why grand strategy is simultaneously so important and so difficult to do, and offers suggestions for how U.S. officials might approach the challenges of grand strategy in the 21st century. -
Added August 16, 2012
Transnational Organized Crime, Terrorism, and Criminalized States in Latin America: An Emerging Tier-One National Security Priority
Authored by Douglas Farah.
The emergence of new hybrid (state and nonstate) transnational criminal/terrorist franchises in Latin America operating under broad state protection now pose a tier-one security threat for the United States. Similar hybrid franchise models are developing in other parts of the world, making understanding the new dynamics an important factor in a broader national security context. -
Added August 10, 2012
Arms Control and European Security
Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank, COL Louis H. Jordan, Jr.
Is the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty dead, or waiting to be reborn? These three papers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia illuminate the complexities and dilemmas facing any attempt to raise the vexed issue of conventional arms control in Europe. -
Added August 08, 2012
Culture, Identity, and Information Technology in the 21st Century: Implications for U.S. National Security
Authored by Dr. Pauline Kusiak.
The author describes strategic trends in cultural change and identity formation in the 21st century and suggests that the beliefs and values of foreign societies may increasingly, and more directly, impact our own national security in a future dominated by information technology. -
Added August 01, 2012
Against All Odds: Relations between NATO and the MENA Region
Authored by Dr. Florence Gaub.
Whereas NATO had no relationships with the Middle East and North Africa at all until 1994, it has expanded now to an extent where the League of Arab States mandated its Libya mission in 2011. This monograph explains this unlikely development. -
Added August 01, 2012
2012-13 Key Strategic Issues List
Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The purpose of the Key Strategic Issues List is to provide military and civilian researchers a ready reference for issues of special interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. -
Added July 25, 2012
The Next Arms Race
Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
As the United States and Russia negotiate to bring their number of deployed nuclear weapons down, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel continue to bump their numbers up while a growing number of smaller states develop “peaceful” nuclear programs that will bring them closer to getting bombs if they choose. Welcome to the brave new world of tighter, more opaque nuclear competitions, the focus of The Next Arms Race—a must read for policy analysts and planners eager to understand and prevent the worst. -
Added July 05, 2012
U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol 2: National Security Policy and Strategy, 5th Ed.
Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.
This edition of the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues reflects both the method and manner that the U.S. Army War College uses to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. It contains essays on the general security environment, strategic thought and formulation, the elements of national power, the national security policymaking process in the United States, and selected strategic issues. -
Added June 22, 2012
U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol. 1: Theory of War and Strategy, 5th Ed.
Edited by Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr.
This edition of the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues reflects both the method and manner that the U.S. Army War College uses to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. It contains essays on the general security environment, strategic thought and formulation, the elements of national power, the national security policymaking process in the United States, and selected strategic issues. -
Added June 07, 2012
Can Russia Reform? Economic, Political, and Military Perspectives
Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
Can or will Russia reform its state, economy, and armed forces at the same time? These papers provide an answer to those questions.