Monthly Newsletter

Who is SSI?

The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College publishes national security and strategic research and analysis which serves to influence policy debate and bridge the gap between Military and Academia.

Asia Pacific - Recent

At SSI, research on the Asia Pacific currently focuses on four central issues. These are: (1) tensions on the Korean Peninsula, (2) managing a rising China, (3) reconfiguring the security architecture of the region as a whole, and (4) addressing various security challenges in South and Southeast Asia.

New References from the Military Education Research Library Network

Asia Pacific

(3/7/08) The North Korea MiPAL has been updated with remarks by a State Department official on trafficking of North Korean women, an article from the Brookings Institution assessing possibilities for denuclearization, a report from the Strategic Studies Institute on the North Korean ballistic missile program, and a report from the Institute for Security and Development Policy analyzing the implications of the February 13 agreement. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this country - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Asia Pacific

(3/3/08) The China MiPAL has been updated with the 2008 Military Power of the People's Republic of China report from the Department of Defense, and an article on the PLA's evolving operational doctrine from the Jamestown Foundation. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this country - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Asia Pacific

(2/29/08) The China MiPAL has been updated to include a joint press availability between Secretary of State Rice and the Chinese foreign minister, a report on the U.S.-Taiwan partnership from the American Enterprise Institute, remarks on China's relations with Africa by the Chinese government representative on Darfur, an article from the Council on Foreign Relations on China's internet firewalls, articles from the Jamestown Foundation on Taiwan and on military education in China, a Congressional Research Service report on China's economy, and an article from Foreign Affairs on democracy in China. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this country - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

Asia Pacific

(2/15/08) The China MiPAL has been updated with the transcript of a Brookings Institution program on the global implications of China's economic growth, and a report on U.S. military exports to China from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Please see the Recently Added Documents section for the latest on this country - the newest updates are in bold. (View it at NDU)

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 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 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 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 December 19, 2011

The United States and China in Power Transition

Authored by Dr. David Lai.
Historically, systematic power transitions were settled in war. Can China and the United States avoid a deadly contest and spare the world another catastrophe? What can we expect from China and the United States with respect to the future of international relations?
Added November 17, 2011

Chinese Lessons from Other Peoples' Wars

Edited by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Dr. David Lai, Mr. Roy Kamphausen.
The 2010 People's Liberation Army (PLA) conference focused on the lessons learned by the PLA from the military actions and experiences of non-Chinese armed forces over the past 30 years, which the PLA can apply to its own strategic planning.
Added August 25, 2011

China-Latin America Military Engagement: Good Will, Good Business, and Strategic Position

Authored by Dr. R Evan Ellis.
This monograph examines Chinese military engagement with Latin America, finding that the level of such activity is higher than is generally recognized, and has expanded in important ways, with high-level trips by Latin American defense and security personnel, officer exchange programs, growing arms sales, military-relevant space, aviation, and telecommunications collaboration, and a small but important physical presence in the region.
Added July 18, 2011

Understanding the North Korea Problem: Why It Has Become the "Land of Lousy Options"

Authored by William A Boik.
The U.S. has made little effort to meaningfully engage North Korea over the last decade. What can be done to increase the U.S. understanding of the situation in North Korea and our ability to influence the actions of the North Korean leadership?
Added April 08, 2011

Other People's Wars: PLA Lessons from Foreign Conflicts

Authored by Mr. Daniel Alderman, Mr. Joe Narus.
The 2010 annual People's Liberation Army (PLA) Conference discussed ways to better understand how the PLA may seek to utilize its newly acquired capabilities by asking the question, “What lessons does the PLA appear to have drawn from the conflicts of others, and what might the focus and content of those lessons reveal about modern PLA tactics, doctrines, and intentions?”
Added March 09, 2011

India in Africa: Implications of an Emerging Power for AFRICOM and U.S. Strategy

Authored by Dr. J. Peter Pham.
Little attention has been given to the fact that India is fast becoming one of Africa’s most important partners, not just in the economic realm but also in the political and security sectors. The author argues that, in the context of the broader U.S.-India strategic partnership as well as America’s specific interests in Africa, the United States should welcome India’s contributions to and engage with India on the African continent.
Added February 18, 2011

A Continuation of Politics by Other Means: The "Politics" of a Peacekeeping Mission in Cambodia (1992-1993)

Authored by Boraden Nehm.
The author addresses the UN Cambodian peacekeeping mission of 1992-93 with a fresh look at peacekeeping theory and doctrine. He provides a unique personal perspective to this rigorous academic study having lived in Cambodia as a child through some of the worst years of fighting and subsequent implementation of peace operations.
Added December 08, 2010

Russia's Prospects in Asia

Edited by Dr. Stephen J. Blank.
To what degree should we take Russia seriously as an important actor in Asia? The three chapters here, taken from an SSI conference in January 2010, actively debate the prospects for Russia as it makes its way in an increasingly complex Asian environment characterized by China’s rising power and multiple threats, such as proliferation in Korea and the Taiwan issue.
Added October 13, 2010

The Coming of Chinese Hawks

Authored by Dr. David Lai.
Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the October 2010 newsletter.
Added August 17, 2010

Chinese Energy Security: The Myth of the PLAN's Frontline Status

Authored by Dr. Ryan Clarke.
As the Chinese economy continues to expand at impressive rates, energy security strategies have assumed center stage in Beijing. Given that China relies heavily on energy imports, many are predicting the emergence of a blue water navy that seeks to engage in global power projection and secure China’s energy supply. These assessments are incorrect.
Added July 09, 2010

China's Role in the Stabilization of Afghanistan

Authored by Col Greg Kleponis.
Critics contend that China is getting a free-ride on the coat tails of U.S.-coalition stabilization efforts. However, the author argues that any economic stimulus should be seen as a boon.
Added July 06, 2010

The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China's Military

Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. David Lai, Dr. Andrew Scobell.
In 2009, the People's Republic of China, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, and the PLA Air Force celebrated their 60th anniversaries. Behind China’s economic development, the PLA parades, and the spectacular celebration fireworks, the world clearly saw an ambitious China edging its way to the center stage of international economic, political, and military affairs. However, a few other major events in the last 2 years came just in time to remind the Chinese leaders, and the world as well, that China still faced a challenging future.
Added July 06, 2010

Arms Sales to Taiwan: Enjoy the Business While It Lasts

Authored by Dr. David Lai.
From our "Of Interest" occasional paper series, the author examines recent threats from China over arms sales to Taiwan.
Added April 12, 2010

Criminal Sovereignty: Understanding North Korea's Illicit International Activities

Authored by Dr. Paul Rexton Kan, Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr., Mr. Robert M. Collins.
North Korea’s criminal conduct—smuggling, trafficking and counterfeiting—is well known, but the portion of the government, Office Number 39, which directs it, is understudied or overlooked. This shadowy part of an already opaque government is examined to reveal how it conducts its activities and supports the longevity of the regime.
Added March 18, 2010

Lashkar-I-Taiba: The Fallacy of Subservient Proxies and the Future of Islamist Terrorism in India

Authored by Dr. Ryan Clarke.
When it comes to the analysis of Islamist terrorism, the vast majority of attention is given to the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan while the remainder goes towards Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, and “homegrown” terrorism in the West. This unbalanced approach has resulted in a critical deficit in knowledge regarding the growth of the phenomenon in India, a country which faces the challenge of having to tackle Islamist terrorists based in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as in India itself. What is clear is that the Pakistan based Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) has taken the leading role in spreading its terrorist infrastructure well outside of its original theater, Kashmir, and throughout the whole of India. Inadequate attention has especially been given to LeT’s connections with organized criminal syndicates in India, as well as Indian terrorists themselves. This paper aims to fill this gap and to enhance American understanding of this powerful and sophisticated organization that is set to pose a major challenge to stability and American interests in South Asia and elsewhere.
Added March 04, 2010

Transnational Insurgencies and the Escalation of Regional Conflict: Lessons for Iraq and Afghanistan

Authored by Dr Idean Salehyan.
Transnational insurgencies complicate traditional counterinsurgency operations in significant ways and can lead to conflict between states. This monograph examines several transnational militant groups, assesses the prospects for conflict and cooperation over cross-border violence, and discusses current issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan.
Added January 19, 2010

Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk

Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
With any attempt to assess security threats, there is a natural tendency to focus first on the worst. Consider the most recent appraisals of Pakistan’s nuclear program. Normally, the risk of war between Pakistan and India, and possible nuclear escalation, would be bad enough. Now, however, most American security experts are riveted on the frightening possibility of Pakistani nuclear weapons capabilities falling into the hands of terrorists who are intent on attacking the United States. Presented with the horrific implications of such an attack, the American public and media have increasingly come to view nearly all Pakistani security issues through this lens.
Added January 15, 2010

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)

Authored by Mr. Daniel Alderman.
Participants in this conference sought to understand the PLA's evolving view of its roles and responsibilities in a changing global security landscape.
Added November 03, 2009

India's Strategic Defense Transformation: Expanding Global Relationships

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Brian K. Hedrick.
India’s defense establishment is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as it seeks to (1) modernize its military, (2) obtain “strategic partnerships” with the United States and other nations, and (3) expand its influence in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
Added June 25, 2009

2009 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 June 17, 2009

China's Strategic Culture: A Perspective for the United States

Authored by Colonel Kenneth D. Johnson.
With much of the American public accepting the “China Threat” theory, it is critical that the United States recognize the role of strategic culture in shaping China’s domestic and external policies.
Added June 01, 2009

China's Maritime Quest

Authored by Dr. David Lai.
Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the June 2009 newsletter.
Added April 30, 2009

Beyond the Strait: PLA Missions other than Taiwan

Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. David Lai, Dr. Andrew Scobell.
On September 26, 2008, over 70 leading experts from academia, government, the military and policy thinktanks assembled at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, to look beyond the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) primary focus on Taiwan and to the evolving new roles of the PLA. The conference could not have been timelier, given the PLA’s active involvement in events during 2008, including earthquake relief, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance, space activities, and blue water naval operations.
Added February 09, 2009

Japan's Decision for War in 1941: Some Enduring Lessons

Authored by Dr. Jeffrey Record.
Japan’s decision to attack the United States in 1941 is widely regarded as irrational to the point of suicidal. How could Japan hope to survive a war with, much less defeat, an enemy possessing an invulnerable homeland and an industrial base 10 times that of Japan? The Pacific War was a war that Japan was always going to lose, so how does one explain Tokyo’s decision for war? Did the Japanese recognize the odds against them? Did they have a concept of victory, or at least of avoiding defeat? Or did the Japanese prefer a lost war to an unacceptable peace?
Added October 27, 2008

PLA Missions Beyond Taiwan

Authored by Marc Miller.
Analysis of China’s armed forces tends to focus on its role in a potential Taiwan scenario, given that the PLA retains a central mission in the reunification of Taiwan or prevention of its independence. However, it is also becoming clear that China’s interests and foreign policy objectives are growing with its increasing power and international stature. As a result, it is reasonable to expect the PLA to be asked to perform a wider variety of missions in support of Chinese interests and objectives, from disaster and humanitarian relief and United Nations peacekeeping operations; to counterterrorism and border defense; to outer space and cyber space security; and extending to the protection of ethnic Chinese abroad.
Added September 17, 2008

The "People" in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China's Military

Edited by Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr. Andrew Scobell, Mr. Travis Tanner.
On September 28, 2007, under the joint leadership of the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute and NBR’s Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies, approximately 70 leading experts on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) convened at Carlisle Barracks, PA, for a 2-day discussion on the Chinese military’s human infrastructure. Presentations and discussions focused on identifying trends in PLA recruitment, education, training, personnel management, and demographics.
Added August 06, 2008

China-Russia Security Relations: Strategic Parallelism without Partnership or Passion?

Authored by Dr. Richard Weitz.
This report maintains that, although Chinese-Russian relations have improved along several important dimensions, security cooperation between Beijing and Moscow has remained limited, episodic, and tenuous. Nevertheless, U.S. national security planners should prepare for possible major discontinuities in Sino-Russian relations. American officials should pursue a mixture of “shaping and hedging” policies that aim to avert a hostile Chinese-Russian alignment while preparing the United States to better counter one, should it nevertheless arise.
Added July 16, 2008

Key Strategic Issues List, July 2008

Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The Key Strategic Issues List gives researchers, whether military professionals or civilian scholars, a ready reference of those issues of particular interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. Its focus is strategic, rather than operational or tactical. Every year, the KSIL helps guide research efforts to the mutual benefit of the defense community and individual researchers.
Added April 28, 2008

Prospects from Korean Unification

Authored by Colonel, Australian Army David Coghlan.
For a number of reasons, many of which are self-induced, the United States is in danger of losing, or may have already lost, the strategic initiative in Korea to the People's Republic of China. Given time, the ramifications of ceding the initiative to China may result in a unified Korea tilted toward Beijing.
Added March 24, 2008

Projecting Pyongyang: The Future of North Korea's Kim Jong Il Regime

Authored by Dr. Andrew Scobell.
The author explores the future of the regime of Kim Jong Il, constructs a number of scenarios, and then identifies the most plausible one.
Added March 21, 2008

Building for the Future: China's Progress in Space Technology during the Tenth 5-Year Plan and the U.S. Response

Authored by Mr. Kevin Pollpeter.
This report assesses the progress of China’s space program during the Tenth 5-year Plan (2001-05), examines the implications of this rise, and proposes a course of action for managing the effects of increased competition on the U.S. space program.
Added February 25, 2008

The North Korean Ballistic Missile Program

Authored by Dr. Daniel A. Pinkston.
North Korea has never officially abandoned its objective of “completing the revolution in the south” and has continued an alarming military buildup. The ballistic missile inventory now totals about 800 road-mobile missiles, including about 200 Nodong missiles that could strike Japan.
Added January 16, 2008

Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Worries Beyond War

Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
After Pakistani President Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November 2007, the political turmoil that followed raised concerns that Pakistan’s nuclear assets might be vulnerable to diversion or misuse. This volume details precisely what these worries might be.
Added November 23, 2007

East Asian Security: Two Views

Authored by Dr. Gilbert Rozman, Dr. Chu Shulong.
The February 13, 2007 Joint Agreement accelerates multilateralism to which all states of Northeast Asia must adjust. The United States needs a regional strategy to prepare for the high stakes in the end game of the nuclear crisis.
Added November 13, 2007

The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China's 80-Year-Old Military

Authored by Justin B Liang, Sarah K Snyder.
On September 28, 2007, more than 60 leading experts on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) convened at Carlisle Barracks, PA. The 2007 PLA Conference, conducted by The National Bureau of Asian Research and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, sought to investigate the 80-year-old military’s human infrastructure, identifying trends in PLA recruitment, education and training, demographics, and historical perspectives.
Added November 01, 2007

The United States and ASEAN-China Relations: All Quiet on the Southeast Asian Front

Authored by Dr. Ian Storey.
The development of relations between ASEAN and China poses few security challenges to the United States and even enhances regional stability, something that is clearly in America’s interests. However, while ASEAN-China relations are relatively benign today, several sources of potential friction in the region could lead to problems in Sino-U.S. relations.
Added September 19, 2007

ASEAN and Its Security Offspring: Facing New Challenges

Authored by Dr. Sheldon W. Simon.
The author argues that ASEAN and its offspring organizations such as the ASEAN Regional Forum work best when dealing with external powers and are less effective in resolving disputes within Southeast Asia.
Added September 13, 2007

China's Expansion into and U.S. Withdrawal from Argentina's Telecommunications and Space Industries and the Implications for U.S. National Security

Authored by Ms Janie Hulse.
China is increasing its presence in strategic industries in Latin America as U.S. engagement in the region wanes. Chinese involvement in Argentina’s telecommunications and space industries, in particular, creates security vulnerabilities for the United States and calls for enhanced U.S. commerce, aid, and diplomacy with Argentina and the region as a whole.
Added September 04, 2007

Right Sizing the People's Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China's Military

Edited by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Mr. Roy Kamphausen.
This volume addresses how the leadership of China and the PLA view what size of PLA best meets China’s requirements. Among other things, this analytical process makes important new contributions on the question of PLA transparency, long an issue among PLA watchers.
Added July 18, 2007

2007 Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL)

Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The Key Strategic Issues List gives researchers, whether military professionals or civilian scholars, a ready reference of those issues of particular interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense. Its focus is strategic, rather than operational or tactical. Every year, the KSIL helps guide research efforts to the mutual benefit of the defense community and individual researchers.
Added May 11, 2007

China's Nuclear Forces: Operations, Training, Doctrine, Command, Control and Campaign Planning

Authored by Dr. Larry M. Wortzel.
This monograph documents new thinking in China on how and when to use nuclear weapons. China’s nuclear forces are mainly retaliatory in nature, but there is a debate about using preemptive force among China’s strategic thinkers.
Added April 30, 2007

North Korean Foreign Relations in the Post-Cold War World

Authored by Dr. Samuel S. Kim.
North Korea’s foreign relations are a blend of contradiction and complexity. They start from the incongruity between Pyongyang’s highly touted policy of juche, or self-reliance, and North Korea’s extended and heavy reliance on foreign aid and assistance over the 6 decades of its existence.
Added April 27, 2007

North Korea's Military Threat: Pyongyang's Conventional Forces, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Ballistic Missiles

Authored by Dr. Andrew Scobell, Captain USN John M Sanford.
Although North Korea remains an economic basket case that cannot feed and clothe its own people, it nevertheless possesses one of the world’s largest armed forces. Whether measured in terms of the total number of personnel in uniform, numbers of special operations soldiers, the size of its submarine fleet, quantity of ballistic missiles in its arsenal, or its substantial Weapons of Mass Destruction programs, Pyongyang is a major military power. North Korea’s latest act to demonstrate its might was the nuclear test on October 9, 2006.
Added April 02, 2007

Chinese Perceptions of Traditional and Nontraditional Security Threats

Authored by Ms Susan L. Craig.
While “knowing your enemy” has long been a Chinese stratagem, cultural intelligence has only recently gained precedence in American military strategy. How does China perceive itself, the world and China’s place within it.
Added March 29, 2007

The Politics of Identity: History, Nationalism, and the Prospect for Peace in Post-Cold War East Asia

Authored by Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager.
The clash between the rise of increasingly divergent nationalisms in post-Cold War East Asia represent new challenges for U.S. policy there. How might the United States respond to the history disputes and rising nationalisms in the region to promote stability and peace?
Added March 05, 2007

Gauging U.S.-Indian Strategic Cooperation

Edited by Mr. Henry D. Sokolski.
The volume offers U.S. and Indian policy and law makers a detailed checklist of things to watch, avoid, and try to achieve in order to assure U.S.-Indian strategic cooperation succeeds.