Recent Articles

A Hard Look at Hard Power: Assessing the Defense Capabilities of Key US Allies and Security Partners—Second Edition Mr Gary J Schmitt Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In a world where the United States faces two major revisionist powers—Russia and China—and additional security threats from Iran, North Korea, and jihadist terrorists, a critical edge for the United States is its global network of allies and strategic partners. As the 2018 National Defense Strategy notes, 'Alliances and partnerships are crucial to our strategy, providing a durable asymmetric strategic advantage that no competitor or rival can match.' "

Security Threats, American Pressure, and the Role of Key Personnel: How NATO’s Defence Planning Process is Alleviating the Burden-Sharing Dilemma Dr John R Deni Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Many say one of NATO’s greatest strengths is its ability to conduct multinational military planning through its integrated military command. If this statement is true, the quadrennial NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP) is one of the alliance’s crown jewels. Through this process, the alliance strives to ensure it has the capabilities and capacity necessary to handle numerous threats and challenges across the alliance’s three mission areas: collective defense, crisis response, and cooperative security. For several allies, the NDPP is their only defense planning process. For the alliance, the NDPP represents a major element in the organization’s efforts to distribute fairly the burden of the member states’ common security requirements."

Mission Command of Multi-Domain Operations Mark Balboni, John Bonin, Robert Mundell, Doug Orsi US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This project supports the US Army War College’s efforts to remain a recognized leader in the creation of invaluable ideas on strategic issues relating to the US Army and the global application of Landpower. The project was requested in 2018 by Headquarters, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, to describe a new or modified operational framework to enable successful visualization and mission command of Army forces and the Joint Force across all domains in multi-domain operations (MDO) against peer competitors."

Rise and Fall? The Rise and Fall of ISIS in Libya Dr Azeem Ibrahim Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This report argues exploiting the military and political defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Libya to eradicate the group completely from the country and weaken its capacity to act elsewhere in North and sub-Saharan Africa is now possible. In addition, the Libyan conflict continues to have consequences for the political stability of Europe via the pressure the migration flows are putting on the political infrastructure of the continent. In turn, this instability has implications for the United States’ European strategy, both insofar as commercial interests are concerned and in US capacity to contain Russian assertiveness on the edges of NATO territory."

Striking the Balance: US Army Force Posture in Europe, 2028—A Study Sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of the Army COL J.P. Clark, Dr C. A. Pfaff Document US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This study takes on one of the most difficult strategic decisions the Army faces today: how to plan for an uncertain and volatile future. In the context of Army force posture in Europe, these decisions are complicated by limited resources and by an evolving adversary that can employ asymmetric means to neutralize the impact of investments the Army makes today. In an effort to ensure Army capabilities endure over the long term and prevail in the event of conflict, the Army is implementing multidomain operations (MDO), which describes how the Army can compete with or, if necessary, defeat, an adversary across all domains, as part of the Joint Force. Conceived this way, MDO is more than simply Joint operations. MDO describes how the Army will fight alongside the other services in the air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains."

Carlisle Compendia Allied Space Training Edition Dr Larry D Miller, Colonel Bryan Shrank, Colonel Scott Emmel, Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Miller Document by US Army War College "U.S. national strategy documents highlight the increasing significance of the space domain for today’s warfighters and the importance of working with our international allies and partners in that realm. In this issue, we outline and propose an Army course focused on integrating space operations into land warfare. The proposed Combined Space Officer Course (CSOC) will strengthen alliances and partnerships, increase lethality, and build greater deterrence. "

Death by a Thousand Cuts: Weakening an Insurgency through a National Reconciliation Program Three Case Studies: Malaya, Vietnam, and Iraq Dr. Raymond A. Millen PKSOI Paper by US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Death by a Thousand Cuts explores the application of national reconciliation programs to undermine insurgencies from within and lay the groundwork for stability in the post-conflict period. Dr. Raymond A. Millen presents three case studies—Malaya, South Vietnam, and Iraq—for his examination of national reconciliation programs. Such programs have received little attention after the Vietnam conflict, so this study provides insights of particular interest for US assistance to countries suffering from an insurgency."

Commentary on “The US Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028” BG Huba Wass de Czege Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Accepting General Mark A. Milley’s invitation to provide critical feedback on the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) discussion, Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege, US Army retired, provides an institutionally informed critique of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Pamphlet 525-3-1, The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028."

Nonstate Actors and Anti-Access/Area Denial Strategies: The Coming Challenge Dr Jean-Loup Samaan Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This monograph explores the emerging challenge of nonstate actors’ anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategies and their implications for the United States and its allies. This monograph starts from one major development: the historical monopoly of states over precision-guided munitions has eroded, and this evolution eventually challenges the ability of the most advanced militaries to operate in certain environments. Questioning the type of strategy that nonstate actors may implement as they gain greater access to advanced military technology, the research argues some of these groups increasingly lean toward A2/AD strategies. The analysis focuses on two regions, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where case studies include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and separatist groups in Ukraine."