Recent Articles

The Role of Leadership in Transitional States: The Cases of Lebanon, Israel-Palestine Dr Anastasia Filippidou Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this book, Dr. Anastasia Filippidou reviews the main leadership theories in order to set the foundations for analysis of asymmetric leadership in transitional processes. The report also examines the different leadership types and highlights that, with the exception possibly of toxic leadership, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine that a specific type is better than another in every situation. According to Dr. Filippidou, some leadership styles are likely to be more effective in certain situations, and that a really effective leader is one who is able to determine the context of the situation and use the most effective leadership behavior required at the time. "

Central Asia's Shrinking Connectivity Gap: Implications for U.S. Strategy Mr Roman Muzalevsky Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Once sealed off from the rest of the world during the Soviet times, the states of Central Asia today are rapidly integrating with the global economy. The opening up of China in the 1980s, the demise of the Soviet Union a decade later, and the ongoing globalization have all served as grand forces facilitating this highly monumental development. The U.S. regional military involvement after September 11, 2001, and engagement by other actors have further enabled these countries to reconnect with the world, this time as sovereign units. Today, more than 2 decades after they gained their independence, the Central Asian countries, along with the rest of the world, face a great challenge and an opportunity—the rise of China, India, and resurgence of Russia. These neighboring powers are investing and facilitating internal and external links of the region and profoundly shaping the region’s external connectivity at the very time as the United States withdraws its troops from Afghanistan and sees a relative decline in its global and regional power and influence. "

Creating an Effective Regional Alignment Strategy for the U.S. Army Major Raven Bukowski, Major John Childress, LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "As the war in Afghanistan draws to a close, the U.S. Army is increasingly focused upon “regionally aligning” its forces. To do so effectively, however, it must undertake several initiatives. First, the Army must acknowledge and liberate the unique productive capabilities (talents) of each individual. Second, it must shift from process-oriented, industrial age personnel management to productivity-focused, information age talent management. Third, the Army must foster enduring human relationships between its organizations and the governments, militaries, and populations to which they are regionally aligned. Hand in hand with this, it must redesign its Force Generation Model to create regional expertise at both individual and organizational levels. Fourth, the Army must ensure that regional alignment does not degrade the worldwide “flex” capabilities of its forces."

Strategic Insights: Should General Dempsey Resign? Army Professionals and the Moral Space for Military Dissent Don M. Snider Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Given that all Army professionals have taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” in what instances may, or even should, the stewards of the profession dissent in a public way—including resignation or retirement—from an administration’s policy that they believe to be so incorrect as to be ineffective, potentially endangering the Republic’s security."

Strategic Insights: Should China Be Given the Benefit of the Doubt? David Lai Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The South China Sea territorial dispute is a protracted and complicated problem. Recently, it has become an even more contentious issue between the United States and China. At the center of this disagreement is China's massive territorial claims and its persistent approach to dealing with the disputes in bilateral and diplomatic ways."

Peace & Stability Journal, Volume 5, Issue 1 Mister Robert C Browne Peace and Stability Journal by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Some scholars warn that the 2010-12 Coalition “surge” in Afghanistan fell well short of the positive, albeit short-term results of the 2007-08 surge in Iraq. Since the Taliban threat remains high, its capabilities lethal, and its ideology resilient, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF – including both the Army and Police) continue to face a major challenge in countering this insurgency while protecting the civilian population, particularly in the south and east of Afghanistan."

Strategic Insights: The U.S. Foray Into The Levant Sami G. Hajjar Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The Levant is caught up in a web of political, social, and economic problems that seem to be the work of the hidden hand of the devil. The U.S. Air Force, and those of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan are actively bombing positions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS by substituting “Syria” for “Levant”)—an immediate and critical component of the Barack Obama administration’s strategy to “degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy..."

Battling the Bug: The Army's Response to Epidemics and Pandemics Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Michael E Lynch, Dr James D. Scudieri Historical Research Review by US Army War College, Army Heritage and Education Center "Numerous Ebola outbreaks have devastated West African communities. Beginning in March 2014, 7,470 people contracted the virus and 3,431 died in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, and Nigeria. The disease has since spread to the United States and Europe. In the U.S., the disease has claimed one life and two more have become infected. Previous Ebola epidemics occurred in West and Central Africa in 1976, 1995, 2000, and 2007. The 2014 outbreak is by far the deadliest, already approaching ten times the number of cases of the 1976 outbreak, the previous worst in history and the year of the virus’ discovery."

Rethinking Victory in Counterinsurgency COL Michael C Griffen PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, US Army War College Press "As a general rule, Americans are averse to war and are easily frustrated with wars of limited objectives. As such, Americans have a cultural aversion to counterinsurgency (COIN) – which is ironic given our success using asymmetric tactics against the British in the Revolutionary War. Moreover, Americans have grown to expect total victory in the form of unconditional surrender as the termination of any conflict. We consider anything less as a loss or stalemate."