Recent Articles

Political and Socio-Economic Change: Revolutions and Their Implications for the U.S. Military Dr John R Deni Books by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Significant political, economic, and social change can dramatically impact the international security environment and hence U.S. security. For example, the revolutions that have unfolded across the Middle East and North Africa over the last several years have impacted American interests such as the security of Israel and the spread of democracy. Likewise, the less “revolutionary” but equally impactful changes that have unfolded across Latin America over the last 15 years have affected American interests such as free and open trade and access to reliable energy sources. In response to these changes, American leaders will wield diplomacy, development, and defense tools to safeguard U.S. interests and to fulfill broader policy objectives. Whether and how those leaders choose to wield Landpower—a critically important element of the defense toolbox—is subject to significant debate these days in light of sequestration’s continuing impact and the post-war drawdown impacting the U.S. Army in particular."

A History of the U.S. Army Officer Corps, 1900-1990 Dr Arthur T Coumbe Books by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "With the assistance of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, the Army’s Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis published a series of monographs that were intended to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework for the development of an Army Officer Corps Strategy. These monographs consider the creation and maintenance of a highly skilled Officer Corps in the context of the nation’s continuing commitment to an all-volunteer military, its far flung international interests, and ongoing changes in its domestic labor market. The authors of the various monographs believe that the confluence of these factors demands a comprehensive Officer Corps strategy that recognizes the interdependency of accessing, developing, retaining, and employing talent. In their view, building a talent-focused strategy around this four-activity human capital model would best enable the Army to match individual officer competencies to specific competency requirement."

The U.S.-India Relationship: Cross-Sector Collaboration To Promote Sustainable Development LTC John D Colwell, Jr, Dr Michael J Fratantuono, Dr David M Sarcone Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press Over the past 2 decades, the global system has been subject to a range of forces which have reconfigured relationships among individuals, organizations, and nation-states. As an aspect of that changing structure and rising interdependence, many security challenges which confront today’s strategic leaders are grounded in concerns about economic, social, and environmental sustainability, and, in turn, about political stability. Furthermore, with increasing frequency, many observers are concluding that those types of challenges cannot be addressed by stakeholders from any single sector. That insight has prompted calls for collaborative efforts involving citizen groups; for-profit and not-for-profit companies; local, regional, and national governments; and intergovernmental organizations. Nevertheless, initiating and managing a cross sector collaborative initiative is a difficult undertaking. It requires a broad range of skill sets, including the ability to think in system terms; help various participants articulate their respective interests and find common ground; marshal resources; create processes and structures that will enable collaboration; establish baselines; and celebrate progress. Acquiring those types of skills is relevant to strategic leaders in all professions, including those in the defense and security communities.

Turkey's New Regional Security Role: Implications for the United States Dr Richard Weitz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Since the Cold War era, when the United States began heavily investing in Turkey’s military and defense operations, the United States and Turkey have enjoyed a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship. Because of Turkey’s geographic location, political stability, and recent economic success, the country has served as a strategic ally in U.S. foreign policy. The Arab uprisings in particular have challenged the Turkish-U.S. partnership. For a country that was already struggling to balance its position as a regional power with the imperative of maintaining good relations with its Western allies, the increasing instability in the region has forced Ankara to rely more on the United States than it would prefer. Although the Syrian conflict has underscored to Turkey the value of its security ties with the United States, the war has also exposed deep differences between the two countries on fundamental issues. While presently partially buried, these differences could easily rise to the surface in coming years."

A New Type of Great Power Relationship between the United States and China: The Military Dimension Prof Geoffrey Till Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The relative rise of China is likely to lead a major shift in the world’s strategic architecture, which the United States will need to accommodate. For the outcome to be generally beneficial, China needs to be dissuaded from hegemonic aspirations and retained as a cooperative partner in the world system. This will require a range of potentially conflicting thrusts in U.S. policy. Since the Asia-Pacific Region is primarily a maritime theater, the U.S. Navy, Marines, and Air Force will need to play a leading role. The U.S. Army, nonetheless, will have a substantial supporting and facilitating role."

After the Spring: Reforming Arab Armies Dr Florence Gaub Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The Arab Spring had a military dimension in both its targets—regimes with a military background—and its outcomes. Where the armed forces in their entirety or partially sided with the protesters regime change succeeded; where they did not, it failed. The somewhat renewed political role of Arab forces has therefore underlined not only their importance, but also the necessity for reform. This monograph focuses on the structural aspects of reform that would benefit the Arab Spring forces; it identifies seven features which need to be addressed when attempting Arab military reform in the countries affected by large-scale unrest in 2011. These are: an unclear mandate, over-politicization, lack of civilian oversight, a challenging ongoing security situation, limited resources, pockets of paramilitary activity, and, in parts, lack of an institutional perception of the need to reform. It looks at the reasons for these features and formulates possible solutions."

SOLLIMS Sampler – Women, Peace and Security Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Addressing gender issues while planning and conducting peace and stability operations requires the utmost attention to detail. Time spent on this endeavor, however, is absolutely essential for mission success."

The Myths of Army Expansibility 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 "This study analyzes the US Army's experiences from the twentieth century to the present, given the demands of modem war and associated structures, including political, industrial, and military. These examples generally mirrored those from earlier wars. Broadly speaking, United States defense policy has relied upon a small regular army (RA), expandable upon the outbreak of war. That expanded army then largely demobilized upon war's end. Reliance upon state militias to augment the regular army in the American Revolution of 1775-83 and the War of 1812 to 1814 changed to volunteer troops vice militia in the Mexican War of 1846-48 and the American Civil War of 1861-65..."

USAID & DoD: Analysis and Recommendations to Enhance Development-Military Cooperation Mister Benjamin D Kauffeld PKSOI Paper by US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "At the beginning of 2014, U.S. government agencies involved in national security, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), maintained a laser like focus on an imploding Syria, the impending transition in Afghanistan and the arc of instability spreading across Western Africa. Not on the radar screen was the horror movie unfolding in Ukraine or the explosion of unaccompanied children fleeing instability in Central America. As General Key, European Command’s (EUCOM) planning chief, remarked at the late winter EUCOM Strategy Conference, 'Our crystal ball is not so crystal.' "