Recent Articles

Silent Partners: Organized Crime, Irregular Groups, and Nation-States Dr Shima D Keene Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Army increasingly faces adversaries that are difficult to define. The threat landscape is further blurred by cooperation between transnational organized crime groups and irregular armed formations, linked directly or indirectly to governments or individual authority figures in nation-states. At a fundamental level, the motivations and aspirations of transnational organized crime groups differ from those held by irregular groups. However, in practice, there are many similarities in terms of their modus operandi and the harm they cause, often making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. This collaboration, whatever its exact nature, is problematic, because it confounds understanding of the adversary, making existing countermeasures less effective and thus directly challenging U.S. national security interests."

USAWC School of Strategic Landpower/DMSPO Campaign Planning Handbook AY19 COL Mark Haseman Publication by the US Army War College, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, School of Strategic Landpower "The purpose of this document is to assist United States Army War College students during the Theater Strategy and Campaigning (TSC) course. It also serves to assist commanders, planners, and other staff officers in combatant commands (CCMD), joint task forces (JTF), and service component commands. It supplements joint doctrine and contains elements of emerging doctrine as practiced globally by joint force commanders (JFCs). It portrays a way to apply published doctrine and emerging doctrine at the higher levels of joint command, with a primary emphasis at the combatant command level."

Assessing the Collective Security Treaty Organization: Capabilities and Vulnerabilities Dr Richard Weitz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The CSTO’s membership has been stable, with the exception that Uzbekistan, which joined the organization in 2006, withdrew in 2012. The CSTO operates on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty (CST), a mutual defense pact signed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 15, 1992. The CSTO’s initial declared purpose was to counter external aggression against members and to harmonize their foreign policy stances."

Maintaining Information Dominance in Complex Environments Dr John A S. Ardis, Dr Shima D Keene Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Army is committed to a high state of resilience and readiness. The problem is that for complex environments, the U.S. Army cannot afford simply to be very effective in a known set of circumstances and unprepared for others, and neither can it afford to be no more than moderately capable in the broadest possible range of circumstances. The U.S. Army has to be effective across the board, and that places extraordinary demands on its Soldiers during all phases of preparation for and engagement in conflict."

The Relevance of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the United States in the 21st Century Dr Joel R Hillison Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Both European and U.S. foreign policy since World War II have been built upon a strong, transatlantic relationship. The European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have provided solid institutional bases for this relationship. Yet, contemporary challenges could disrupt this structure and call into question the very viability of the EU and NATO. In addition, the “America First” foreign policy approach views relations with other countries, and by extension organizations like NATO and the EU, as a zero-sum game, where equitable burden sharing seems to be more important than political solidarity and mutual gains from cooperation. These trends portend significant challenges to U.S. relations with both NATO and the EU. Overcoming these challenges will require continued cooperation and trust between the United States and its allies and partners."

Strategic Insights: ISIS in Libya: A Threat or a Dead-End? Azeem Ibrahim Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Prior to 1912, Libya was a province within the Ottoman Empire and subdivided into two regions (Tripolitania in the west and Cyrenaica in the east) reflecting a long-standing ethnic and geographic division in the country. Although not administered separately, the large region reaching south into the Sahara had a different ethnic make-up compared to the rest of the country and was more connected to sub-Saharan Africa than to the Mediterranean. Ottoman control in the south was limited to a few towns, which gave them some oversight of the trade routes; but by the start of the 20th century, Ottoman authority was notional rather than effective in this region."

Strategic Insights: ISIS in Libya: A Threat or a Dead-End? Dr Azeem Ibrahim Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Prior to 1912, Libya was a province within the Ottoman Empire and subdivided into two regions (Tripolitania in the west and Cyrenaica in the east) reflecting a long-standing ethnic and geographic division in the country. Although not administered separately, the large region reaching south into the Sahara had a different ethnic make-up compared to the rest of the country and was more connected to sub-Saharan Africa than to the Mediterranean. Ottoman control in the south was limited to a few towns, which gave them some oversight of the trade routes; but by the start of the 20th century, Ottoman authority was notional rather than effective in this region."

Exit Strategy: Rule of Law and the U.S. Army Dr Shima D Keene Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Establishing the rule of law is a key goal and end state in counterinsurgency (COIN) operations and is a critical aspect of securing peace and preventing future conflict in a fragile state. To that end, the development of rule of law institutions, such as an effective police force and a judicial system capable of protecting human rights and promoting justice, is essential. As such, the establishment of effective and sustainable rule of law institutions and practices as part of overall rule of law interventions is critical to stability operations, and should form a key part of military exit strategies for countries operating in post-conflict states..."

The Dual-System Problem in Complex Conflicts Ms. Melissa Gregg, Dr. Robert D. Lamb Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Despite decades of research and experience in foreign conflicts and fragile environments, institutions in the United States and beyond are often unable to position themselves for success when called upon to intervene. This monograph contributes to the growing recognition that today’s conflicts are best understood as complex systems, characterized by greater levels of fragility, uncertainty, and intractability than conflicts of previous decades."