Recent Articles

The Effective Use of Reserve Personnel in the U.S. Military: Lessons from the United Kingdom Reserve Model Dr Shima D Keene Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Army and the British Army are undergoing similar processes of rebalancing between regular and reserve personnel. The British armed forces are currently at a more advanced stage of this change than the United States, and consequently there are useful lessons to be drawn from their experience to date. This is particularly the case in a time of growing defense austerity; in addition to their smaller scale, the United Kingdom’s (UK) armed forces have great familiarity with undertaking missions and maintaining close to full-spectrum capability while subject to severe and apparently insurmountable resource constraints. Studying how this is made possible may also provide valuable pointers for a U.S. defense force in an era of sequestration and budget cuts."

Army Support of Military Cyberspace Operations: Joint Contexts and Global Escalation Implications Mr Jeffrey L Caton Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Military cyberspace operations have been ongoing since before the advent of the Internet. Such operations have evolved significantly over the past 2 decades and are now emerging into the realm of military operations in the traditional domains of land, sea, and air. The goal of this monograph is to provide senior policymakers, decisionmakers, military leaders, and their respective staffs with a better understanding of Army cyberspace operations within the context of overall U.S. military cyberspace operations. It first looks at the evolution of Department of Defense (DoD) cyberspace operations over the past decade. Next, it examines the evolution of the Army implementation of cyberspace operations. Finally, it explores the role of cyberspace operations in the escalation of international conflict."

Do Fewer Resources Mean Less Influence? A Comparative Historical Case Study of Military Influence in a Time of Austerity Dr Mary Manjikian Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, military planners speak at great length about the importance of rebalancing our armed forces. As a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, our U.S. Armed Forces have absorbed significant budget cuts, which are projected to continue into 2016. Not surprisingly, a major theme of the Quadrennial Defense Review is the necessity of making tough choices in a period of fiscal austerity."

Strategic Insights: The Landpower Robot Revolution Is Coming Steven Metz Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Military technical revolutions have a distinct pattern. When new technology becomes available, it initially is used to augment existing operational methods and tactics. In Europe, for instance, the first firearms were used to give formations of pikemen more punch. On the battlefields of World War I, tanks were moveable pill boxes supporting slogging infantry attacks. Airplanes were used like old-fashioned cavalry, scouting for the infantry and artillery. Later, they supplemented infantry and artillery by strafing and bombing. Even the first atomic weapons were simply a very effective way to do the work of traditional 500 pound bombs and incendiaries..."

Strategic Insights: The Strategic Relevance of Latin America for the United States R. Evan Ellis Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "From October 12-14, 2014, the city of Arequipa, Peru, was host to this year’s largest unnoticed meeting of senior government officials from across the Western Hemisphere: the 11th annual Defense Ministerial Summit of the Americas. The meeting brought together Ministers of Defense and their equivalents from 34 nations from the Western Hemisphere to discuss and coordinate positions on defense and security topics important to the region. Yet in the U.S. media, almost the only mention of the gathering was a reference that the U.S. Secretary of Defense would ask the assembled leaders for “specific contributions” to the struggle against the terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East. In the game of geopolitics, Latin America has long been, and continues to be, the 'minor leagues.' "

American Grand Strategy and the Future of U.S. Landpower Major Joseph V Da Silva, Dr Hugh P Liebert, Prof Isaiah Wilson III Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The current international security environment is characterized by unprecedented uncertainty. In the Asia-Pacific, our allies adjust to China’s rise and hedge against instability coming from North Korea. In the greater Middle East, the Syrian civil war draws in powerful state and nonstate actors, Iran’s weapons program worries its neighbors, the Arab Spring continues its uncertain course, and we see a growing Sunni-Shia split throughout the region. In Europe, the need for a strong North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance has become clear as nations along Russia’s periphery reevaluate their strategic alignments in the wake of the situation in Crimea. In Africa, weak states with ethnic and religious tensions set conditions for terrorist groups to operate with near impunity. It is in this uncertain and unstable world that U.S. military forces will operate for the foreseeable future."

Operationalizing Counter Threat Finance Strategies Dr Shima D Keene Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this monograph, British academic and practitioner Dr. Shima Keene describes a number of ways in which financial intelligence can be leveraged not only to disrupt adversary activities, but also to provide indicators and warnings of future actions and, ultimately, to address underlying insecurities. Dr. Keene was previously both a banker and a British Army reservist. In this monograph, she uses her expertise as a threat finance specialist to outline specific areas where financial intelligence analysis techniques, which are common in the private sector, can be applied to combating insurgency, terrorism, and other hard security threats. "

Regionalizing East Mediterranean Gas: Energy Security, Stability, and the U.S. Role Ms Laura El-Katiri, Dr Mohammed El-Katiri Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In recent years the distribution of the world’s exploitable energy reserves has shifted markedly. One major change is the discovery of substantial gas deposits offshore the Levant. But while these deposits have the potential to revolutionize the economies of the net energy importers, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Israel, they also bring into sharp focus long-running disputes over maritime boundaries and sovereignty. In short, these deposits provide yet another cause for conflict in an already deeply troubled region. This monograph explores both the positive and negative implications of the Eastern Mediterranean’s new gas reserves for the region, and the implications of both for U.S. interests. It combines the recognized expertise of two researchers with long experience in regional and energy studies, respectively. Their conclusion is that the management of these new energy resources is likely to influence significantly the relationships among the states in the region, particularly between Israel and its neighbors, including the Palestinian Territories. "

Re-examining the Roles of Landpower in the 21st Century and Their Implications Dr William T Johnsen Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "After 13 years of prolonged ground combat, a weary American public is leery of further interventions requiring land forces. Shifting geo-strategic conditions, such as a revanchist Russia and a rising China, reinforce this reluctance. At the same time, technological innovation once more offers the chimera of war from a distance that does not endanger land forces. Nonetheless, at some point, a highly volatile international security environment will place U.S. national interests at risk, requiring the use of military power. Given the increasing rise of interdependence among all components of military power (air, cyberspace, land, sea, and space), a better understanding of Landpower is essential if national leaders are to have a full range of policy options for protecting and promoting those interests."