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Book Review: Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ways and Means of US National Security
April 19, 2024 — National Security | Edited by: Susan Bryant and Mark Troutma | Reviewed by Christopher Sandrolini, Foreign Service officer and professor, US Army War College | Foreign Service officer and US Army War College professor Christopher Sandrolini calls this anthology, which contextualizes the defense budget within federal spending, a “well-organized and... MORE

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Emerging Technologies and Terrorism: An American Perspective
April 18, 2024 — In a tech-driven world, technological advancements offer the potential for increased safety and security, while terrorists exploit these same advancements. This book warns of the looming danger of terrorists using artificial intelligence, augmented reality, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. As the line between reality and fiction becomes increasingly blurred, global unity is essential in the fight against the dark side of technology... MORE

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Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as a Pacing Challenge – 2023 PLA Conference
April 17, 2024 — The US Army War College’s 2023 Conference on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was held February 22 to 24, 2023, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference, entitled “Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as Pacing Challenge,” featured expert presentations and papers on PRC global and regional strategy and the PLA’s enabling role... MORE

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Book Review: Hybrid Warriors: Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow’s Struggle for Ukraine
March 27, 2024 — Dr. Sarah Lohmann, editor of What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare (US Army War College Press, 2022), calls Anna Arutunyan's latest book, Hybrid Warriors, a "must-read for senior members of the US defense community" that "encourages strategists to think beyond segmented operations to ensure Russia's broad defeat." Lohmann highlights the book's value in that it provides "perspectives that have not yet been heard in the West," as Arutunyan "relies on Russian sources from media and academia, as well as hundreds of interviews." Lohmann also notes how Arutunyan "challenges what she believes to be the Western narrative around the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War."... MORE

Dr. Sarah Lohmann, editor of What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare (US Army War College Press, 2022), calls Anna Arutunyan's latest book, Hybrid Warriors, a "must-read for senior members of the US defense community" that "encourages strategists to think beyond segmented operations to ensure Russia's broad defeat."

Book Review: Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
March 27, 2024 — Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's best-selling book, Conflict, which Nagl considers "'[t]he closest thing to a memoir" of Petraeus and "likely . . . the best first-person account in history of [Petraeus's] efforts and results in Iraq and Afghanistan that made him the most important Army officer of his generation." Nagl focuses on what he believes are Petraeus's main contributions to the book (the chapters on Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan) and calls the chapter on Iraq the "heart of the book." He also highlights the book's value to "[f]uture commanders and staff officers" and to "[a]ll Army officers and national security officials," who will benefit from learning how Petraeus engaged with the "four major tasks" regarding "big ideas" that all leaders "must master."... MORE

Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's best-selling book, Conflict, which Nagl considers "'[t]he closest thing to a memoir" of Petraeus and "likely . . . the best first-person account in history of [Petraeus's] efforts and results in Iraq and Afghanistan that made him the most important Army officer of his generation."

Review Essay: The War in Nicaragua
March 27, 2024 — Colonel Joerg Stenzel (German Army), an instructor at the US Army War College, lends his expertise in strategy to this review of "the most famous and successful" filibuster featured in William Walker's 1860 work, The War in Nicaragua. As Stenzel notes, the book is Walker's "personal description of his own war in Nicaragua" that it is "arguably biased" and written "in the third person in a style that differs greatly from his earlier editorials." Stenzel provides an overview of Walker's life and contextualizes his actions in relationship to slavery, North-South rivalries, the Gold Rush, and Manifest Destiny, noting that "A closer look at Walker and his actions shows that Central America, with its instabilities and turmoil, had and still has significant geopolitical relevance for the US government."... MORE

Colonel Joerg Stenzel (German Army), an instructor at the US Army War College, lends his expertise in strategy to this review of "the most famous and successful" filibuster featured in William Walker's 1860 work, The War in Nicaragua.

Book Reviews - Spring 2024
March 7, 2024 — Hybrid Warriors: Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow’s Struggle for Ukraine and Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts... MORE

Emerging Technologies in Terrorism: A Report from NATO’s COE Defence Against Terrorism
March 7, 2024 — For the last several years, the Army’s focus has turned increasingly toward competition and large-scale combat operations (LSCO)—and rightfully so. The global threat landscape as articulated in the most recent National Security Strategy clearly highlights China and Russia as the most pressing strategic challenges. The pervasive threat of terrorism still exists in earnest, however, and we must not lose sight of how this threat is evolving, particularly through advanced and readily available technologies... MORE

Building a Purposeful Research Agenda
March 7, 2024 — In this second installment of the CLSC Director’s Corner, Joshua Arostegui, the Center’s research director and chair of China studies, and I discuss the Center’s research agenda. Previously, I outlined the center’s mission and how the research agenda answers large campaign questions across the perspectives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States, and US allies and partners... MORE

The Art of Avoiding Strategic Miscalculation
March 7, 2024 — This examination of British War Secretary George Cornewall Lewis and the gold standard memorandum he penned in 1862 (that proved instrumental in preventing British intervention in the American Civil War) offers insights for modern leaders on how to avoid institutional barriers to effective strategic thinking and political-strategic miscalculation through insightful analysis of potential liabilities and policy assumptions. It shows how outstanding strategic thinkers possess an informed and reflective filter to evaluate past, present, and anticipated events— developed through a good education, diverse practical experience, lifelong intellectual curiosity, empowerment, and access to senior leadership... MORE