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PLA Logistics and Sustainment: PLA Conference 2022
February 3, 2023 — George R. Shatzer, Roger D. Cliff — Conference Papers by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — "The US Army War College People’s Liberation Army Conference (PLA) Conference was held March 31 to April 2, 2022, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference focused on PLA logistics and sustainment. As the PLA continues to build and modernize its combat forces, it is important to examine if the capabilities meant to support combat operations are also being developed."... MORE

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Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow's Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2)
December 15, 2022 — Sarah J. Lohmann — Handbook by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — "Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging threats. The counterterrorism research produced for this volume is in alignment with NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept, which details how NATO Allies can transform and maintain their advantage despite new threats for the next two decades. The topics are rooted in NATO’s Seven Baseline requirements, which set the standard for enhancing resilience in every aspect of critical infrastructure and civil society."... MORE

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Parameters | Winter 2022–23
November 18, 2022 — Parameters | Winter 2022–23From the Acting Editor in ChiefConrad C. CraneIn FocusPresent Danger: Nuclear Power Plants and Modern WarfareHenry D. SokolskiPutin Chooses between a Series of Bad OptionsJeffrey D. McCauslandIndo-PacificIndian Perspectives: Insights for Indo-American PartnershipTyrell O. MayfieldSecurity Force Assistance Brigades and US... MORE

What Ukraine Taught NATO About Hybrid Warfare
November 16, 2022 — Sarah J. Lohmann — Collaborative Study by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — "Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced the United States and its NATO partners to be confronted with the impact of hybrid warfare far beyond the battlefield. Targeting Europe’s energy security, Russia’s malign influence campaigns and malicious cyber intrusions are affecting global gas prices, driving up food costs, disrupting supply chains and grids, and testing US and Allied military mobility. This study examines how hybrid warfare is being used by NATO’s adversaries, what vulnerabilities in energy security exist across the Alliance, and what mitigation strategies are available to the member states."... MORE

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Enabling NATO's Collective Defense: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
November 15, 2022 — Carol V. Evans — Handbook by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — "In 2014 NATO’s Centre of Excellence-Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) launched the inaugural course on “Critical Infrastructure Protection Against Terrorist Attacks.” As this course garnered increased attendance and interest, the core lecturer team felt the need to update the course in critical infrastructure (CI) taking into account the shift from an emphasis on “protection” of CI assets to “security and resiliency.” What was lacking in the fields of academe, emergency management, and the industry practitioner community was a handbook that leveraged the collective subject matter expertise of the core lecturer team, a handbook that could serve to educate government leaders, state and private-sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, academicians, and policymakers in NATO and partner countries..."... MORE

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Parameters | Autumn 2022
August 26, 2022 — Welcome to the Autumn issue of Parameters. This issue consists of two In Focus commentaries, three forums, and the SRAD Director’s Corner. In our first In Focus essay, “Why America’s Army Can’t Win America’s Wars,” John Nagl presents a detailed historical analysis of the US military wins and losses since World War II. He provides a perspective on where past decisions and doctrines have led to defeat and where they may have succeeded if given more time or executed differently... MORE

The Future of the Joint Warfighting Headquarters: An Alternative Approach to the Joint Task Force
August 17, 2022 — Eric Bissonette, Thomas Bruscino, Kelvin Mote, Matthew Powell, Marc Sanborn, James Watts, Louis G. Yuengert — Collaborative Study by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — "The US military must create standing, numbered, and regionally aligned Joint warfighting headquarters— American Expeditionary Forces (AEFs)—around a command council and a staff organized into Joint centers and cells. Calls for standing Joint force headquarters are not new, but the demonstrated military effectiveness of the Joint Task Force (JTF) model coupled with increasing service-specific resource requirements and tightening fiscal constraints have resulted in little evolution in joint force headquarters construction since the end of World War II."... MORE

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Coercing Fluently: The Grammar of Coercion in the Twenty-first Century
August 1, 2022 — Dr. C. Anthony Pfaff — Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press — To illustrate the logic and grammar of coercion, this analysis relies on decision-theory methods, such as game theory, that examine the strategic decision-making process in interactions with adversaries and partners. The intent here is not to offer predictive models of rational-actor behavior. Rather, the intent is to use game-theory and similar approaches to understand how coercion works better. This analysis considers competitive interactions between actors that have discrete and qualifiable, if not quantifiable, preferences and who behave rationally, though this analysis acknowledges the behavior that is considered rational is frequently informed by nonrational social, cultural, and psychological factors. Considering these competitive interactions allows one to identify “rules of thumb” that can orient and guide actors as they compete... MORE

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Enabling a More Externally Focused and Operational PLA – 2020 PLA Conference Papers
July 27, 2022 — Roger Cliff and Roy KamphausenWith Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, David Brewster, Christopher Cairns, R. Evan Ellis, April Herlevi, Roderick Lee, Paul Nantulya, Meia Nouwens, Rebecca Pincus, Joel WuthnowAlthough the People’s Liberation Army is not yet a global expeditionary force on par with the US military, the former has nevertheless significantly... MORE

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The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq
July 13, 2022 — Heather S. Gregg — Monograph by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute — The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into how Great Britain devised its military strategy in the Middle East during World War I—particularly, Britain’s efforts to work through saboteurs and secret societies to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the war and the country’s attempts to stabilize the region after the war through the creation of the modern state of Iraq. As importantly, studying the life and work of Bell offers a glimpse into how this unique woman was able to become one of the principal architects of British strategy at this time and the extraordinary set of skills and perspectives she brought to these efforts—particularly, her ability to make and maintain relationships with key individuals. Bell’s life and work offer insights into the roles women have played and continue to play as influencers of grand strategy... MORE

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