Regional Issues

Egypt: Security, Political, and Islamist Challenges Dr Sherifa D Zuhur Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Dr. Sherifa Zuhur argues that the Egyptian government’s efforts to retain tight control over the political landscape is impeding the democratization process. In the name of antiterrorism, these efforts may not put an end to sporadic outbreaks of militant violence which reemerged after the 1999 truce with the larger of these radical groups. The long-protested official state of emergency which grants the Egyptian government extraordinary powers has been extended, and that action required constitutional amendments which were recently approved by referendum. "

Can Tony Blair Make a Difference in the Middle East? Dr W Andrew Terrill Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As the entire world now knows, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided not to slip into comfortable retirement. Instead, after 10 years of service as the leader of the United Kingdom, he has sought out one the world’s most thankless jobs at one of the worst possible times to accept it. He has arranged to be appointed special envoy of the Middle East Peace Quartet. The Quartet includes the European Union, Russia, the United Nations, and the United States..."

ASEAN and Its Security Offspring: Facing New Challenges Dr Sheldon W Simon Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In its 40 years of existence, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has played well above its collective weight in world politics, though its reputation for effective diplomacy was seriously tarnished by an inability to resolve the region’s 1997-98 financial crisis and other political challenges in the 1990s, including East Timor’s secession from Indonesia, annual forest fire haze from Indonesian Borneo that creates a regional public health hazard, and the 1997 Cambodian coup that overturned an ASEAN-endorsed election. The primary explanation for ASEAN’s political weakness has been its attachment to the principle of noninterference in its members’ domestic affairs. Much of ASEAN’s political effort in the early 21st century is devoted to overcoming this weakness."

Right Sizing the People's Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China's Military Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr Andrew Scobell Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, and National Bureau of Asian Research "China is the emerging power having 'the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional U.S. military advantages absent U.S. counter strategies,' according to the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review from the U.S. Department of Defense. With military spending and modernization that have persisted with little or no abatement or recantation for well over a decade, China has the entire international community wondering to what ends such growth will be put."

Political Trends in the New Eastern Europe: Ukraine and Belarus Dr Arkady Moshes, Dr Vitali Silitski Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "These two papers, presented at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI)-Ellison Center conference on Russia in 2006, open the way to this kind of informed understanding of important issues in European security and enable readers to begin to make sense of the complex issues involved in each country. In both cases, the interplay of domestic and foreign factors of security is critical to any grasp of the issues in Belarus and Ukraine and thus to sound policy analysis and policymaking in regard to them. This interplay is one of the defining features of the international security agenda that the U.S. Army, U.S. Government, and to a lesser degree, SSI grapple with on a daily basis and which SSI seeks to present to its audiences."

Treating Allies as Allies in the Arab World Dr W Andrew Terrill Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "At this crucial junction in time, there are serious, evolving, and seemingly nonstop challenges involving the potential spread of violent upheaval and terrorism in the Middle East and particularly the Gulf region. To address these difficulties, the United States will need to work with friendly Arab nations that can help us meet those challenges with united strength. Unfortunately, the importance of our alliances with regional Arab powers is not always fully appreciated by our own strategic thinkers. Questions correspondingly emerge as to whether we are doing enough to understand allied concerns and find ways in which we can work together to address the terrorism threat."

Ukraine's Military Between East and West Prof Marybeth Peterson Ulrich Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "America’s new allies in Central and Eastern Europe have been struggling with defense reform since the end of the Cold War. Only recently, since the Orange Revolution, has Ukraine’s national political and military leadership seriously engaged the process of radical and comprehensive defense reform. Dr. Marybeth Ulrich applies the various roadmaps for reform developed in the post-communist states of Central European states to the emerging Ukrainian case. She draws upon this mixed picture to suggest a framework focused on key areas in need of reform, as well as key conditions that will facilitate the achievement of reform objectives. The result is a richly developed case study revealing Ukraine’s main strengths as well as obstacles limiting the improvement of its military capabilities."

Russian-American Security Cooperation after St. Petersburg Dr Richard Weitz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph assesses the opportunities for further security cooperation between Russia and the United States. It argues that, until a change of government occurs in both countries in 2008, the prospects for additional bilateral agreements to reduce strategic nuclear weapons, limit destabilizing military operations, jointly develop ballistic missile defenses, and enhance transparency regarding tactical nuclear weapons are unlikely. Near-term opportunities for collaboration in the areas of cooperative threat reduction, third-party proliferation, and bilateral military engagement appear greater. Accordingly, this monograph offers some suggestions for accelerating progress in these areas."

North Korean Foreign Relations in the Post-Cold War World Dr Samuel S Kim Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Dr. Samuel Kim examines North Korea’s foreign relations with China, Russia, Japan, the United States, and South Korea during the post-Cold War era. He argues that central to understanding North Korea’s international behavior in the 21st century is the extent to which the policies of the United States have shaped that behavior. Although some readers may not agree with all of Dr. Kim’s interpretations and assessments, they nevertheless will find his analysis simulating and extremely informative."