Strategy & Policy

R. Evan Ellis, ©2025 R. Evan Ellis; Monograph from the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press; Innovative new thinking on the security dimension of the challenges posed by the PRC’s engagement in Latin America and the DoD’s role in the whole-of-government US response is needed. This monograph highlights risks from PRC influence networks, digital architectures, and dual-use commercial facilities in the region, particularly at ports and in the space sector; shows how PRC economic engagement and other support sustains illiberal regimes, indirectly contributing to the risks these regimes pose by hosting criminal and terrorist groups and other US adversaries, such as Russia and Iran; and illustrates how commercial, people-to-people, and security engagements create options for the PRC to exploit against the United States in times of war. It advocates for new effects-based strategic concepts for how the DoD can strengthen cooperation with the region and limit PRC access through enhanced security cooperation and leveraging partners’ valuation of their relationships with the United States to influence their choices regarding cooperation with the PRC and gain better situational awareness for responding to China. Finally, it discusses how the United States should work with regional partners to plan for likely PRC actions in the region in times of war, leveraging the presence, relationships, and knowledge created through engagement.

Edited by Dr. George M. Schwartz; Conference proceedings from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; In February 2024, The US Army War College hosted the first of an annual series of Homeland Defense Symposiums at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the symposium was to examine the challenges of Homeland Defense while advancing research and proposing solutions to strategic challenges facing the Army, Joint Force, and governmental agencies. Partnering with leading agencies to examine these issues, the symposium informed the strategic thought being focused on homeland defense issues, both inside and out of the military, with a multi-faceted focus of deterring aggression, defeating an adversary should deterrence fail, and mitigating the impact of the adversary’s actions against our people, our infrastructure, and our institutions. This compendium summarizes the symposium proceedings and makes a major contribution to the existing body of knowledge regarding the mission, concepts, and challenges of homeland defense. The US Army War College will use the results of the symposium to shape continued examination of and offer solutions to this vital topic.

AY25 Campaign Planning Handbook Handbook by the School of Strategic Learning, US Army War College The purpose of this document is to assist United States Army War College students during the Military Strategy and Campaigning (MSC) 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 draft doctrine awaiting signature, published doctrine, and emerging concepts, all at the higher levels of joint command, with a primary emphasis at the combatant command level.

by LTC Aaron “Blair” Wilcox and Colonel (RET) Rick O’Donnell; Issue paper from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; The paper discusses the US Army's efforts to implement a new talent management strategy based on newly available data from over four years of assessments. It emphasizes the need to leverage data from assessment programs like the Battalion Commander Assessment Program (BCAP) and Colonels Command Assessment Program (CCAP) to select the best leaders for specific roles. The authors argue that current selection processes rely too heavily on subjective assessments and personal knowledge, while neglecting valuable, objective data newly available from BCAP and CCAP.

Coercing Fluently: The Grammar of Coercion in the Twenty-first Century Dr C. A. Pfaff Monograph by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "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."

James M. Mitchell, James A. Kievit, Kirk J. Junker, Patrick J. Malone, Leslie L. Semrau; Publication by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; The U.S. Army War College student team “Indovino Nefario” analyzes the future force design approaches of China and Russia, emphasizing that both nations are likely to adopt policy-driven and competition-centric strategies rather than traditional doctrinal frameworks. The report highlights that while China focuses on integrating military and economic strategies through its Military Civil Fusion policy, Russia is expected to prioritize asymmetric capabilities and modernization of its conventional forces to maintain deterrence amid economic constraints, with both nations aiming to mitigate risks associated with armed conflict in 2035.

Carlisle Compendia Allied Space Training Edition Dr Larry D Miller, Colonel Bryan Shrank, Colonel Scott Emmel, Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Miller Document by US Army War College "U.S. national strategy documents highlight the increasing significance of the space domain for today’s warfighters and the importance of working with our international allies and partners in that realm. In this issue, we outline and propose an Army course focused on integrating space operations into land warfare. The proposed Combined Space Officer Course (CSOC) will strengthen alliances and partnerships, increase lethality, and build greater deterrence. "

Grand Strategy is Attrition: The Logic of Integrating Various Forms of Power in Conflict Dr Lukas Milevski Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this monograph, Dr. Lukas Milevski explores the fact that grand strategy is accepted by academics as a concept, without any firm agreement on what that concept is or the logic that supports it. Indeed, it is vital to understand this logic, regardless of whether one pins it to the label “grand strategy” or to any other label that may be available."

Scenario Planning and Strategy in the Pentagon Dr Michael Fitzsimmons Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Students and practitioners of national security policy have long understood that uncertainty about the future is a central challenge of strategy. Scenario planning should be one of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most important tools for developing strategy under uncertainty. Since 2002, the DoD has employed a formalized, joint scenario planning process to support strategy and force development, but that process has proven less influential than intended for strategic decision-making."