Strategy & Policy

The Principles of War in the 21st Century: Strategic Considerations Dr William T Johnsen, Dr Douglas V Johnson II, LTC James Kievit, Prof Douglas C Lovelace Jr, Dr Steven Metz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Throughout history, military practitioners, philosophers, and historians have struggled to comprehend the complexities of warfare. Most of these efforts produced long, complicated treatises that did not lend themselves to rapid or easy understanding. This, in turn, spurred efforts to condense the "lessons" of war into a short list of aphorisms that practitioners of the military art could use to guide the conduct of warfare."

NATO Strategy in the 1990s: Reaping the Peace Dividend or the Whirlwind? Dr William T Johnsen Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In November 1991, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization released "The Alliance's New Strategic Concept" (hereafter Strategic Concept), the first significant revision of NATO strategy since the Alliance adopted the strategy of Flexible Response in 1967. In this new document, NATO acknowledged the dramatic improvements in the European security environment, and positioned the Alliance for the post-Cold War era. Since 1991, the Strategic Concept has guided NATO as it absorbed a unified Germany, massively reduced allied forces, partially overhauled its command and control structures, undertook peace operations in the former Yugoslavia under the aegis of the U.N., conducted combat operations for the first time in its history, and started to tackle the difficult question of enlarging the Alliance."

Counterinsurgency: Strategy and the Phoenix of American Capability Dr Steven Metz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this study, Steven Metz argues that the way the Department of Defense and U.S. military spend the time when counterinsurgency support is not an important part of American national security strategy determines how quickly and easily they react when policymakers commit the nation to such activity. If analysis and debate continues, at least at a low level, the military is better prepared for the reconstitution of capabilities. If it ignores global developments in insurgency and counterinsurgency, the reconstitution of capabilities would be more difficult."

Haiti Strategy: Control, Legitimacy, Sovereignty, Rule of Law, Handoffs, and Exit Dr Gabriel Marcella Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Now that the armed forces of the United States have entered Haiti, what is the exit strategy? As the United States, the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the United Nations coalition establish order, it is best to be mindful of the tasks ahead: building a new authority system based on the rule of law, instilling respect for human rights, and developing those values common to democratic communities around the world. The two keys to the success of this strategy will be how Haiti handles the amnesty question and what kind of judicial and police system is developed."

National Interest: From Abstraction to Strategy Dr Michael G Roskin Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The "national interest" is a composite declaration derived from those values that a nation prizes most–liberty, freedom, security. Interests are usually expressed in terms of physical survival, economic prosperity, and political sovereignty. The list invariably expands, and is ultimately shaped by subjective preferences and political debate. As an object of political debate, the concept of national interest serves to propose, justify, or denounce policies."

The Nature of the Post-Cold War World Mr William G Hyland, Mr Charles William Maynes Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Are we in a new era in world affairs? It has become commonplace to assert this. But the best way to peer into the future--perhaps the only way--is to examine the past and to look for trends that appear to be shaping the present. If we understand clearly the contours of the international system after 1945, it will probably be easier for us to determine the extent to which we are now truly in a revolutionary era, one which will give us, whether we wish it or not, a New World Order."

Strategy, Forces and Budgets: Dominant Influences in Executive Decision Making, Post-Cold War, 1989-91 Dr Don M Snider Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This study will present, using the process-tracking methodology of George and McKeown, the executive decision making of the Bush administration during the 1989-90 period. During this period the administration decided "that by 1995 our security needs can be met by an active force 25 percent smaller than today's." This early public statement was an indication of a set of major decisions made by the administration to effect a defense draw-down for the post-cold war era, decisions on both military strategy and the forces needed to execute it."