The Latest Issue: Autumn 2025
From the Editor in Chief
Antulio J. Echevarria II
Welcome to the Autumn 2025 issue of Parameters. We open with two In Focus commentaries. The first, “A Case for Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants” by Henry Sokolski, offers practical ways in which military planners can disable civilian targets, such as nuclear infrastructure, without undermining operational goals, alliance cohesion, or long-term political objectives. Our second commentary, “The Consequences of Declining Patriotism in the United States” by Neil N. Snyder, presents findings from a national survey showing a decline in patriotism, especially among Generation Z nonveterans. His article highlights a growing civil-military values gap with implications for recruitment and national cohesion.
The PDF version of this issue can be found here.
Features
In Focus
A Case for Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants
Henry Sokolski
©2025 Henry Sokolski
This special commentary argues that striking nuclear and other hazardous civilian infrastructure is often militarily counterproductive and should be avoided not just for legal and moral reasons but because strikes can defeat achieving one’s war aims. Unlike most commentaries, which treat proportionality as an abstract legal constraint, this article shows how proportionality can serve as a concrete tool for winning wars and maintaining alliances. The article draws on military history, current targeting doctrines, and recent war games. The analysis gives military planners practical guidance for how and why to disable certain civilian targets without undermining their own operations.
Keywords: proportionality, civilian infrastructure, nuclear targeting, military strategy, international law
The Consequences of Declining Patriotism in the United States
Neil N. Snyder
©2025 Neil N. Snyder
Patriotism, an important determinant of American civil-military relations, is in decline among many Americans. This article analyzes the results of an extensive national survey fielded to assess Americans’ attitudes and finds that more veterans value patriotism than Generation Z nonveterans, that Americans’ trust in their military is correlated with their value for patriotism, and that members of Generation Z are more likely to consider serving in the US military if they value patriotism. Although patriotism is normally a source of national unity, it may now be a source of division between veterans, nonveterans, and Generation Z.
Keywords: values, military service, military recruitment, political science
Strategic Competition
Coercive Deterrence: Adapting Deterrence for Strategic Competition with China
Terry Tracy
This article proposes coercive deterrence as a core strategic concept to enable a whole-of-US-government approach to counter China through hybrid operations. For more than 80 years, deterrence theory has been characterized by the use of threats and force. In contrast, the article argues that deterrence can be achieved without either. A nation can exercise deterrence by choice—proactively shaping the environment to constrain the adversary to choices that do not threaten. The article examines deterrence theory, Chinese strategy, and case studies to offer practitioners a theory of victory in hybrid environments, synchronizing US interagency strategies through coercive deterrence.
Keywords: strategic competition, China, deterrence, coercion, compellence, diplomacy, hybrid warfare, MIDFIELD
Russian Arctic Land Forces and Defense Trends Redefined by NATO and Ukraine
Troy J. Bouffard, Lester W. Grau, Charles K. Bartles, and Mathieu Boulègue
©2025 Troy J. Bouffard, Lester W. Grau, Charles K. Bartles, and Mathieu Boulègue
This article argues that Russia’s Arctic land forces have been weakened by the Russia-Ukraine War and NATO’s northern expansion, creating a strategic window for Western militaries to bolster their Arctic capabilities. Unlike existing studies that focus on maritime operations and the Northern Sea Route, it integrates technical assessments of ground-based Arctic platforms with analysis of military-district reforms. Using a mixed methodology that incorporates equipment specifications, Russian government documents, media reports, and NATO strategic-response evaluations, this article constructs a comprehensive baseline understanding of Russia’s Arctic land-force potential and readiness. Policy and military practitioners will benefit from actionable insights into Arctic force-design shifts, equipment vulnerabilities, and strategic recommendations to exploit the temporary imbalance between NATO and Russian readiness.
Keywords: Arctic, Russian military, land forces, combined arms, northern warfare
Disinformation as Ground-Shifting in Great-Power Competition
Sorin Adam Matei
©2025 Sorin Adam Matei
Disinformation, distinct from misinformation, replaces accepted principles of objectivity and verifiability with novelty, framing, authority, self-reference, and conformity to create a new “truth paradigm.” This article introduces a novel definition and framework for understanding disinformation as a strategic tool in great-power competition. It includes a review of case studies, such as Russian disinformation campaigns during the Russia-Ukraine War, and analyzes cognitive biases and social behaviors that facilitate the spread of disinformation. Policy and military practitioners will find actionable insights into countering disinformation, including its sociopsychological mechanisms and proposed targeted counterstrategies to protect the integrity of information flows in defense and security contexts.
Keywords: disinformation, great-power competition, ground-shifting, misinformation, spiral of silence
Bangladesh in Transition: Testing Democratization in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific
Rudabeh Shahid
©2025 Rudabeh Shahid
This article argues that Bangladesh’s post-crisis transition following Sheikh Hasina’s 2024 exit as prime minister marks a pivotal moment for democratization with implications for South Asia’s stability and the Indo-Pacific strategic framework. Using Stanley J. Wiechnik’s democratization framework, the study examines the phases of liberalization, transition, and consolidation in Bangladesh’s polarized and factionalized society. Drawing on news reports and policy documents, it examines domestic instability and pressures of geopolitical competition between China and India. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and military practitioners, emphasizing the need for strategic engagement to support democratic consolidation and manage regional security interests.
Keywords: Bangladesh, democratization, Indo-Pacific strategy, political factionalism, South Asia
Cyber Spotlight
Who Is in Charge of Cyber Incidence Response in the Homeland?
Kelly R. M. Ihme, Patrick O'Brien Boling, Michael Zimmerman, and Timothy G. McCormick
©2025 Michael Zimmerman
This article argues that the fragmented US cybersecurity framework—marked by the absence of a lead agency, insufficient whole-of-government coordination, and inconsistent private-sector compliance—undermines national resilience to cyber threats. Unlike existing literature that often focuses on technical vulnerabilities, this piece highlights systemic governance failures through detailed case studies of the SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, and Change Healthcare cyberattacks. The article identifies critical gaps in cyber incident response by drawing on incident reports, policy analysis, and expert commentary and offers actionable recommendations to strengthen national cybersecurity, making it especially relevant for policymakers and military practitioners concerned with protecting critical infrastructure.
Keywords: cyber defense, homeland security, homeland defense, authorities, cybersecurity, SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, Change Healthcare
History and Military Publishing
War Fighting: The Case of Ulysses S. Grant
Thomas Bruscino
This article argues that American military professionals must focus on war fighting in publishing about military history to bring their unique military perspectives to the study of war. Most writing on military publishing offers general encouragement without providing focus to military writers. This article uses the historical example of American professional military writing and teaching from the American Civil War to World War II about General Ulysses S. Grant to demonstrate the value of analyses focusing on war fighting, especially relative to popular and academic histories of Grant’s military leadership. This study’s conclusions will assist future US military writers and publishers as they invigorate professional military writing.
Keywords: military publishing, professional military education, Ulysses S. Grant, military leadership, military strategy
China
Upstart: How China Became a Great Power
by Oriana Skylar Mastro
Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Ihme, PhD, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg Chair of Aerospace Studies and assistant professor, Department of Distance Education, US Army War College
Keywords: instruments of power, China, grand strategy, foreign policy, great-power competition
China’s Quest for Military Supremacy
by Joel Wuthnow and Phillip C. Saunders
Reviewed by Dr. Zenel Garcia, associate professor of security studies, Department of National Security and Strategy, US Army War College
©2025 Zenel Garcia
Keywords: military strategy, modernization and resourcing, force structure, diplomacy, People’s Liberation Army
Russia
Spetsnaz: A History of the Soviet and Russian Special Forces
by Tor Bukkvoll
Reviewed by Colonel Chase Metcalf, assistant professor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College
Keywords: special operations, Russian military, warfare, Spetsnaz, Afghanistan
The First Cold War: Anglo-Russian Relations in the 19th Century
by Barbara Emerson
Reviewed by Dr. Whitney Grespin, Irregular Warfare Initiative fellow
©2025 Whitney Grespin
Keywords: Britain, Russia, Crimean War, imperial expansion, diplomatic brinkmanship
Technological Warfare
Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars
by George Galdorisi and Sam J. Tangredi
Reviewed by Kevin M. Boyce, retired aviation command and control officer, US Marine Corps, and Futures Lab director, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College
Keywords: artificial intelligence, future warfare, autonomous weapons, national security, algorithmic warfare
Warfare in the Robotics Age
by Ash Rossiter and Peter Layton
Reviewed by Jeremy Lewis, US Army (retired)
©2025 Jeremy Lewis
Keywords: artificial intelligence, AI, robotics, technology, Internet of Things, machine learning
Biography
America’s Cold Warrior: Paul Nitze and National Security from Roosevelt to Reagan
by James Graham Wilson
Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, US Army War College class of 2010
©2025 Wylie W. Johnson
Keywords: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, national policy, Cold War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons
Revolutions
Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
by Fareed Zakaria
Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Martin, director, Defense Strategy Course, US Army War College, and John Erickson, senior engineer, Axiom Technologies
©2025 Timothy Martin and John Erickson
Keywords: revolution, history, society, religion, China