Colloquium Briefs

The PLA Shapes the Future Security Environment Mr Andy Gudgel Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with The Heritage Foundation "Over 50 experts on China and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) gathered at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, from September 23-25, to attend the 2005 PLA Conference, “The PLA Shapes the Future Security Environment,” cosponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Army War College. The colloquium considered how the PLA shapes the global security environment."

Contending Perspectives: Southeast Asia and American Views on a Rising China Ms Corazon S Foley Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, The National Bureau of Asian Research, and The Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies, Singapore "The State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the National Bureau of Asian Research, the Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies of Singapore, and the U.S. Army War College conducted a colloquium on Southeast Asia and American views of China in August 2005 in Singapore. The event brought together analysts and scholars from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States to examine the economic, diplomatic, and military dimensions of China’s rise from two perspectives. An abbreviated follow-on colloquium conducted by INR was held in Washington, DC, on November 3, 2005. This brief focuses on summarizing Southeast Asian perspectives on China as articulated by participants at the two events."

The Test of Terrain: The Impact of Stability Operations Upon the Armed Forces Dr Douglas V Johnson II Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Centre d’Etudes en Sciences Sociales de la Défense, Royal United Services Institute, the Association of the United States Army, the Förderkreis Deutsches Heer, the Heritage Foundation, and the United States Embassy, Paris "Peace operations and their associated stability undertakings have a very long history, but relatively little attention has been paid to the impact these have had on military organizations. Obviously the more such operations a military force is engaged in, the greater effectiveness one would expect, but that effect seems to run from institutional ad hocery to formalization in doctrine and established policies. Further, as the conditions under examination generally follow conflict operations of one sort or another, a period of transition always occurs. In some national security establishments, mechanisms exist to make the Conference Brief Strategic Studies Institute transition relatively easy; in others they do not, and the transition becomes more difficult."

The U.S.-UK Special Relationship: Past, Present and Future Dr Douglas V Johnson II Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with Dickinson College, and The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom "On April 11-13, 2005, the Strategic Studies Institute co-sponsored a conference on “The U.S.-UK Special Relationship: Past, Present and Future,” in cooperation with Dickinson College, and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham. The conference was followed by a wrap-up session hosted by the Royal United Services Institute in London. Conference attendees were primarily from the Defence Academy and its associated colleges and research bodies."

South Asia and the Nuclear Future: Rethinking the Causes and Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation Dr Todd S Sechser Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, The Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University "U.S. policy toward the nuclearization of India and Pakistan has shifted from sanctions and rollback to reluctant acceptance of their nuclear status. The United States now seeks to ensure that India and Pakistan become responsible nuclear powers and is emphasizing cooperative measures to prevent war, secure weapons and material from terrorist theft, and stop the further spread of nuclear weapons."

U.S.-India Security Ties Mr Brian Shoup Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Indiana University "India, as an emerging global power, increasingly is focused on issues that transcend the traditional South Asian region. U.S. policy, though, still tends to view India and its interests through precisely such a lens. Among the most important future developments will be the “de-hyphenation” of India from the rest of South Asia, and specifically Pakistan."

Beyond The U.S. War on Terrorism: Comparing Domestic Legal Remedies to an International Dilemma Dr Dallas D Owens Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, The John Bassett Moore Society of International Law, University of Virginia School of Law "The conference program was designed to discuss international legal remedies to terrorism in terms of: (1) the importance of definitions for war and terrorism, (2) the evolution of U.S. political and legal responses to terrorism, (3) the long and rich European experience, (4) the lessons from Latin America about terrorism and the dangers of oppressive reactions, (5) the Islamic world’s role in and reaction to terrorism, and (6) the relationship between terrorism and the law of the battlefield. A panel, with members drawn from diverse backgrounds, was dedicated to each of these topics."

Strategic Opportunities: Charting New Approaches to Defense and Security Challenges in the Western Hemisphere Dr Max G Manwaring Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University "The major trend in the conference dialogue involved a move away from the previously dominant traditional-legal concept of national security toward a “full spectrum” of closely related nation-state, subnational, individual, and global political-military and socio-economic threats."

The Rise and Fall of Empires Dr Douglas V Johnson II Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with the Triangle Institute for Security Studies "On March 4-5, 2005, the Strategic Studies Institute and the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS), (Duke University, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University) co-hosted a conference addressing the question of whether or not the United States has become an empire and, if so, what does that mean for U.S. national security policy? The path to the answer was to examine several other “empires’” rise, limiting factors, and declines."