Books

People's Liberation Army After Next COL Susan M Puska Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "An analytical schism has developed over differing assessments of China’s military modernization. Underlying this debate are at least two key questions. First, will the ongoing China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) modernization provide China with significant offensive power projection and/or preemptive capability? If so, by when? Second, does the pace and success of China’s military modernization constitute a threat to the United States and/or its friends and allies in the Asia-Pacific region?"

The Information Revolution and National Security Mr Thomas E Copeland Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The current era has seen more rapid and extensive change than any time in human history. The profusion of information and the explosion of information technology is the driver, reshaping all aspects of social, political, cultural, and economic life. The effects of the information revolution are particularly profound in the realm of national security strategy. They are creating new opportunities for those who master them. The U.S. military, for instance, is exploring ways to seize information superiority during conflicts and thus gain decisive advantages over its opponents. But the information revolution also creates new security threats and vulnerabilities. No nation has made more effective use of the information revolution than the United States, but none is more dependent on information technology. To protect American security, then, military leaders and defense policymakers must understand the information revolution."

The Future of the American Military Presence in Europe COL Lloyd J Matthews Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Ten years have elapsed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, which served as a fitting symbol for the end of the Cold War. That historic juncture brought into question the main edifice of western European security arrangements—the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—that had served Alliance members so well since NATO’s founding in 1949. It also brought into question the rationale for America’s continued deep involvement in European security affairs. With the gradual realization that the Russian menace is essentially dead, at least for the next 10 to 15 years and perhaps longer, and with NATO’s missions having evolved well beyond the original purpose of territorial defense, debate on both sides of the Atlantic has begun to intensify concerning the vital issue of where NATO should be headed and America’s relation to the Alliance."

Shaping the World through Engagement: Assessing the Department of Defense's Theater Engagement Planning Process COL Thomas Jordan, Prof Douglas C Lovelace Jr, Dr Thomas-Durell Young Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Department of Defense (DoD) has launched a new and ambitious planning initiative that could have a major impact upon how resources are allocated among the armed services and the combatant commands. The administration has directed the geographic combatant commanders-in-chief (CINCs) to implement the administration’s strategy of “shape, respond and prepare now.” Of course, DoD, the Military Departments, and constituent agencies have long been accustomed to “preparing” for potential conflicts so that the U.S. armed forces could “respond” when directed by the national command authorities (NCA). “Shaping,” however, has been a bit more problematic. A very strong argument could be made that the U.S. armed services have long been engaged in shaping activities in the international environment. From U.S. Marines all but occupying and governing Caribbean and Central American countries in the early part of this century, to U.S. servicemen and women engaged in peace-enforcement operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina today, many past and present U.S. operations can be categorized as shaping activities."

Future Leadership, Old Issues, New Methods Dr Douglas V Johnson II Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As the Army rapidly progresses into the information age, the professional dialogue concerning how to harness the enormous potential of information becomes more intense. It is too frequently centered on equipment/technology solutions as opposed to human performance solutions. The Army After Next initiative is a rare example where a healthy balance between equipment-technology and human performance is emerging. Maintaining this focus is becoming ever more challenging as the allure of high-payoff, high-technology equipment and digitization overshadow the more “touchy-feely” explorations of human behavioral science and leadership."

Prevailing in a Well-Armed World: Devising Competitive Strategies Against Weapons Proliferation Mr Henry D Sokolski Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The United States has a long-standing commitment to efforts to limit, delay, or stop, and even reverse the proliferation of a variety of weapons and weapon systems. The several papers contained in this volume are drawn from a conference that explored the merits of, and various methods of applying, a competitive strategies approach to the pursuit of U.S. goals in nonproliferation. This approach requires thinking through how to improve one’s relative position in any long-term competition."

Refining American Strategy in Africa Dr Steven Metz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Traditionally, the United States has not been a major player in the security environment of Sub-Saharan Africa, relying instead on European nations to provide outside assistance to African states. Today, it is appropriate to rethink this neglect. Africa is undergoing vast political, social, and economic changes. A consistent and well-designed American strategy in the region could help tilt the scales in favor of security and stability."

The Chinese Armed Forces in the 21st Century Dr Larry M Wortzel Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The debate about China and Taiwan is re-emerging in the United States. The accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, of course, put on the front burner the way that nationalistic fervor has grown in China, at least some of it as a result of manipulation by the Communist Party. President Lee Teng-hui's comments about state-to-state relations between Taiwan and the mainland raised the temperature of relations across the strait and among the three concerned parties (China, the United States, and Taiwan). China threatened, China postured, and China ran political campaigns against the United States and Lee. But the questions of military capability, security policy, and intent are rarely treated seriously. This book is a serious look at the armed forces of China and how they will evolve."

China's Strategic Modernization: Implications for the United States Major Mark A Stokes Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Over the course of the last decade, the Chinese defense-industrial complex has initiated a focused strategic modernization program to meet the requirements of 21st century warfare. Chinese leaders, faced with numerous perceived national security challenges, have called for a readjustment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doctrine requiring the modernization of its space, information, long-range precision strike, and other strategic dimensions of warfare."