Books

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol 2: National Security Policy and Strategy, 5th Ed. Dr J Boone Bartholomees Jr Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute

U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues, Vol. 1: Theory of War and Strategy, 5th Ed. Dr J Boone Bartholomees Jr Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy continues to reflect the structure and approach of the core national security strategy and policy curriculum at the War College. The fifth edition is published in two volumes that correspond roughly to the Department of National Security and Strategy’s core courses: “Theory of War and Strategy” and “National Security Policy and Strategy.” Like previous editions, this one is based on its predecessor but contains both updates and new scholarship. Over a third of the chapters are new or have undergone significant rewrites. Many chapters, some of which appeared for years in this work, have been removed. Nevertheless, the book remains unchanged in intent and purpose. Although this is not primarily a textbook, it does reflect both the method and manner we use to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders.

Disjointed Ways, Disunified Means: Learning from America's Struggle to Build an Afghan Nation COL Lewis G Irwin Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute Remarkably ambitious in its audacity and scope, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) irregular warfare and “nation-building” mission in Afghanistan has struggled to meet its nonmilitary objectives by most tangible measures. Put directly, the alliance and its partners have fallen short of achieving the results needed to create a stable, secure, democratic, and self-sustaining Afghan nation, a particularly daunting proposition given Afghanistan’s history and culture, the region’s contemporary circumstances, and the fact that no such country has existed there before. Furthermore, given the central nature of U.S. contributions to this NATO mission, these shortfalls also serve as an indicator of a serious American problem as well. Specifically, inconsistencies and a lack of coherence in U.S. Government strategic planning processes and products, as well as fundamental flaws in U.S. Government structures and systems for coordinating and integrating the efforts of its various agencies, are largely responsible for this adverse and dangerous situation.

Conflict Management and "Whole of Government": Useful Tools for U.S. National Security Strategy? Dr Robert H Dorff, Dr Volker C Franke Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Kennesaw State University, and KSU's International Conflict Management Throughout most of the 20th century, national security focused primarily, and sometimes exclusively, on military affairs. In the 21st century, this has changed as new and more comprehensive ways of thinking about, studying, and planning for national security and global security are being adopted in response to new security challenges and threats that go beyond the dangers posed by traditional causes of war and conflict. In addition to terrorism, these other threats to security are posed by, but not limited to, shortfalls of energy and nonfuel mineral resources, scarcity of food and fresh water, encroaching desertification, and cyber attacks. To some, these new challenges and threats present as much, and over time perhaps more, of a challenge and threat to security as do guns, bombs, and missiles.

Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO Dr Jeffrey D McCausland, Dr Tom Nichols, Dr Douglas Stuart Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute The role and future of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe are subjects that sometimes surprise even experts in international security, primarily because it is so often disconcerting to remember that these weapons still exist. Many years ago, an American journalist wryly noted that the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was “a subject that drives the dagger of boredom deep, deep into the heart”—a dismissive quip which would have remained true right up until the moment World War III broke out. The same goes for tactical nuclear weapons: compared to the momentous issues that the East and West have tackled since the end of the Cold War, the scattering of hundreds (or in the Russian case, thousands) of battlefield weapons throughout Europe seems to be almost an afterthought, a detail left behind that should be easy to tidy up.

Project on National Security Reform - Vol. 2: Case Studies Working Group Report Dr Richard Weitz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Project on National Security Reform "Our current national security system is more than 60 years old, inaugurated by the Truman administration and adjusted only periodically and incrementally ever since. Designed for a world in which the primary threat was nuclear war between the two superpowers, in today’s rapidly changing global security environment the structures and processes of the national security apparatus have become more than antiquated: they are dangerous. Though talented men and women work tirelessly to keep America safe, they struggle within a system that inconsistently supports, obstructs, and even undermines their efforts."

The United States and China in Power Transition Dr David Lai Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The United States and China have experienced many changes in their relations in the past 30 years. Some international security experts posit that the most profound one has begun—an apparent power transition between the two nations. This potentially titanic change, it is argued, was set in motion by China’s genuine and phenomenal economic development over the past decade, or so. Clearly, China's impact on the United States and the U.S.-led international system has been growing steadily."

Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future Dr Stephen J Blank Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute While the Cold War is long past, the importance of arms control in Russo-American relations and the related issue of nuclear weapons for Russia remain vital concerns. Indeed, without an appreciation of the multiple dimensions of the latter, progress in the former domain is inconceivable. With this in mind, the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) is very pleased to present the following essays, which were presented at a conference at the National Defense University on June 28, 2010.

Chinese Lessons from Other Peoples' Wars Mr. Roy Kamphausen, Dr David Lai, Dr Andrew Scobell Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, and National Bureau of Asian Research