Colloquium Briefs

Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability in Mexico, Colombia, and the Caribbean: Implications for U.S. National Security Mr Evan Brown, Dr Dallas D Owens Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies "The relationships between powerful criminal groups and states are complex and create transnational issues of corruption and the production, transportation, marketing, and consumption of illegal products and services that have national security implications for most states in the Western Hemisphere."

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Mr Daniel Alderman Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, The National Bureau of Asian Research, and Bush School of Government and Public Service "Signs are emerging that the PLA is becoming more confident about its position vis-à-vis Taiwan. At the same time, China believes that a changing international environment requires the Chinese armed forces to have more diversified capabilities. It is therefore placing relatively more emphasis on developing operational capabilities for missions other than against Taiwan (e.g., humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping operations, disaster relief, antipiracy, etc.)."

Leadership and National Security Reform Conference Dr Joseph R Cerami, Dr Jeffrey A Engel, Ms Lindsey K Pavelka Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Bush School of Government and Public Service, and Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University "Graduate programs in policy schools of public and international affairs are paying increasing attention to the study of leadership and the development of leaders for public service careers. Policy schools at the University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Texas A&M University are finding new ways to educate future leaders; promote interdisciplinary leadership research; and provide a foundation of knowledge and skills for the next generation of government reformers."

Strategic Implications of Emerging Technologies Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The USAWC’s Strategic Studies Institute held its 20th Annual Strategy Conference on April 14-16, 2009, at Carlisle Barracks. This year’s focus, “Strategic Implications of Emerging Technologies,” was intended to look beyond the noted importance of advances in the field of cyber and information technologies to raise awareness of other technology areas which thus far have received less visibility. The conference explored biogenetics, biometrics, nanotechnologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, alternative energies, electromagnetic weaponry, nuclear power, and global warming. Approximately 135 attendees along with 19 panelists and speakers participated. As anticipated, the conference brought together a diverse group of scholars and individuals from the defense community and academia."

American Grand Strategy after War Dr Dallas D Owens, Mr Ionut C Popescu Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Triangle Institute for Security Studies, and Duke University " • Since World War II, each American war has been followed by a period of grand strategy reassessment. • The degree to which the Nation’s leaders have felt the need to revise grand strategy has depended in part upon the degree to which the preceding conflict led to adverse consequences and in part upon the level of perceived danger in the new strategic environment."

PLA Missions Beyond Taiwan Mr Marc Miller Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, The National Bureau of Asian Research, and The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A & M University "The PLA is being assigned and training for an increasing variety of missions, including nontraditional battlefields such as outer space and cyber space, as well as nontraditional functions, such as United Nations peacekeeping operations."

Stability Operations and State Building: Continuities and Contingencies COL Greg Kaufmann Colloquium Report by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Austin Peay State University "Basic to the concept of the colloquium was the idea that just as there are acknowledged principles of war that enhance the possibility of victory on the battlefield, there should be principles that, if applied during the state-building process, will enhance the chances of “winning the peace.” The idea that principles should comprise the foundation of state-building and that supporting policies and procedures then flow from those principles was fundamental to the colloquium’s process."

Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President's Agenda Dr Joseph R Cerami, Dr Robert H Dorff, Ms Lisa Moorman Colloquium Report by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with The Bush School of Government and Public Service and the European Union Center of Excellence of Texas A&M University, LBJ School of the University of Texas at Austin "This colloquium examined the contemporary international environment and American national security policy for the next presidential administration. Participants examined how threats, policies, and strategies have changed since 2001 and how the U.S., European, and other international security systems have responded to changing requirements."

Civil-Military Relations in a Post-9/11 World Dr Leonard Wong Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Harvard Kennedy School, John F. Kennedy School of Government " The civil-military relationship, and specifically the interaction between civilian leadership and uniformed military leaders, relies on the attitudes and actions of both civilians and the military... Although recently there has been tension in the relationship between civilian leadership and the uniformed (and retired) military, there is currently no crisis in the civil control aspects of the civil-military relationship."