Monographs

Russian Defense Reform: Current Trends Dr Irina Isakova Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph is another in the series of studies on aspects of Russian defense and foreign policy being published by the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI). These monographs derive from a conference that was jointly sponsored by the Strategic Studies Institute; the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington; the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Pacific Northwest Center for Global Studies; and the Institute for Global and Regional Security Studies. This conference, titled “The U.S. and Russia: Regional Security Issues and Interests,” was held in Washington, DC, on April 24-26, 2006, and examined many different regional dimensions of this bilateral relationship."

The NATO-Russia Partnership: A Marriage of Convenience or a Troubled Relationship? Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Four years after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-Russia Council came into being, it represents a picture in ambivalence and incomplete realization of partnership. This monograph focuses on the Russian side of this growing estrangement. It finds the Russian roots of this ambivalence in the increasingly visible manifestations of an autocratic and neo-imperial Russian state and foreign and defense policy. These strong trends in Russian policy inhibit the formation of a genuine security partnership that can provide for Eurasian security in the face of multiple contemporary threats."

Iran, Iraq, and the United States: The New Triangle's Impact on Sectarianism and the Nuclear Threat Dr Sherifa D Zuhur Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Many observers are concerned about the best means of discouraging sectarian conflict in Iraq while still waging counterinsurgency efforts. Another tension between regional policy goals concerns American and Iraqi desires to constrain growing Iranian influence in Iraq, and in the region as a whole, and advocating more scrutiny over transnational dealings and control over weapons proliferation, while also promoting peaceful co-existence and stricter observance of sovereignty in the Middle East. One pole around which these tensions circumambulate is the tensions between Sunni and Shi`a political and religious entities. Bilateral state relations are one level of consideration, to which must be added American concerns and those of other nations of the region. This monograph explores the various doctrinal, historical, and political facets of these issues."

Russia, Iran, and the Nuclear Question: The Putin Record Dr Robert O Freedman Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Vladimir Putin inherited a strong Russian-Iranian relationship from his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. Russia made major arms agreements with Iran under Yeltsin, selling Tehran jet planes, tanks, and submarines, and also began building a nuclear reactor for Iran at Bushehr. The two countries also cooperated on regional issues such as Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and Yeltsin valued the low Iranian profile during the first Chechen war (1994-96)."

Shaping China's Security Environment: The Role of the People's Liberation Army Dr Andrew Scobell, Dr Larry M Wortzel Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "For 2 decades after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established, there was no question that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had a central role in shaping China’s security and foreign policy. Indeed, the PLA also was a major actor in domestic policy. The new leaders that took over China in 1949 all came from the military or Communist Party cadre who fought the Nationalists from 1927 through the Anti-Japanese War, and then fought the final battles of the civil war. At the local, provincial, and national level, the Party, the Army, and the government were almost synonymous. The PLA’s influence in national policy declined in subsequent decades, however. Today, one must carefully count the number of senior leaders with military connections in the Communist Party Politburo to debate the extent of PLA influence in China. "

Ukraine After the Orange Revolution: Can It Complete Military Transformation and Join the U.S.-Led War on Terrorism? Dr Deborah Sanders Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Ukraine is located at a pivotal crossroads in Europe between east and west and has the potential to play an important role in combatting terrorism in two ways. First, by consolidating democracy and democratic control over its armed forces, Ukraine can be a stabilizing force in Eurasia. Second, the country can contribute toward the defeat of terrorism by developing niche capabilities, particularly in its peacekeeping forces. Dr. Deborah Sanders, the author of this External Research Associates Program (ERAP) monograph, argues that for Ukraine to be an effective U.S. ally in the war on terror, it must engage in comprehensive military transformation..."

China-ASEAN Relations: Perspectives, Prospects, and Implications for U.S. Interests Dr Jing-dong Yuan Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have undergone significant changes over the past 15 years. ASEAN’s concerns over Beijing’s drive for military modernization and its assertive posture in territorial disputes over the South China Sea of the early 1990s are replaced with growing economic ties and shared geo-political interests for building regional security through multilateral processes. Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Beijing has expanded its influence as a major political force in the region and a locomotive for economic recovery and future opportunity. What explains China’s successful diplomatic offensive and what implications do closer China-ASEAN ties have for the United States?"

North Korean Civil-Military Trends: Military-First Politics to a Point Mr Ken E Gause Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Unlike the study of other authoritarian regimes, first the Soviet Union and more recently China, which have given rise to a cottage industry of analysis on all aspects of things military, the same cannot be said of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), the armed forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). In the small world of Pyongyang watchers, articles and books devoted to the KPA are few and in most cases deal with the armed forces themselves (order of battle) rather than the high command that oversees the machinery."

Counterterrorism in African Failed States: Challenges and Potential Solutions COL Thomas A Dempsey Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Failed states—states in which government authority has collapsed, violence has become endemic, and functional governance has ceased—have emerged in the period since the end of the Cold War as one of the most difficult challenges confronting the international community, especially in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. Transnational terrorist groups use the chaos of failed states to shield themselves from effective counterterrorism efforts by the international community. The potential nexus of failed state-based terrorism and terrorists’ access to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), especially nuclear WMD, escalates the risk that such groups pose to the United States and to its allies in the Global War on Terror."