Monographs

Honduras: A Pariah State, or Innovative Solutions to Organized Crime Deserving U.S. Support? Dr R Evan Ellis Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The public protests against Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, which peaked in July 2015, highlighted perceptions of corruption by Hondurans of their President and his government, and fostered a new spirit of civic participation in Central America. Outside the region, less noticed is that President Hernandez has also made significant changes in the strategy and institutions of the country in combating the interrelated scourges of organized crime and violent gangs, which have plagued Honduras as well as its neighbors. That new approach, set forth in the administration’s interagency security plan and Operation MORAZÁN, has produced notable successes. With U.S. assistance, the National Interagency Security Force (FUSINA) and the Honduran government dismantled the leadership of the nation’s two principal family-based drug smuggling organizations, the Cachiros and the Los Valles, and significantly reduced the use of the national territory as a drug transit zone, particularly narco flights. Murders in the country have fallen from 86.5 per 100,000 in 2011, to 64 per 100,000 in 2014."

Strategic Landpower and a Resurgent Russia: An Operational Approach to Deterrence, A U.S. Army War College Integrated Research Project in Support of U.S. European Command and U.S. Army Europe LTC R Reed Anderson, COL Patrick J Ellis, LTC Antonio M Paz, LTC Kyle A Reed, LTC Lendy Renegar, LTC John T Vaughan Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Over the past century, U.S. relations with Russia have evolved from ally to enemy to strategic partner to competitor. The political landscape and national interests of the Russian Federation have changed since the breakup of the Soviet Union. As a result, relations between Russia and the United States today are strained, largely because of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Understanding Russia’s intentions has been challenging and difficult in the past for the United States. This monograph argues that Russia’s foreign policy is driven by four overarching factors: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to the world around him; the Kremlin’s desire for centralized control of the population; Russia’s desire to protect its homeland through an outside “buffer zone;” and an enduring distrust of the West. "

Operating in the Gray Zone: An Alternative Paradigm for U.S. Military Strategy Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Recent events in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, and the South China Sea continue to take interesting, if not surprising, turns. As a result, many security experts are calling for revolutionary measures to address what they wrongly perceive to be a new form of warfare, called “hybrid” or “gray zone” wars, but which is, in fact, an application of classic coercive strategies. These strategies, enhanced by evolving technologies, have exploited a number of weaknesses in the West’s security structures. To remedy one of those weaknesses, namely, the lack of an appropriate planning framework, this monograph suggests a way to re-center the current U.S. campaign-planning paradigm to make it more relevant to contemporary uses of coercive strategies. "

Starting Strong: Talent-Based Branching of Newly Commissioned U.S. Army Officers LTC Michael J Colarusso, LTC Kenneth G Heckel, COL David S Lyle, LTC William L Skimmyhorn Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Starting Strong describes the practical application of several officer talent management concepts first presented in a Strategic Studies Institute monograph series from 2009-2010. Moving from human capital theory, data, and analysis, to an operational construct, the monograph details a multi-year pilot of talent-based officer branching practices in the United States Army. The pilot’s results were so promising that its approach has since scaled across all Army commissioning sources and is likely to be adopted by the United States Navy and perhaps the other services as well."

Old and New Insurgency Forms Dr Robert J Bunker Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "While the study of insurgency extends well over 100 years and has its origins in the guerrilla and small wars of the 19th century and beyond, almost no cross modal analysis—that is, dedicated insurgency form typology identification—has been conducted. Until the end of the Cold War, the study of insurgency focused primarily on separatist and Marxist derived forms with an emphasis on counterinsurgency practice aimed at those forms rather than on identifying what differences and interrelationships existed. The reason for this is that the decades-long Cold War struggle subsumed many diverse national struggles and tensions into a larger paradigm of conflict—a free, democratic, and capitalist West versus a totalitarian, communist, and centrally planned East. "

Military Engagement and Forward Presence: Down but Not Out as Tools to Shape and Win Dr John R Deni Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Reliance on precision strike stand-off capabilities and a strategy of surging American military might from the continental United States (CONUS) after a crisis has already started have become particularly attractive approaches for managing insecurity in a more resource-constrained environment. However, the security challenges facing the United States and its vital interests over the coming years require more than a retreat to “Fortress America.” Relying on stand-off capabilities and surge readiness cannot provide adequate deterrence or reassurance, promote effective regional security, or build the capability and interoperability necessary to succeed in combined military operations at reasonable cost, and will have the effect of reducing, not expanding, options available to any President. Mitigating the security challenges of tomorrow necessitates investment in a more effective and more efficient set of tools."

Mastering the Gray Zone: Understanding a Changing Era of Conflict Dr Michael J Mazarr Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The monograph emphasizes that many gray zone tools and techniques have been employed for centuries. But the analysis rightly contends that such approaches have renewed relevance, both because some new technologies have made them more effective than ever and because several major powers are making extensive use of gray zone campaigns."

Reforming U.S. Export Controls Reforms: Advancing U.S. Army Interests Dr Richard Weitz Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The Barack Obama administration has launched an Export Control Reform (ECR) program to improve the regulations and procedures for controlling the export of U.S. weapons as well as dual-use equipment and technology. Emphasizing that international economic competitiveness is a core component of national security, the administration’s stated aim is for the ECR to increase U.S. exports and jobs as well as to strengthen U.S. national security and protect U.S. military technologies. "

Strategy and Grand Strategy: What Students and Practitioners Need to Know Dr Tami Davis Biddle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this monograph, Dr. Tami Davis Biddle examines why it is so difficult to devise, implement, and sustain sound strategies and grand strategies. Her analysis begins with an examination of the meaning of the term “strategy” and a history of the ways that political actors have sought to employ strategies and grand strategies to achieve their desired political aims. She examines the reasons why the logic undergirding strategy is often lacking and why challenges of implementation (including bureaucratic politics, unforeseen events, civil-military tensions, and domestic pressures) complicate and undermine desired outcomes. This clear-headed critique, built on a broad base of literature (historical and modern; academic and policy-oriented), will serve as a valuable guide to students and policymakers alike as they seek to navigate their way through the unavoidable challenges—and inevitable twists and turns—inherent in the development and implementation of strategy."