Arab Threat Perceptions and the Future of the U.S. Military Presence in the Middle East Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The threat perceptions of many Arab states aligned with the United States have changed significantly as a result of such dramatic events as the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, the emergence and then fading of the Arab Spring, the rise of Iranian power and Tehran’s nuclear agreement with key world powers, the Egyptian revolution and counterrevolution, and the development of civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. A particularly worrisome development and expansion has been the dramatic rise of the “Islamic State” (IS) organization which has seized considerable tracts of territory in Iraq and Syria and inspired terrorists throughout the region. Elsewhere in the region, the 2013 election of the pragmatic and statesmanlike Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is viewed by some Arab states as a potential opportunity but also a danger since the new Iranian government has a potentially shrewder and more effective president and cabinet than seen during the Ahmadinejad years. There have also been some notable differences that have developed between the United States and its Arab allies over how to address these issues and most especially Iranian regional ambitions."

The Real Rebalancing: American Diplomacy and the Tragedy of President Obama’s Foreign Policy Dr John R Deni Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "American security policy rests on a three-legged stool consisting of defense, diplomacy, and development. As President Barack Obama implied in his May 2014 speech at West Point, New York, the United States is in the midst of a resurgence of diplomacy and development, as it seeks to leverage diplomatic influence, foreign aid, and multilateral institutions to solve the most vexing international security challenges. However, the dramatic rebalance toward diplomacy and development over the last several years has largely failed. Rhetoric, official strategies, and actual policies have all aimed at rebalancing the three legs of the foreign policy stool. However, several factors point to a continued militarization of U.S. foreign policy, including funding levels, legal authorities, and the growing body of evidence that civilian agencies of the U.S. Government lack the resources, skills, and capabilities to achieve foreign policy objectives. Continued reliance by senior decisionmakers at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue on the U.S. military in the development, planning, and implementation of U.S. foreign policy has significant implications. Foremost among them is the fact that the military itself must prepare for a future not terribly unlike the very recent past."

The Ethics of Drone Strikes: Does Reducing the Cost of Conflict Encourage War? Dr Marcus Schulzke, Dr James Igoe Walsh Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Developing Emerging Leaders: The Bush School and the Legacy of the 41st President Dr Joseph R Cerami Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Leadership remains at the core of the military profession. Gaining a reputation as an effective and ethical leader is the foundation for a successful career as a commissioned and noncommissioned officer. Naturally, a great deal of attention in pre-commissioning and professional military schools, as well as experiential learning in a variety of demanding positions, is necessary for advancement. Understanding the ideas and best practices of expert leaders as individuals and as a member of groups, teams, organizations, and institutions remain an important area of research and study for individual and organizational learning. Learning leaders and learning organizations are the focus of this monograph. Specific attention is placed on identifying the key ideas and actions, or best practices, in comparing the leadership studies and research literature that bridge the guiding civilian and military approaches, and compares ideas and practices across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. "

The Limits of Offshore Balancing Dr Hal Brands Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Should the United States undertake a fundamental strategic retrenchment? Should it roll back, and perhaps do away with, the system of overseas security commitments and military deployments that have anchored its international posture since World War II? Many academic and strategic studies observers have answered “yes” to these questions in recent years. They assert that America’s long-standing, postwar grand strategy has become both dispensable and self-defeating—dispensable because that grand strategy is no longer needed to sustain an advantageous global environment, and self-defeating because it wastes finite means while eliciting adverse behavior from allies and adversaries alike. The proper response to this situation, they believe, is to adopt a minimalist approach referred to as “offshore balancing.” Briefly stated, offshore balancing envisions a dramatic reduction in America’s overseas military deployments and alliance commitments, and a shift toward greater restraint and modesty in U.S. policy writ large. It is premised on the idea that this type of retrenchment will actually produce better security outcomes at a better price— that when it comes to grand strategy, less will actually be more."

Terrorist and Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, and Military Implications Dr Robert J Bunker Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Derived from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) use threat scenarios, three levels of military significance are foreseen with terrorist and insurgent activities associated with these devices. Because of the technologies that will eventually be associated with UAVs—robotics and expert (and artificial intelligence) systems networked together—their significance is projected as increasing over time from the tactical to the operational and then to the strategic levels of concern..."

China’s Rise and Reconfiguration of Central Asia’s Geopolitics: A Case for U.S. Mr Roman Muzalevsky Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "China’s emergence as a global actor has questioned the position of the United States as the strongest power and the future of the Washington-led global order. But achieving the status of a truly global player wielding influence in all dimensions of power would require China, among other things, to leverage its regional influence in Central Asia. This region is increasingly representing China’s western leg of economic expansion and development, and is of a growing strategic importance for Beijing. It is also a region that should be of greater strategic importance to Washington, which seeks to preserve its leading position in the international system and ensure China’s peaceful integration in the global political, security, and economic architecture. "

Reassessing the Barriers to Islamic Radicalization in Kazakhstan Ms Zhulduz Baizakova, Mr Roger N McDermott Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The authors reassess the barriers to Islamic radicalization in the Republic of Kazakhstan. They provide crucial analysis and findings for policymakers seeking to engage with the country, while also presenting important insights into the historical and cultural impediments in the path of radicalizing its youth. Despite the proximity of the Central Asian Republics to Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism, unlike its neighbors, Kazakhstan has remained relatively stable and low risk in the face of international terrorism and extremism. This monograph examines some of the reasons as to why this is the case, proving that early judgements offered by commentators concerning Kazakhstan’s experience of domestic politically inspired violence in 2011-12, exaggerated the potential threat of growing Islamic radicalization. "

The Limits of Military Officers’ Duty to Obey Civilian Orders: A Neo-Classical Perspective Mr Robert E Atkinson, Jr Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Several post-September 11, 2001, events—the invasion of Afghanistan and the second invasion of Iraq, the use of “enhanced interrogation,” the detentions at Guantanamo, the “air-only” attacks on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria—have raised a perennially perplexing issue of civilian/military relations: principled limitations on military officers’ duty to obey civilian orders. Not surprisingly, contemporary answers have split along a familiar fault line. Those on one side emphasize, more or less rigorously, officers’ general professional duty to obey; those on the other emphasize, more or less expansively, familiar exceptions for irrational, illegal, or immoral orders."