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."

Duffer’s Shoal: A Strategic Dream of the Pacific Command Area of Responsibility COL Russell N Bailey, LTC Bob Dixon, Ms Laura McAleer, LTC Derek J O'Malley, COL (NZ) Christopher J Parsons, COL Elizabeth R Smith Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The following strategic assessment seeks to go beyond a traditional comparative analysis of the military, technological, political, cultural, and economic factors governing the relationships and capabilities of the Asia Pacific environment. To truly make sense of the intrinsic complexities unique to this region, the authors endeavor to broaden our view and rely on a tool often overlooked in government studies: imagination. Moreover, they aim to offer a strategic document that is readable, instructive, and provocative. Pulling from a well-referenced piece of military teaching, this assessment borrows a learning concept first employed in 1904 by Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton in The Defence of Duffer’s Drift."

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."

Iraq’s Shia Warlords and Their Militias: Political and Security Challenges and Options Dr Norman Cigar Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "As America’s de facto co-belligerents who often share the same battlespace in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the presence and activity of Iraq’s Shia warlords and their militias have an impact on U.S. interests and policies at both the strategic and operational levels. The practical objective of this monograph is to provide a better understanding of the Shia militia phenomenon and to highlight the factors with which U.S. policymakers and U.S. Army planners and commanders will have to deal with respect to operations in Iraq. "