Past Publications

America's Flawed Afghanistan Strategy Dr Steven Metz Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Despite the lavish time and attention that the Obama administration devoted to reviewing its Afghanistan strategy, the result was more continuity than change. The administration adjusted U.S. troops levels and shifted some operational methods but accepted the most basic—and questionable—assumptions of the Bush strategy. Unfortunately, these do not hold up under close scrutiny. The new strategy, like the old one, totters on a dangerously flawed foundation."

David Galula: His Life and Intellectual Context Ms Ann Marlowe Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph attempts to place David Galula’s intellectual achievement in relation to both his life experiences and his time. It is not an assessment of the worth of his ideas, though it may be useful for those who wish to make such an evaluation."

Defense Energy Resilience: Lessons from Ecology Mr David Kerner, Dr Scott Thomas Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Energy security is a fundamental requirement for national security, and global energy competition threatens to make Department of Defense (DoD) missions increasingly vulnerable to the vagaries of energy supply. Dr. Scott Thomas and Mr. David Kerner argue that DoD’s approach to energy security must accommodate a highly uncertain outlook for energy resource availability. The authors argue that while U.S. energy security needs are currently met, the shrinking gap between global supply and demand draws the world closer to a tipping point at which competition disrupts social and geopolitical normalizing forces, and conflict becomes likely. This analysis offers key insights into what a shifting energy security environment is and provides a novel theoretical framework for how the United States can best respond to it."

Chinese Energy Security: The Myth of the PLAN's Frontline Status Dr Ryan Clarke Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The continued impressive growth and development of China, while always of critical strategic importance, has surged in recent years to the forefront of the consciousness of American policymakers, scholars, and the news media, as well as the general public. This trend has been accelerated by the staying power that China demonstrated following its relatively graceful weathering of the global financial crisis, in the process defying a wide range of doomsday prophecies of massive organized riots by newly unemployed rural factory workers and various other classes of people angry with Beijing over economic slowdown or stagnation. "

Preparing for a Mid-Term Assessment of Leadership and National Security Reform in the Obama Administration Mr Jared E Bennett, Dr Joseph R Cerami, Dr Robert H Dorff Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Bush School of Government and Public Service "The initiatives for the extensive national security reform that is required to meet current threats will have to come from outside of the executive branch bureaucracy. This is true even though former senior members of the Project on National Security Reform are holding key executive branch positions."

Dilemmas of Brazilian Grand Strategy Dr Hal Brands Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph analyzes Brazilian grand strategy under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. During Lula’s nearly 8 years in office, he has pursued a multipronged grand strategy aimed at hastening the transition from unipolarity and Western economic hegemony to a multipolar order in which international rules, norms, and institutions are more favorable to Brazilian interests. Lula has done so by emphasizing three diplomatic strategies: soft balancing against the United States, building coalitions to magnify Brazilian negotiating power, and seeking to position Brazil as the leader of a more united South America."

Enter the Era of Persistent Competition for Talent COL Carolyn F Kleiner Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The era of persistent conflict is forcing the U.S. Army to become more nimble and adaptable, driving changes in equipment and doctrine. Yet the systems required to manage its most critical asset—people—continue to operate in a Cold War paradigm with Industrial Era processes. The Army must take action to implement modern and creative human resource management systems if it hopes to maintain a high-quality force capable of fighting the wars of the future. As we live in an era of persistent conflict, we are also entering an era of persistent competition for talent."

The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow: Essays in Memory of Mary Fitzgerald Dr Stephen J Blank, Dr Richard Weitz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute

Project on National Security Reform: Vision Working Group Report and Scenarios Dr Sheila R Ronis Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "On November 26, 2008, the Project on National Security Reform submitted its 2-year study of the national security system, Forging a New Shield, to the President, President-elect, and Congress. The study found that the national security system was at risk of failure and needed serious reform. Before the Project finalized the report’s recommendations, its Vision Working Group tested the findings against a diverse set of scenarios to determine if the recommendations were robust and effective. This testing revealed that each of the five major findings improved the performance of the current national security system. This volume documents the scenario-testing process used by the Vision Working Group. It includes the actual pre-reform and post-reform scenarios and details many other scenario techniques used in the overall study."