Hard Power and Soft Power: The Utility of Military Force as an Instrument of Policy in the 21st Century Dr Colin S Gray Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The concept of soft power, that is the influence attained through the co-option of foreigners by the attractiveness of our values, ideas, and practices, understandably has great appeal. Soft power is much cheaper than the hard power of military force, and it is more compatible with the culture of a principally liberal American society. All too often, military force seems to fail as an instrument of policy and, as a consequence, it invites the view that it is becoming obsolescent and even anachronistic. Dr. Colin Gray subjects hard and soft power to close critical scrutiny and finds that the latter is significantly misunderstood and, as a consequence, misassessed as a substitute for the threat or use of military force. Each kind of power has its limitations, but the obvious and familiar challenges characteristic of military force do not mean that therefore soft power should be our policy instrument of choice. The author warns against expecting too much of soft power."

Central Asian Security Trends: Views from Europe and Russia Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The papers collected in this volume pertain to Central Asia. Indeed, they offer us two foreign views of the strategic situation evolving there—a Russian and a French analysis. For obvious reasons: the war in Afghanistan, proximity to major global actors, large energy holdings, and for less obvious reason, i.e., the possibility that domestic instability in one or more of these states could spread to other Muslim states as we now see in the Arab revolutions of 2011, Central Asia is an increasingly important and interesting strategic region. As such, it merits sustained critical attention and analysis of the sort we are presenting here and that we have presented in the past."

Should ROTC Return to the Ivy League? LTC Ernest A Szabo Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) has opened the possibility of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs returning to Ivy League and other elite (highly selective) universities and colleges. These institutions have not supported initiatives to maintain ROTC programs on their campuses due to the discriminatory nature of DADT, or perhaps they used the DADT policy as a rationale to keep programs, which had been closed during the Vietnam era, from returning."

Reforming Military Command Arrangements: The Case of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force Mr Henrik Bliddal Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "After the Shah of Iran was deposed and the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the United States began to craft a new Persian Gulf Security Framework (PGSF). Consisting of military, diplomatic, economic, and covert steps, it signified a historic strategic reorientation towards the Persian Gulf. This paper examines an integral part of the PGSF: the creation of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). As the first real tool for U.S. power projection in the area, and the immediate precursor to today’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the RDJTF has indeed left an important mark on the U.S. approach to the Persian Gulf. This paper is the fullest account of its creation thus far."

Brazil's Security Strategy and Defense Doctrine Mr Andrew Fishman, Dr Max G Manwaring Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, with The Center for Latin American Issues, The George Washington University "In September 2007, Brazil’s President Lula mandated the establishment of a national defense strategy. In December 2008, the Minister of Defense, Nelson Jobim, sent that strategy to the President. In 2010, President Lula signed executive orders to implement the new strategy (the Projecto Nacional) ..."

Security and Governance: Foundations for International Stability Mr Dru Lauzon, Mr Andrew Vine Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Queen’s Centre for International Relations, Queen’s University Defence Management Studies, Land Force Doctrine and Training System of the Canadian Forces "Stability operations in fragile states are likely to remain an important focus of the foreign policy of Western countries for the foreseeable future. The central question to consider when launching these operations is whether a particular type of intervention is more effective than others, and to determine what insights can be drawn from previous deployments in failed and fragile states."

Civilian Skills for African Military Officers to Resolve the Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Stability Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa Ms Diane E Chido Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In the United States, we often think of the military as an alternative to college, as a professional training ground, for a wide variety of skills that may include computer science, electronics, cooking, or medicine. We have comprehensive job placement and support programs for separating service members. Our military training includes discipline, teaming concepts, and a respect for civil society, traits expected to remain with a military member for life. Through U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) partnership programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, many officers are currently benefitting from military-to-military training opportunities to learn aspects of military science and other basic training. A small number of officers will gain valuable skills they can use throughout their military careers or even in civilian life."

Russian Military Politics and Russia's 2010 Defense Doctrine Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph on Russia’s defense or military doctrine represents the third of the five monographs that we will be publishing. It consists of three deeply probing essays into the genesis of the doctrine, the political struggle behind it, and the actual content of the doctrine. They reveal a highly politicized minefield of struggle comprising leading actors in the Russian military, government, and security policy circles as a whole. They duly illuminate the ongoing struggles between and among these sets of military and civilian elites and therefore cast a shining light on critical aspects of Russian policy that all too often are left in the darkness. "

India in Africa: Implications of an Emerging Power for AFRICOM and U.S. Strategy Dr J Peter Pham Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)—whose mission, “in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners,” is to conduct “sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs, military-sponsored activities, and other military operations as directed to promote a stable and secure African environment”—is not alone in recognizing the strategic importance of Africa. This continent, in fact, has increasingly attracted significant attention from the major powers. While the extensive network of economic, political, and military ties that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has constructed across Africa in recent years, is relatively well known, India’s own rapidly expanding network of connections to the continent have gone largely unexamined."