Russia's Armed Forces on the Brink of Reform Dr Stephen J Blank Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Russian armed forces, by all accounts, are fast approaching a point of no return. The crisis in the armed forces is directly traceable to the policies of the Yeltsin government which have alternated among politicization, fragmentation of those forces into multiple, contending militaries, and the creation of a quasi-authoritarian political process where military policy is decided by irregular institutions that account to and answer to nobody other than President Yeltsin. Similar problems plague the defense economy which is probably still too large and at the same time misdirected, while being unable to support the forces presently under arms. In any case, nobody knows how many men are under arms or the cost of maintaining them, or where defense allocations go."

Five-Dimensional (Cyber) Warfighting: Can the Army After Next be Defeated Through Complex Concepts and Technologies? Dr Robert J Bunker Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "With the end of the Cold War, U.S. national security perceptions concerning 'Who is the threat?' have been thrown into free fall along with those governmental and military institutions meant to contend with it. Resulting from the spreading chaos and ambiguity in the nation-state system, which stem from the simultaneous processes of fragmentation and regionalization, a new question now needs to be asked—'What is the threat?' "

Evolutionary Technology in the Current Revolution in Military Affairs: The Army Tactical Command and Control System Ms. Elizabeth A. Stanley Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Ms. Elizabeth A. Stanley analyzes developments in the Army Tactical Command and Control System as a vehicle for assessing the U.S. Army's strategy for exploiting information age technologies. Her analysis will be of great value to those interested in several dimensions of military modernization, in particular whether we are amid a revolution in military affairs (RMA) or something less profound. If it is an RMA, then how well are we in the Army seizing the opportunities it presents?"

World View: The 1998 Strategic Assessment from the Strategic Studies Institute Dr Earl H Tilford Jr Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The following document, World View, presents the annual strategic assessments of the analysts at the Strategic Studies Institute. It is fifth in a series that reflects both our individual forecasts and collective review of the key security issues facing the United States. The process that produces World View also leads to our annual Research and Outreach Plan. The strategic context is not vastly changed for 1998. It is as complex and uncertain as it has been virtually every year since the end of the Cold War. This year, however, we are also assessing the future in the light of the Quadrennial Defense Review, published in May 1997, and the Report of the National Defense Panel, issued in December"

Searching for Stable Peace in the Persian Gulf Dr Kenneth Katzman, Dr Stephen C Pelletiere Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "America's dual containment policy for the Persian Gulf faces difficult challenges. Key allies of the United States withhold support for military action against Iraq, despite evidence that the Iraqis are clandestinely producing weapons of mass destruction. Similarly, U.S. allies have concluded potentially lucrative deals with Iran to exploit central Asian oil resources, despite Washington's opposition to them."

Joint U.S. Army-Navy War Planning on the Eve of the First World War COL Adolf Carlson Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The paper which follows suggests that as we reflect on the challenges ahead, we may gain some insight by casting light on the challenges of the past. It is written in the spirit of the wisdom of Patrick Henry, who in 1775 said, “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.” For like the turn of the coming century, the turn of the last century was characterized by a strategic pause as well."

Shadow Politics: The Russian State in the 21st Century Dr Peter J Stavrakis Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Assessments of Russia's future possess a lamentable tendency to oscillate between enthusiastic optimism about the development of free market democracy or brooding pessimism concerning the vitality of Russia's absolutist heritage, without providing many durable insights. The goal of this essay is to undertake a more penetrating analysis of a paradox of state power that lies at the heart of future Russian politics."

The United States and the Transformation of African Security: The African Crisis Response Initiative and Beyond COL Daniel W Henk, Dr Steven Metz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Traditionally, the U.S. military has not been heavily involved in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since the end of the Cold War, though, this has begun to change. U.S. forces have supported several humanitarian relief and evacuation operations associated with African conflicts. They have also conducted numerous “engagement” activities aimed at assisting African states and their militaries during the transition to democracy. But Africa remains a region where U.S. national security interests must be promoted with limited resources. This makes a sophisticated and coherent strategy vitally important."

Problems and Solutions in Future Coalition Operations Mr Phillip Kaiser, Mr Jon Kessmeier, Mr Thomas J Marshall Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This book reports in greater depth on four significant aspects of coalition operations: historical and cultural influences, command, technology, and doctrine and training. Steve Bowman identifies points of friction caused by historical and cultural differences among forces, and how they influence the decision to join a coalition, agreement on goals, and organization of operations, among other things. Some of the challenges are logistical problems caused by religious and cultural requirements, equipment availability, and the capability of various forces. Language and terminology differences can cause miscommunications and negatively affect operations."