Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Current Trends In Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Implications For U.S. Special Operations Forces, J. Philip Craiger, Diane Maye Zorri

Publications

This paper assesses current trends in small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) technology and its applications to the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community. Of critical concern to SOF is that commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) sUAS technologies are relatively inexpensive, improving at a dramatic rate, and widely available throughout the world. Insurgents, terrorists, violent extremist organizations (VEOs) and other nefarious actors have used COTS sUAS to conduct offensive attacks as well as to develop battlefield situation awareness; these technological improvements combined with their widespread availability will require enhanced and rapidly adaptive counter-sUAS measures in the future. To understand the most current trends in the …

Two Awakenings, One Process: Implications From The Sunni Realignment In Iraq, 2006-2007, Diane Maye Zorri

Publications

There are several competing beliefs regarding how political factions at the sub-state level choose to align and realign during a state of armed conflict. This research draws upon current literature to provide a framework for comparing the Anbar and Baghdad Awakenings of 2006–2007. This research concludes that alignment and alliance building is a process based on structural constraints only at the point of institutional maturity, therefore the critical point in the realignment process for the U.S. military is at a point between an individual’s realignment and the wider community’s perception of their success.

Autarky Or Interdependence? U.S. Vs. European Security And Defense Industries In A Globalized Market, Diane Maye Zorri

Publications

Globalization theorists show how downward pressure to compete and/or

save costs in global markets will lead producers and consumers to source

goods and services in the cheapest and most efficient manner. However, in

certain sectors, such as the defense industry, security concerns and politics

can overshadow economic logic when it comes to making procurement

decisions. These political and security concerns keep the U.S. defense

industry from using the most cost-effective supply chains and

manufacturing centers, whereas in Europe, post-Cold War socioeconomic

and political realities allowed for more transnational cooperation on

defense procurement. Three cases serve to illustrate the spectrum between …