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From The Editor, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Organizational Change And Adaptation In The Us Army, J. P. Clark

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Report Of The Informal Meeting On Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel (Motapm Or Anti-Vehicle Mines), Gichd, United Nations Mine Action Service, United Nations Office For Disarmament Affairs

Global CWD Repository

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) jointly hosted an informal one day meeting to examine the humanitarian and developmental impact of anti-vehicle mines/mines other than antipersonnel mines (MOTAPM), discuss possible solutions and highlight the need for the international community to move forward and take specific action.

The meeting took place on Friday 6 November 2015 in Geneva. Upwards of 80 delegates attended the meeting, which included representatives from over 50 states, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, non-governmental …

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems: The Case For International Prohibition, Kenneth Brandon Turner

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In October of 2001, an American unmanned aerial vehicle was credited with the first 'kill' by a drone strike, setting off an enduring debate on the role of unmanned systems in warfare. Over a decade later, the number and capability of unmanned systems have grown and are rapidly expanding in use worldwide, the proliferation of weaponized ‘drones' now extending to non-state actors as well as nation-states. This thesis examines the current and future state of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) and the argument that the development and deployment of LAWS should be subject to an international prohibition until the facets …

Geopolitical Implications Of The Sino-Japanese East China Sea Dispute For The U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Much analysis on Asian strategic challenges facing the U.S. has justifiably emphasized the South China Sea (SCS). This has also been reflected in 2016 presidential campaign debate on the SCS as an emerging area of U.S. foreign and national security policy concern. The East China Sea (ECS) is at least as important for the strategic interests of the U.S. and its allies given the tension between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, potential energy resources in this body of water, increasing defense spending by adjacent geographic powers, the area’s importance as a maritime international trade route, and the possibility …

Headhunting: Evaluating The Disruptive Capacity Of Leadership Decapitation On Terrorist Organizations, Ted Clemens Iv

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Leadership decapitation -- the practice of removing a leader from a position of authority through targeted killing (i.e. assassination) or arrest -- has long been a feature of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies the world over. Still, how effective is the practice of leadership decapitation in actually bringing a halt to, or even impeding, terrorist activity? Can removing top leaders of terrorist enclaves from power disrupt their groups to the point of organizational degradation or dissolution? And lastly, because no two terrorist groups are the same; when a terrorist group experiences leadership loss, how can the group be expected to react? …

Russian Special Operations Forces In Crimea And Donbas, Tor Bukkvoll

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Capturing The Character Of Future War, Paul R. Norwood, Benjamin M. Jensen, Justin Barnes

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Why Russia Is Reviving Its Conventional Military Power, Bettina Renz

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The "Practice" Problem: Peacebuilding And Doctrine, Christopher H. Tuck

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Victory In Today's Wars: New Insights On The Role Of Communications, James P. Farwell

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Outplayed: Regaining Strategic Initiative In The Gray Zone, A Report Sponsored By The Army Capabilities Integration Center In Coordination With Joint Staff J-39/Strategic Multi-Layer Assessment Branch, Nathan P. Freier, Charles R. Burnett, William J. Cain Jr., Christopher D. Compton, Sean M. Hankard, Robert S. Hume, Gary R. Kramlich Ii, J. Matthew Lissner, Tobin A. Magsig, Daniel E. Mouton, Michael S. Muztafago, John F. Troxell, Dennis G. Wille, James M. Schultze

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

U.S. competitors pursuing meaningful revision or rejection of the current U.S.-led status quo are employing a host of hybrid methods to advance and secure interests contrary to those of the United States. These challengers employ unique combinations of influence, intimidation, coercion, and aggression to incrementally crowd out effective resistance, establish local or regional advantage, and manipulate risk perceptions in their favor. So far, the United States has not come up with a coherent countervailing approach. It is in this “gray zone”—the awkward and uncomfortable space between traditional conceptions of war and peace—where the United States and its defense enterprise face …

Their Swords, Our Plowshares: "Peaceful" Nuclear Weapons, Propaganda, And Cold War Memory Expressed In Film: 1959-1989, Michael A. St. Jacques

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons as tools of warfare and diplomacy. Immediately following the Second World War, American attitudes toward the atomic bomb were overwhelmingly positive. Once the Soviet Union developed their own atomic bomb and the United States lost the atomic monopoly, attitudes started to shift. After the first hydrogen bombs tests, public sentiment, as demonstrated in film, became markedly negative. To counter these negative attitudes and portray their nuclear weapons as peaceful tools instead of weapons of mass destruction, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed …

Challenges Of Implementing Defense Policies To Deter Hostile Actors In Space And Cyberspace, Stephan Dwayne Bjerring Powers

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Space and cyber operations have changed national security for both nations and non-state actors worldwide. The low barriers to entry have allowed less sophisticated nations and actors to have an impact on the U.S. and near-peer nations. The lack of attribution and the ability to obfuscate the source of the space or cyber weapon will make the case for wartime retaliation difficult. The highly proactive antisatellite weapons test conducted by China in 2007 and the alleged employment of Stuxnet against Iran's nuclear program by the United States and Israel illustrates the potentially destabilizing effects to high priority national programs. If …

The Relevance Of Militant Islamist Ideology In Crafting Countering Violent Extremism Policy In The U.S., Leena Almeda Carmenates

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Militant Islamist ideology and the level of attention and reaction it merits from the United States government has been the point of much contention and debate within both the academic and policy communities. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the relevance of militant Islamist ideology in crafting and implementing the emerging United States policy of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). Militant Islamist ideology provides its adherents with a strong sense of identity, motivation towards a seemingly worthy cause, and an all-encompassing and simplistic worldview. This ultimately points to the importance of engaging with the Muslim community, careful and tactful …

Deciphering Foreign Actions: A Focus On Russia's Foreign Policy Objectives, Stephanie A. W. King

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Business & Technology Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Stephanie A.W. King on April 26, 2016

Geopolitics Of The 2016 Australian Defense White Paper And Its Predecessors, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Australia released the newest edition of its Defense White Paper, describing Canberra’s current and emerging national security priorities, on February 25, 2016. This continues a tradition of issuing defense white papers since 1976. This work will examine and analyze the contents of this document as well as previous Australian defense white papers, scholarly literature, and political statements assessing their geopolitical significance. It will also examine public input into Australian defense white papers and the emerging role of social media in this public involvement. It concludes by evaluating whether Australia has the political will and economic resources necessary to fulfill its …

United States Asia Strategy: Policy, Power, Pivot, Michael S. Montemalo

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This paper is an assessment of contemporary United States strategy in the Asia-Pacific. It gives a background of United States grand strategy throughout history culminating with the 2012 Pivot to Asia designed and implemented by the Obama Administration, the Department of State, and the National Security Council. The Pivot to Asia will be viewed by assessing the hard and soft powers the United States has at its disposal as a means to further its national interests in the Asia-Pacific. Current cases focusing on Southeast Asia and East Asia will be used to assess the efficacy of the new strategy and …

Strategic Insights: 2016 Campaign: National Security Debate, Army Implications, And Oversights, William G. Braun Iii

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

Disrupt, Deny, Dismantle: A Special Operations Forces (Sof) Model For Combatting New Terrorism, Will Gunzelman

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Terrorism in the new millennium has morphed drastically since the 1970s. The terrorist organizations of today are a hybrid between the insurgent group models of the 1960s and modern terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda. This hybrid model has created what has become a transnational insurgency recruited, trained, and led by major terrorist networks such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Even smaller regional groups such as Boko Haram have surpassed merely conducting terrorist attacks. These smaller groups are also focused on controlling territory. Tan (2008) refers to this change as “New Terrorism”. To combat New …

Examining American Attitudes On The Use Of Military Drones, Todd Brandon

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Recent polls have revealed that Americans of both the political left and right support the use of military drones. This statement stands true among groups who traditionally do not support the use of military force. I hypothesize that people of a more liberal persuasion will be more concerned with whether or not the drone program endangers innocent civilians, while those of a more conservative view will be more concerned with the legality of conducting military drone strikes. I analyze data obtained from the Pew Research Center to examine people's attitudes on military drone strikes via framing theory. My hypothesis has …

The Cyber-Industrial Complex, Connor O’Malley

Political Science Theses and Capstones

When Edward Snowden released a massive trove of classified files from the National Security Agency, the world became aware of numerous global surveillance systems. As Snowden hoped, a global dialogue began concerning surveillance, privacy, and government transparency. While there was a lively discourse surrounding the leak and Snowden, another story was missed. Snowden was not an employee of the NSA; rather he was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, a private contractor maintaining computer systems for the NSA. The deeper story here is the emerging relationship between government agencies and technology companies. This paper discusses the theory of iron triangles …

Operating In The Gray Zone: An Alternative Paradigm For U.S. Military Strategy, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

So-called gray zone wars are not new, but they have highlighted shortcomings in the way the West thinks about war and strategy. This monograph proposes an alternative to the U.S. military's current campaign-planning framework, one oriented on achieving positional advantages over rival powers and built around the use of a coercion-deterrence dynamic germane to almost all wars as well as to conflicts short of war.

Parameters – Full Issue – Spring 2016, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Special Commentary: Making Sense of the “Long Wars” Tami Davis Biddle US Leadership and NATO Luis Simón, Alexander Mattelaer, John R. Deni, Magnus Petersson Is Nation-Building a Myth? Charles J. Sullivan, M. Chris Mason Learning from Today’s Wars Ben Nimmo, Roger N. McDermott, Erik W. Goepner

Jesus With A Kalashnikov: Examining Marxist Elements In Liberation Theology And Soviet Influence On Its Origins, Todd "Cameron" Swathwood Jr

Senior Honors Theses

Liberation theology emerged as a prominent feature of religion and politics in the 1960s. Since the beginning, detractors have noted the overtly Marxist tendencies within this ideology. This thesis introduces the core concepts and presuppositions of liberation theology itself, and then focuses on specific and varied allegations concerning any influence the Soviet Union may have had on its formation and propagation. Particular weight is lent to the testimony of Lieutenant General Ion Mihai Pacepa, formerly the head of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s national intelligence service and the highest-ranking defector ever received from the Soviet Bloc. Pacepa has shared his insider …

"Chinese Military Space Power: U.S. Department Of Defense Annual Reports, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Following instructions received from the U.S. Congress in the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act, the Department of Defense prepared an annual report on Chinese military power. This report contains classified and unclassif ied editions. Documenting Chinese military space power developments was one of the provisions in this law’s authorizing language. This article will examine how Chinese military space power documents have been described by the Department of Defense during this report's existence through 2015 and detail how members of Congress and Congressional committee hearing witnesses reacted to these developments in Congressional hearing transcripts and in Congressional debate through Fall 2015.

Making Sense Of "Long Wars" — Advice To The Us Army, Tami Davis Biddle

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Balancing Priorities In America's European Strategy, Luis Simón

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

State-Building: America's Foreign Policy Challenge, Charles J. Sullivan

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.