Digital Commons Network^™

China’S Military Faces The Future,, Jianxiang Bi

Naval War College Review

This collection of high-quality essays by some of the leading experts on the Chinese military is the product of the 1997 Seventh Annual Conference on the People’s Liber- ation Army (PLA), sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. The au- thors, although inspired by different secu- rity and threat perceptions, present sober, straightforward, and reasonable assess- ments of PLA efforts to modernise itself in the 1990s and of its prospects for the im- mediate future. Evidence drawn from the essays shows that the PLA is increasingly modern, confident, and assertive but that it has not yet developed sophisticated the- ories and …

Fire In The East: The Rise Of Asian Military Power Andthe Second Nuclear Age,, Philip L. Ritcheson

Naval War College Review

The incorporation of Asia into the West- ern-dominated international system is critical for the United States. At present, the United States is reacting to events in Asia instead of shaping them. This is the fundamental message of Fire in the East, an important book by Paul Bracken of Yale University. Asia, extending from Israel to North Ko- rea, has become increasingly visible since the end of the (primarily Eurocentric) Cold War. Discussions of Asian strength, however, have been flawed. Japan has struggled economically for ten years, and it still lacks political and military power. The intent of Chinese modernization and …

The Second Nuclear Age,, George H. Quester

Naval War College Review

Readers of Colin Gray’s earlier works will not be disappointed by this new book, nor will his critics be surprised by his conclusions. Gray argues that the end of the Cold War does not mean that nuclear weapons can be eliminated or forgotten. This book is indeed valuable for noting, and taking to task, the wide variety of academic trends and fashions that have drawn such opti- mistic conclusions since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union.

The Nuclear Turning Point: A Blueprint For Deep Cuts Anddealerting Of Nuclear Weapons,, Hank Chiles

Naval War College Review

Ah, ecstasy! A benign world for the next two decades. Power politics disappear. America leads the drawdown, with Russia following to achieve parity with China, Britain, and France at about two hundred nuclear weapons. Worldwide nuclear verification becomes practically perfect. Permanent members of the UN Security Council agreeably limit their vetoes. It is all here in this book, the product of the “Deep Cuts Study Group.”

The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces After The Cold War,, Erik Dahl

Naval War College Review

Ask a soldier or military analyst to describe the “postmodern military,” and you are likely to get an answer that includes high technology, precision weapons, information operations, and possibly (especially if he or she is associated with the Navy) network-centric warfare. Much of the recent literature on military affairs concentrates on these technology issues, and an observer might be forgiven for believing that such operational and technical differ- ences are what separate twenty-first-century military forces from their predecessors.

Technological Change And The Future Of Warfare,, James R. Fitzsimonds

Naval War College Review

Over the past several years, the U.S. mil- itary has officially embraced the idea that rapidly evolving technologies soon will lead to a profound change in the conduct of warfare. The need to inno- vate in response to a prospective revolu- tion in military affairs is the central theme of Joint Vision 2010 and similar force-planning documents. Some stud- ies, such as the congressionally man- dated National Defense Panel, have concluded that only immediate and radical transformation to new systems, new operational concepts, and new or- ganizations will enable the U.S. military to retain its battlefield dominance.

A New Structure For National Security Policy Planning,, Charles Neimeyer

Naval War College Review

Stephen Cambone is the director of research at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. A former senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Cambone is obviously well qualified to undertake work that focuses on a pro- posed reorganization of the National Se- curity Council (NSC). Cambone approaches his work with vigor and an insider’s knowledge of the workings of the U.S. government’s highest national- security entity. He also extensively uses the knowledge and expertise of two col- leagues, Patrick J. Garrity of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Alistair J. K. Shepard …

Book Reviews, The U.S. Naval War College

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Commentary, Ike Skelton

Naval War College Review

[On 9 June 2003 Congressman Ike Skelton (Democrat-Missouri) released his “National Security Book List,” a compilation of books that he recommends as required reading to all officers of the armed forces, to members of Congress, and all others interested in national security issues.

The Casualty-Aversion Myth, Richard A. Lacquement Jr.

Naval War College Review

What is the nature of the American public’s sensitivity to U.S. military ca- sualties? How does casualty sensitivity affect the pursuit of American national security objectives?1 The first question is easy to answer: There is no in- trinsic, uncritical casualty aversion among the American public that limits the use of U.S. armed forces. There is a wide range of policy objectives on behalf of which the public is prepared to accept American casualties as a cost of success. Squeamishness about even a few casualties for all but the most important na- tional causes is a myth. Nonetheless, it is a …

The Virtues Of Abstention: Separation Of Powers In Al-Nashiri Ii, Nicholas A. Dimarco

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I examines various scholarly approaches to judicial deference, then considers deference in the context of military commissions. In Part II, the history of military commissions in the United States is examined, paying particular attention to the extended dialogue among the coordinate federal branches that created the system currently in operation. The decision in Al-Nashiri II not to adjudicate a collateral attack on one of these commissions is the focus of Part III. That Part embraces the underlying jurisdictional challenge at stake in Al-Nashiri II, the development of abstention doctrine generally and as applied to the current commissions, …

An Intelligence Dictionary Offering "Success Before Work," Review, Intelligence And Information Policy For National Security, Gary T. Marx

Secrecy and Society

No abstract provided.

Murky Projects And Uneven Information Policies: A Case Study Of The Psychological Strategy Board And Cia, Susan Maret

Secrecy and Society

This case study discusses the Truman and Eisenhower administration's (1951-1953) short-lived Psychological Strategy Board (PSB). Through the lens of declassified documents, the article recounts the history and activities of the Board, including its relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and clandestine projects that involve human experimentation. Primary documents of the period suggest that institutional secrecy, coupled with inconsistent information policies, largely shielded CIA's BLUEBIRD, ARTICHOKE, and MKULTRA from the Board. This subject has not been previously reported in the research literature, and supplements existing historical understanding of the PSB's mission under the broad umbrella of psychological warfare.

Security, Law & Public Policy - Assessing The Efficacy Of A National Security Vs. Law Enforcement Model To Combat Terrorism, Marvin L. Astrada

St. Thomas Law Review

The relationship between security, law, and public policy, generally speaking, is one fraught with tension. This is the case, in part, because security has the potential for limitless application. During the campaign and since taking office, candidate (and later President) Trump clearly espoused an emphasis on security in order to "Make America Great Again." Securitization measures from a political, economic, sociocultural, and foreign policy perspective were key pillars of President Trump's campaign and have informed Executive policy-making since Trump assumed office. In the present highly contentious political environment, wherein the Executive has vigorously articulated and pursued an expansive sociopolitical and …

Expanding Our Vision : An Empirical Examination Of Security Sector Reform, Andrew Vitek

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation contributes empirical analysis on the dynamics of security sector reform and aims to establish an understanding of the interplay between civilian governments, security forces and international actors in attempts to reform the security sectors of transitioning or reconstructing states. The need for reform programs aimed at boosting civilian control over state security forces has gained increased attention following the end of the Cold War, especially for states during regime transitions or post-conflict reconstruction. The record of success for these programs however remains inconsistent, and empirical scholarship aimed at the process at the time of writing is problematically sparse.

R2h And The Prospects For Peace: An Essay On Sovereign Responsibilities, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay examines novel threats to peace – social and political threats as well as military and technological. It worries that familiar conceptions of state sovereignty cannot sustain a legal order capable of meeting those threats, not even if we understand sovereignty as responsibility to protect human rights. The essay tentatively proposes that recent efforts to reformulate state sovereignty as responsibility to humanity – ‘R2H’ for short – offer a better hope. Under this reformulation, states must take into account the interests of those outside their sovereign territory as well as those of the of their own people – in …

Deliberative Constitutionalism In The National Security Setting, Mary B. Derosa, Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Deliberative democracy theory maintains that authentic deliberation about matters of public concern is an essential condition for the legitimacy of political decisions. Such deliberation has two features. The first is deliberative rigor. This is deliberation guided by public-regarding reasons in a process in which persons are genuinely open to the force of the better argument. The second is transparency. This requires that requires that officials publicly explain the reasons for their decisions in terms that citizens can endorse as acceptable grounds for acting in the name of the political community.

Such requirements would seem to be especially important in the …

Prism Vol. 7, No. 2, Center For Complex Operations

PRISM (Full PDF Issues)

No abstract provided.

Unilateral And Multilateral Preventive Self-Defense, Stéphanie Bellier

Maine Law Review

The governing principle of the collective security system created by the United Nations Charter in 19451 is the rule prohibiting the use of force in Article 2(4), which provides that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purpose of the United Nations." This rule prohibiting the use of force was considered revolutionary at the time because it transformed into international law ideas which had for centuries, if not millennia, preoccupied the minds of people …

The Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements: Emerging Challenge For U.S. National Security And Economics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical and physical properties such as lanthanum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise processes to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG- 51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, …

Warfare As Regulation, Robert Knowles

Washington and Lee Law Review

The United States government’s national security activities, including the use of force, consume more than half of all federal discretionary spending and are carried out by the world’s largest bureaucracy. Yet existing scholarship treats these activities as conduct to be regulated, rather than as forms of regulatory action.

This Article introduces a new paradigm for depicting what agencies involved in national security do. It posits that, like other agencies, the national security bureaucracy is best understood to be engaging in regulatory activity—by targeting, detaining, interrogating, and prosecuting enemies; patrolling the border; and conducting surveillance and covert actions. Also, like other …

Midnight In America: Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse And The 21st Century Threat To The United States, Angela Weaver

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects produced by the detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude are capable of causing widespread destruction in the U.S. homeland with few to no immediate casualties. The threat of nuclear EMP attack against the United States was recognized as probable during the Cold War but as time passed, the threat lost consciousness among U.S. policy makers as other issues and threats rose to the forefront. Simultaneously, the United States military and civilian society grew increasingly reliant upon emerging electronic systems and capabilities while adversary nations and rogue states rapidly pursued nuclear weapons capabilities. Today, …

A Research Agenda To Improve Decision Making In Cyber Security Policy, Benjamin Dean, Rose Mcdermott

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

The Cyber Longbow & Other Information Strategies: U.S. National Security And Cyberspace, Gary D. Brown

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

China’S Cyber Initiatives Counter International Pressure, Emilio Iasiello

Journal of Strategic Security

Prior to its historic 2015 “no hack” pact for commercial advantage with the United States, Beijing has been engaged drafting and passing legislation, most with specific cyber components, to enhance its security posture while protecting its economic interests. This approach is in stark contrast to United States efforts that have demonstrated a focus on “acting globally, thinking locally” philosophy wherein most of its cyber efforts have been outwardly facing and are distinct from other security considerations. This paper suggests that by strengthening its domestic front with a legal framework, Beijing is preparing itself to counter any foreign initiative contrary to …

While The Enemy Is Preoccupied : A Distractionary Theory Of Interstate Crisis Initiation, Steve S. Sin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines the implications of distraction theoretically and empirically, with a focus on the effects of external distraction on the likelihood of interstate crisis initiation. To this end, I develop the Distractionary Theory of Interstate Crisis Initiation and conduct empirical tests on the theoretical models to determine the impact of distraction on interstate crisis initiation.

Weapons Of Mass Hysteria, Faulty Biothreat Predictions, And Their Impact On National (In)Security: A Case-Study Of Smallpox, Barbara Pfeffer Billauer

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Biothreat projections for pandemic and bioterrorist planning are generated by a straight-forward computational system, rather than scientific evidence.

Government Speech And The War On Terror, Helen Norton

Publications

The government is unique among speakers because of its coercive power, its substantial resources, its privileged access to national security and intelligence information, and its wide variety of expressive roles as commander-in-chief, policymaker, educator, employer, property owner, and more. Precisely because of this power, variety, and ubiquity, the government's speech can both provide great value and inflict great harm to the public. In wartime, more specifically, the government can affirmatively choose to use its voice to inform, inspire, heal, and unite -- or instead to deceive, divide, bully, and silence.

In this essay, I examine the U.S. government's role as …

Governance By Proxy: Cyber Challenges To Civil Liberties, Niva Elkin-Koren, Eldar Haber

Brooklyn Law Review

No abstract provided.

Secrecy, Democracy And War: A Review, Brian Martin

Secrecy and Society

No abstract provided.