Digital Commons Network^™

Strategic Competition And Escalation Management In The 21st Century: Russian Hybrid Warfare And China’S Rise, Raymond L. Reilly Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) and the unclassified version of the U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) both focus on China and Russia as preeminent challenges for the United States. The NDS states specifically, “Long-term strategic competitions with China and Russia are the principal priorities for the Department [of Defense].”¹ This paper focuses on the strategic challenges that these two nations pose and provides recommendations for U.S. strategy and policy. Globalization and the rapid advancement of technology has changed the utility of force in the 21st century. The utility of force has evolved, resulting in a shift in the …

Issues Of Modernity In Russian And U.S. Southern Discourse: Literary And Cinematic Crosscurrents, Zachary John Killebrew

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation traces formulations of modernity, national and regional identity, and economy in the literature and film of Russia and the U.S. South from serfdom to the Second World War. Studying serf and slave narratives, Russian Realist and Southern Renaissance novels such as The Brothers Karamazov (1879), Demons (1872), The Sound and the Fury (1929), Tobacco Road (1932), and Wise Blood (1952), and American and Soviet films such as Volga, Volga (1938) and Cabin in the Sky (1943), this examination locates within Russo-Southern discourses a shared interest in striking out against Western or Northern epistemologies to assert a “peripheral” modernity …

Educating Strategic Lieutenants At West Point, Scott A. Silverstone

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues West Point responded to the changing strategic environment from the end of the Cold War through the post-9/11 period by innovating its curriculum. Over the past several decades, however, the academy’s educational model has remained remarkably stable, rooted in an enduring commitment to a rigorous liberal education as the best preparation for officers confronting the inherent uncertainties of future wars.

Prism Vol. 8, No. 2, Center For Complex Operations

PRISM (Full PDF Issues)

PRISM Vol. 8, No. 2 addresses a wide range of contemporary security challenges, from terrorism and lessons from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to hybrid warfare, Russian strategic behavior, and Iran’s regional activities. Articles also consider the implications of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and robotics for warfare and deterrence, Sweden’s revival of Total Defense, and comparative approaches to diplomatic security. The issue reflects the growing complexity of conflict as states and security institutions confront conventional, irregular, technological, and political challenges across multiple regions.

Crisis In Crimea: A Case Study In Geopolitics, Jesse Clarke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project conducts an analysis of the current situation in Crimea and attempts to contribute to the literature around a possible solution. Done so with the help of geopolitical analysis, the history of the region of Crimea is examined in-depth in an attempt to shed light on strategies for a resolution and provide background information. Geopolitical analysis as a form of study is then briefly explained and its relevancy for looking at global events and predicting outcomes explained. Next, three possible strategies for a solution are then presented and their viability analyzed through a geopolitical lens. These three strategies …

Recent U.S. And International Assessment Of Baltic Security Developments, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to analyse Baltic security developments from U.S. government and military resources, scholarly journal articles, and multinational public policy research institute assessments. METHODS: The aim is to analyse the content and rhetoric within these resources to learn how those producing these materials view Baltic security developments and their viewpoints on how the U.S. and its allies should respond to these developments focusing on increasing Russian regional assertiveness. RESULTS: The author provides interpretations of Baltic security developments, Russian Baltic policy, and U.S. and NATO responses to these developments in materials produced by U.S. civilian and …

Midwifery And Society: A Comparative Analysis Of The Uk And Ussr From 1920-1950, Melissa Scott

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this project is to analyze the changes made in midwifery policy and practices in the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom from 1920-1950. The changes made were essentially the following in both countries: required state certification, standardization of pay and schooling, and combating tradition in rural areas. Although they made similar changes, their political ideology and rhetoric was significantly different from one another. The rhetoric used in the Soviet Union in discussing midwifery policies and responsibilities was nationalistic while the rhetoric used in the United Kingdom was much more functionalistic. There were also additional political and societal …

Meet The New Villain, Same As The Old Villain: The New Cold War In American Tv, Film, And Video Games, Declan Cronin

Of Life and History

In 1966, the lovable crew of the Спрут landed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Hollywood’s rendering of these Russians in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming would prove to be the exception to the rule in Western media for years. A staple of Western entertainment since the mid-20^thcentury, Russian adversaries have not faded from the limelight in the post-Cold War era. Rather, Western portrayals of Russian antagonists have largely continued to reflect contemporaneous states of Western-Russian relations. By studying Russian portrayals in Western media (namely television, film, and 21^stcentury video games) within their historical context, …

Russian Influence In Latin America: A Response To Nato, Mason Shuya

Journal of Strategic Security

Since facing international backlash from the West over the situation in Ukraine, Russia has had to focus on new international agreements. In retaliation for NATO expansion towards the east, Russia has sought to create these agreements in Latin America. Russia has specifically sought greater ties with Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico. Currently, these countries maintain close economic ties with the United States. However, new military agreements are giving Russia greater military access to the region and access to locations that would facilitate greater ease in conducting military and espionage operations against the United States.

Nato’S Selective Sea Blindness—Assessing The Alliance’S New Navies, Thomas-Durell Young

Naval War College Review

The navies of NATO countries fall into two categories: old and new. The new navies lack modernization and readiness, making them deficient in their contributions to NATO security priorities. Sea blindness is a problem across the spectrum of NATO governments and illuminating this problem is now more important than ever in light of an increasingly aggressive Russia.

"The Most Multi-Ethnic Country In The World": Indigenous Peoples In Russia's Eurasianist Political Narrative, Lex Trienen

Arctic and Northern Studies

Since 2012, scholars have taken a renewed look at the philosophical and political ideas of Eurasianism within Russia to explain President Vladimir Putin's conduct and the Russian public's response to it. Eurasianism in its current form posits that the Russian state plays a unique role in the history of the world in opposing the avaricious, agnostic, and culturally oppressive "West," while uniting and elevating the peoples of the Eurasian continent in a peaceful, organic and spiritual "Eurasia." Indigenous peoples play a distinctive role in this narrative. Both the United States and Russia have Indigenous populations that have been subjected to …

Crusaders, Sellswords, And Separatists: The Russian State’S Use Of Paramilitaries, Separatists, And Irregular Armies, Bruce Schlesman

Masters Theses

Russia currently supports various paramilitaries around the world whether in the guise of separatists, mercenaries, or irregular armies. Using their own military and intelligence operatives and different tactical and religious-ideological means of asserting control over these paramilitaries and the territories they inhabit, Russia seeks to expand the scope of its global dominance and regional influence. Consistent with its long-term goal of weakening NATO and the EU, Russian strategy under Putin has sought to exploit Russian Orthodoxy and the Russian culture as instruments of solidarity binding many of these paramilitaries to Russia in a kind of pan-Slavic religious-nationalist mission. No passive …

The Rise Of Soviet Power, P. E. Mosely

Naval War College Review

What I want to do today is to point out some of the things which we ought to watch in Russian development in order to es­timate both the capacities and the intentions of the Soviet leader­ship, and what they can get from their people and their regime in the way of power.

The Changing Dynamics Of Twenty-First-Century Space Power, James Clay Moltz

Journal of Strategic Security

Many recent assessments of space power have posited a US decline and predicted a gloomy future in comparison to China and Russia. However, such analyses—based almost exclusively on state-run activities—present only part of the picture. In the twenty-first century, a new form of bottom-up, net-centric, commercially led space innovation is emerging that promises cheaper and more timely technological developments to those nations that can effectively tap into them, thus reshaping traditional definitions of space power. This study first sets a baseline by focusing on Cold War space power determinants, next analyzes recent changes among the three leading spacefaring nations, and …

Conflict And The Need For A Theory Of Proxy Warfare, Amos C. Fox

Journal of Strategic Security

Modern conflict is dominated by proxy wars but the United States military fails to account for this type of environment. Instead, it speaks euphemistically by using phrases like, By, With, and Through to articulate the complexities of proxy environments. In doing so, it falls short in understanding the dynamics at work between actors in a proxy relationship, which has resulted in it doing poorly in modern proxy wars. Therefore, the United States military should embrace proxy warfare from a theoretical standpoint and develop a resultant proxy warfare doctrine. Proxy environments - dominated by principal-agent problems, the oppression of time, and …

Russia's A2/Ad Capabilities: Real And Imagined, Keir Giles, Mathieu Boulegue

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Incidents At Sea: American Confrontation And Cooperation With Russia And China, 1945–2016, James P. Mcgrath Iii, David F. Winkler

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Virtual Hatred: How Russia Tried To Start A Race War In The United States, William J. Aceves

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Russian government engaged in a sophisticated strategy to influence the U.S. political system and manipulate American democracy. While most news reports have focused on the cyber-attacks aimed at Democratic Party leaders and possible contacts between Russian officials and the Trump presidential campaign, a more pernicious intervention took place. Throughout the campaign, Russian operatives created hundreds of fake personas on social media platforms and then posted thousands of advertisements and messages that sought to promote racial divisions in the United States. This was a coordinated propaganda effort. Some Facebook and Twitter posts denounced the …

A Reciprocal Reaction: The Ussr Chemical Weapons Program And Its Influence On Soviet Society Through Three Civilian Groups, Yun Zhang

Honors Theses

Since its first mass application in 1915, chemical weapons (CW) have tolled thousands of lives both on and off the battle field. The USSR, despite its weak industrial basis and a late-starter in the field of chemical weaponry, held the largest stockpile of CW by the conclusion of the twentieth century. While the military and political implications of the USSR CW stockpiles have been relatively well-studied, its domestic and internal effect also deserve thorough investigations. Through diaries, letters, and memoirs of the USSR civilians who had suffered from, worked for, and/or supported the CW program, this research looked into the …

Delegated Interstate War: Introducing An Addition To Armed Conflict Typologies, Jakob Hauter

Journal of Strategic Security

Drawing the dividing line between civil and interstate war can be a difficult task. This task is made even more difficult by a gap in the current typology of armed conflict. The conflict studies literature in general and the coding rules of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program in particular acknowledge that internal conflict can involve external actors but ignore that interstate conflict can be disguised as internal rebellion. This creates an unnecessary risk of categorization errors and a risk of neglecting the potential complexity of interstate conflict in the modern world. This article uses Idean Salehyan's distinction between intervention and …

Can Volunteer Forces Deter Great Power War? Evidence From The Baltics, Lionel Beehner, Liam Collins

Journal of Strategic Security

Deterrence theory typically focuses on states’ armed forces and other tools of coercion. However, what about the resolve, resilience, and willingness of ordinary civilians who voluntarily organize and arm themselves as reservist militias to defend their homeland? Can well-armed volunteers in smaller states deter larger powers? We examine the case of the Baltic States and Russia, one of the central fault lines of global politics. Questioning the commitment of NATO to their collective security, the governments of the Baltic States have begun to actively arm, organize, recruit, and train thousands of volunteer reservists to defend their homelands from an asymmetric …

The Future Of Strategic Information And Cyber-Enabled Information Operations, Ben Hatch

Journal of Strategic Security

To prepare for future challenges across the continuum of conflict, the United States (US) must optimize how it manages, counters, defends, and exploits the effects of information by organizing for strategic information and cyber-enabled information operations across and through multiple domains. Currently, information related capabilities are fielded across the United States Government (USG) among multiple organizations and agencies, and therefore lack efficiencies normally gained through combined action, unity of command, and unity of effort. In considering a solution to these challenges, this study examines historic and current examples of successful information operations to show organization matters, and reviews options to …

High-Energy Laser Weapons: Overpromising Readiness, Ash Rossiter

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Mackinder And The Arctic's Emerging Geopolitics: Recommendations For The U.S. And Its Nato Allies, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation shows how Halford Mackinder (1861-1947) described Canada and the Arctic region in his geopolitical writings. It goes on to stress how the Arctic is becoming increasingly important in international geopolitical policymaking due to its significant oil and natural gas resources, how warming temperatures are increasing international access to its waters, and the how countries as diverse as Canada, China, Russia, and the U.S. see the Arctic region in their strategic policymaking. It concludes by stressing that the Arctic can no longer be viewed as a region immune from international conflict and presents recommendations for the U.S. and its …

Russian Information Operations In The Soviet Strategic Framework, Kyle I. Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to illuminate how information operations supports Russia’s strategy for creating power for the state. Using classic military theory and Soviet strategy as the lens, the paper examines information operations in the context of the nature of war. The examination includes historical and contemporary Russian publications on warfare, as well as information operations case studies from Eastern Europe, Georgia and Crimea. Russia’s operations are found to be consistent with a strategy of attrition. The opponent's society is the primary target of information operations. The emphasis on information operations within contemporary Russian concepts of modern war indicate that the …

Social Engineering In Non-Linear Warfare, Bill Gardner

Journal of Applied Digital Evidence

This paper explores the use of hacking, leaking, and trolling by Russia to influence the 2016 United States Presidential Elections. These tactics have been called “the weapons of the geek” by some researchers. By using proxy hackers and Russian malware to break into the email of the Democratic National Committee and then giving that email to Wikileaks to publish on the Internet, the Russian government attempted to swing the election in the favor of their preferred candidate.

The source of the malware used in the DNC hack was determined to be of Russian in nature and has been used on …

School Of Naval Warfare: Current Soviet Military Strategy, Richard F. Staar

Naval War College Review

I would like to discuss in my introduction the evolution of Soviet military doctrine in three phases since the end of World War II. I will speak very briefly of the first and second phases and then concentrate on the current phase.

Russia, China, And Insurgency, John H. Norton

Naval War College Review

Although an understanding of Communist ideology is important in any study of contemporary insurgency, concentration on the "theory of world revolution" may cause a far more basic problem to be ignored: What is the role of insurgency in the total foreign policies of the two major Communist countries?

International Energy Geopolitics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Overview of international energy geopolitical trends. Emphasizes the importance of the Persian Gulf, South China Sea, East China Sea, Russia, and the Arctic to U.S. and international economic and strategic developments. Stresses the continuing importance of fossil fuels in domestic and international energy consumption, the variety of energy sources being used by various global regions, the potential for military conflict over access to natural resources, and how emerging energy leaders will determine global energy, environmental, and international security developments.

Professional Reading: "Can America Win The Next War?", H. G. Nott, Thomas H. Etzold, John Gaddis, Wayne Stephens

Naval War College Review

Believing that conflict characterizes human affairs and that the Soviet leadership considers conflict inevitable and is preparing for it, Drew Middleton, long a military correspondent for The New York Times, suggests that sooner or later the United States may be at war again.