Digital Commons Network^™

The Baltic Bear Trap Wargame, Connor Crookham

Space and Defense

Modern military education increasingly relies on experiential tools that allow students to explore the complexity of contemporary conflict in ways that lectures and readings alone cannot achieve. Nowhere is this more evident than in the emerging emphasis on multi-domain operations, integrated deterrence, and the blurred boundaries between competition and armed conflict. The Baltic Bear Trap wargame was developed as a student design project to meet this instructional need, offering a structured environment in which players must think, plan, and act as operational-level decision makers confronting a deteriorating security situation in the Nordic–Baltic region. Built for use at the Swedish Defense …

A Cislunar Economic Forecast Under Public-Private Partnership, Naisha Chirag Naik

Space and Defense

Cislunar space, spanning Earth’s orbit to the Moon, has emerged as a new frontier due to its strategic, scientific, and economic potential, with growing involvement from global powers, governments, and private entities diversifying the market. Unlike the first lunar space race, which saw a spike in activity amongst two countries followed by “silence,” the current cislunar era is hallmarked by a growing mix of public agencies, private companies, and international actors seeking to gain a foothold in what could be the foundation for a long-term space economy. While cislunar space was historically only an interest for superpowers, recent years have …

Autonomous Navigation In Cislunar Satellites, Heith Johnson

Space and Defense

Cislunar space—the region between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit (about 36,000 kilometers from Earth) and the Moon (roughly 384,000 kilometers away)—is becoming a critical frontier for future space exploration and commercialization.1 This zone includes the Moon’s orbit, transfer orbits, and the Earth-Moon Lagrange points. Additionally, as more nations and corporations launch lunar missions and establish long-term infrastructure, cislunar space is increasingly becoming a strategic focus for exploration, logistics, and transportation.

Golden Dome: Seeking Space Security, Namrata Goswami

Space and Defense

The “Golden Dome” initiative [formerly Iron Dome] was announced by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2025, signifying a transformative shift in global space security policy. It fundamentally questions long-standing assumptions about deterrence, national vulnerability to missile attacks, and the role of space in strategic defense. More importantly, it emerges at a moment of acute strategic transition: the erosion of Cold War arms control frameworks, the rapid advancement of hypersonic and orbital delivery systems, and the growing integration of space into warfighting doctrines. Launched via a presidential memorandum in January 2025, Golden Dome calls for a layered missile defense system …

Space & Defense Volume 17 Issue 1 Summer 2026 (Whole Issue), Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

The Role Of External Factors In Shaping Carbohydrate Conformational Landscapes, Murat Yaman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Carbohydrates (glycans) are among the most structurally diverse biomolecules and participate in a wide range of biological processes, including molecular recognition, cell adhesion, immune response, host-pathogen interactions, and cellular signaling. Their biological functions are governed by a complex interplay between sequence, stereochemistry, conformational flexibility, and environmental factors. However, the structural heterogeneity and dynamic nature of glycans present significant challenges for both experimental characterization and theoretical modeling. In particular, the relationships between glycan structure, conformational dynamics, and the resulting potential energy surfaces remain incomplete.

This dissertation investigates how external factors modulate the potential energy surfaces of carbohydrates through a combination of …

Extradition In The Early Republic: International Law And Constitutional Authority, Curtis A. Bradley

University of Chicago Law Review

This Article is the first comprehensive account of the constitutional foundations of U.S. extradition practice and its relationship to international law. Through detailed analysis of early American extradition controversies—including the Longchamps Affair and the Robbins case—the Article shows how political actors and courts constructed the modern constitutional law of extradition, resolving key issues concerning presidential power, the role of the states, and the scope of congressional authority. This regime, the Article argues, emerged not from appeals to the constitutional text or original understandings, but rather from structural intuitions, consequentialist considerations, and, as time went on, historical traditions. As the Article …

Between Markets And Maritime Might: India’S Engagements In The Indo-Pacific’S Emerging Order, Akriti Khajuria, Arushi Anthal

Journal of Strategic Security

In the strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific, economic cooperation and security imperatives often converge in complex and sometimes conflicting ways. This strategic region has emerged as a critical arena where global and regional powers alike pursue economic engagement while recalibrating security postures in response to shifting geopolitical currents. Within this dynamic environment, India occupies a pivotal position as an emerging power seeking to reconcile its economic aspirations with evolving security challenges. This article explores how India negotiates the interplay between deepening economic integration, especially with major actors such as China and the US, while maintaining strategic autonomy and sovereignty. Anchored …

Structural Dependency: Nato, Defense Industry Politics, And Europe’S Stagnation, Diane M. Zorri

Journal of Strategic Security

Europe’s defense industrial base (DIB) weaknesses are commonly attributed to underinvestment, fragmented policies, or a lack of European cohesiveness. This article advances an alternative explanation: European defense industrial dependency has emerged through institutionalized alliance structures that systematically privileged US capabilities and incentives, becoming self-reinforcing and difficult for European actors to exit, even as their strategic preferences evolved. Drawing on dependency theory, path dependence, and theories of alliance politics, this article argues that transatlantic security arrangements established during the early Cold War, most notably NATO’s integrated command structures, defense procurement norms, and interoperability requirements, have generated long-lasting asymmetries in production, technology, …

Complex Adaptive Resilience And Asymmetrical Balancing: Russia And The 2022 Sanctions Regime, Renny Puspitarini, Sartika Soesilowati, Kacung Marijan, Ahmad Iskandar Rahmansyah

Journal of Strategic Security

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted unprecedented Western sanctions, which amounted to more than 23,000 sanctions during 2022-2024. However, these sanctions failed to fulfill their designated objective of influencing the end of the Russia-Ukraine War. Russian responses to progressively augmented sanctions have sparked debates surrounding microeconomic sovereignty, macroeconomic adaptability, and, foremost, resilience. The article’s findings reveal that while sanctions have not brought the Russian Federation to acquiesce, they have catalyzed a structural, politically induced policy shift into a Complex Adaptive Resilience (CAR) framework. Russia's ability to build resilience against sanctions has been manifested structurally in its strategy to reinforce …

When Protection Becomes Predation: Militarized Masculinity And Sexual Violence In Northeastern Nigeria, Tosin Osasona

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The study investigates the structural and situational drivers of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) perpetrated by state security actors in the context of Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaigns in Borno State. Drawing on militarized masculinity and strain and deprivation theories, and using a qualitative, interpretive research design, the study argues that CRSV is not an isolated or episodic form of deviance by individual soldiers and security personnel but is embedded in routine military–civilian interactions. Advancing an interactionist explanation of CRSV in Nigeria’s Islamist counterinsurgency operations, the study demonstrates that the likelihood of sexual violence increases through the interaction of gendered institutional norms, operational …

Was The Us Invasion Of Iraq A Mistake, Or Are We Missing The Emergence Of A Promising Democracy?, Robert Burrell, Arman Mahmoudian, John Pennell

Journal of Strategic Security

This study evaluates the long-term impact of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq on its democratic development, social stability, and regional geopolitics. Utilizing a comprehensive data-driven approach, including metrics on governance resilience, national morale, political dynamics, economic indicators, and security sector reforms, the research assesses progress over two decades. Findings indicate gradual improvements in Iraq’s democratic institutions, public confidence, and economic resilience, despite persistent challenges such as corruption, sectarian divisions, and regional influence from Iran and neighboring states. The analysis suggests that Iraq’s resilience and evolving political landscape could foster a nascent democracy capable of regional influence if key reforms …

Algorithms In Battle: Ai, International Relations, And Future Warfare, Nikos Koutsoupias, Kyriakos Mikelis, Marios Nosios

Journal of Strategic Security

This study examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming contemporary warfare, with a particular emphasis on its applications in unmanned aerial platforms, sensor networks, and decision-support architectures. The analysis examines current operational uses, the algorithmic processes that enable them, and empirical insights drawn from the Russian-Ukrainian War. Findings indicate that machine learning enhances key military functions, including surveillance, navigation, targeting, fire coordination, and maintaining communication networks under conditions of electronic disruption. The emergence of loitering munitions and autonomous navigation systems reflects a pattern of incremental innovation, wherein automation augments operational efficiency without displacing human authority in decisions involving …

Transitional Terrorism In South Asia: Understanding The Kuki-Chin National Front Using The Crime-Terror Nexus, Masrur Mahmud Khan

Journal of Strategic Security

The emergence of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has engendered considerable concern within the domains of domestic and national security. Although the group’s political objectives have evolved from secessionist ambitions towards demands for regional autonomy, KNF has simultaneously engaged in profit-driven criminal activities. Thus, KNF exemplifies a hybrid organization, embodying both political and economic imperatives and operating at the intersection of insurgency, terrorism, and organized crime. In this context, the present qualitative study adopts the ‘crime-terror nexus’ as its analytical framework, positing that KNF represents a hybrid entity defined by its dual political aspirations …

The Freedom To Learn: Student Stories Of Challenge, Aspiration, And Accomplishment, Marjan Noori, Ata Ullah, Elizaveta Vergel, Salma Rahman, Myo Myint Maung Maung, Sisila Zafari

GHEA21 Publications

Every year, students threatened or displaced by political repression, conflict, or crisis take more than 2,000 regular, credit-bearing courses offered by GHEA21. This collection of student work is a small selection of the perspectives on the freedom to learn that have emerged from these courses. It presents a range of work—academic papers, articles written for public audiences, and creative writing—from several countries. GHEA21 compiled this collection as an initiative of its Collaborative for Threatened and Exiled Universities.

The People’S Liberation Army In A New Era: Individuals, Ideas, And Influence, Joel Wuthnow, Derek Grossman, Phillip C. Saunders, Andrew Scobell, Andrew N.D. Yang

Books

The People’s Liberation Army in a New Era: Individuals, Ideas, and Influence assesses how China’s military has changed under Xi Jinping and the extent to which those changes reflect his leadership versus longer-term institutional trends. The volume addresses PLA modernization, organizational reform, political control, joint operations, deterrence, artificial intelligence, officer careers and training, Taiwan, China-Russia military exercises, military aid, and overseas security activities. It argues that while Xi has played a major role in shaping the PLA, many developments build on earlier reforms, enduring strategic priorities, and institutional practices.

Practical Aspects Of Religious Social Work In Modern Ukraine, Inna Vladislavivna Kovalchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This work analyzes the current state and specifics of the activity of religious organizations in the social sphere of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the transformation of religious social work in the conditions of a full-scale war, where religious communities have become key agents of humanitarian, psychological and spiritual assistance. The article examines the mechanisms of interaction between the church, the state and non-governmental organizations in solving social problems. The findings are based on the practical experiences of those working with internally displaced persons (IDPs), veterans, large families, and individuals facing difficult life circumstances. Unique methods of denominational assistance …

Volume 9 (2026) Climate And Responsibility

International Journal on Responsibility

This issue focuses on the various ways responsibility affects environmental justice. Specifically, this volume urges us to think about how societal and individual (in)action influences ecological crises and what informs this behavior, with a specific focus on religious and Indigenous beliefs and values.

Psychological Adaptation In Colorectal Cancer Survivors: Pilot Study Findings, Anuja L. Sarode, Emily M. Su, Amber Kerstetter-Fogle, Steve Paciorek, Erica L. Laipply

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

In this pilot study, we examined psychological impacts of colorectal cancer (CRC), focusing on cancer-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CR-PTSD) symptoms, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and their relationship with coping strategies in surgically treated CRC patients.

Methods

This prospective pre- and postoperative pilot study assessed CRC patients at 2 time points, pre- and postoperative. Psychological symptoms were evaluated using the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5) and the PTG Inventory Short Form (PTGI-SF). Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) instrument. Changes in CR-PTSD, PTG, and coping …