Asian Studies Commons^™

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.

Planetary Defense As The Ethico-Legal Gateway For International Space Security, Evie Kendal

Space and Defense

Following the news in late 2024 that there was a city-killer asteroid on a possible collision course with Earth, many members of the public were shocked to learn there was no reliable global plan for managing such asteroidal and cometary impact hazards. While calculations of Asteroid 2024 YR4’s trajectory were further refined to exclude the previously reported 2-3% chance of collision in 2032, this event highlighted a major security threat: the lack of a globally coordinated, appropriately resourced, and politically supported planetary defense strategy (Gibney, 2025). In so doing, it also provided an opportunity for security experts to consider the …

Space-Based Missile Defense With Early Interceptor Launch Strategies, William Priedhorsky, James Wells

Space and Defense

There is renewed interest in space-based boost-phase intercept (SBPI) for missile defense against ICBMs of near-peer adversaries. We discuss SBPI in the context of other missile defense approaches, and address one of its challenges, which is the expense of fielding a large enough constellation of interceptors in space to counter even a small number of ICBMs. We develop an early-launch approach that could substantively reduce the required density of interceptors. Because every second matters in boost-phase defense, early launch of interceptors can significantly increase the reach of each interceptor. Early launch would require interceptors that have highly throttleable motors. Our …

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 Vol. 17 No. 1 Editor's Note, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space & Defense Vol. 17 No. 1 Table Of Contents, Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space & Defense Vol. 17 No. 1 Front Matter, Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

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

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Ethics Under Siege: The Conflict In Tigray Through The Lens Of Just War Theory, Daniela Widya Purba

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

This research article explains the ethical principles of the conflict in Tigray based on the Just War Theory. By using the descriptive qualitative methodology, this research article draws data from secondary sources which includes; academic journals, news reports, as well as international legal instruments to analyze the moral trajectory of the conflict. This research begins with jus ad bellum, to assess Ethiopia’s government justification in declaring conflict within Tigray. While the government fulfilled the criteria of just cause and legitimate authority, the question stands on the ambiguous political intentions and the failure to enact peaceful alternatives before resulting in waging …

Presidential Visits As Foreign Policy Instruments: U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy In Trump’S Second Term, Atar Thaung Htet

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Through an analysis of President Donald Trump's October 2025 travel to Asia, this study investigates the consequences of U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy under his second-term diplomacy. The paper examines three significant diplomatic encounters—the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, bilateral meetings in Japan, and the APEC Summit in South Korea—using a qualitative case study methodology based on role theory and foreign policy analysis. The results show that alliance-centered security cooperation, strategic balancing toward China, and selective economic engagement were U.S. Indo-Pacific goals. Through extremely transactional and bilateralized relations, presidential diplomacy allowed the United States to fulfill a number of foreign policy responsibilities, such …

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Organizing To Engage: A Framework For Conflict Strategy, Paul Mason Carpenter

Dissertations

Conflict strategy can be exceedingly complex. While many of the basics are simple, even the simple can be highly complicated to execute. The Schlieffen Plan in World War I appeared straight forward, but execution was a great deal more complex. It failed and the result was years of trench warfare.  In addition, leaders entering conflict may not fully appreciate the full context, its effect, and the need for a long term result--a better state of peace.

Strategy and tactics may be challenging to transform as an engagement evolves. In addition, strategists must often commit to courses of action within very …

Literature Review: Crowdfunding And Political Fundraising, Saiful Ahmad, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Crowdfunding is an effort to raise relatively small amounts of money involving many individuals to support a specific project. Typically, crowdfunding is conducted online through fundraising platforms. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the utilisation of crowdfunding in fundraising activities that are related to or have political goals carried out by certain organisations or political groups. The method used in this paper is qualitative in the form of narrative analysis carried out through in-depth reading of several scientific literatures that discuss political fundraising through crowdfunding. The sources of scientific literature collection were obtained through the Google …

How A Stay-At-Home Father Plays A Role In Family Resilience?, Fatimah Fatimah, Eko Daryanto

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

One of the impacts of modernization is the loss of barriers between job and particular gender. This also happens in the family unit, more specifically in the role of husband and wife. The husband's job which is identical to earn money and the wife's job is to manage the household should be able to be done more flexibly according to family conditions. This adaptation process is needed in order to strengthen family resilience. Non-traditional family composition that usually consist of a stay-at-home father and a working mother can be used as a family adaptation strategy. This study uses the results …

Implementation Of Zero Trust Architecture On Local Server Management In Educational Institutions, Joko Purwanto, Safar Dwi Kurniawan

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Educational institutions are facing increasingly complex cyber threats, particularly as they continue to rely on on-premises servers with limited cybersecurity resources. Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) offers a security model that rejects implicit trust and requires strict verification of each access request. This study aims to examine the applicability of ZTA in managing local servers within educational institutions through a qualitative literature review approach. Relevant literature from 2014 to 2025 was analyzed using thematic synthesis to identify recurring concepts, strategies, and gaps. The results show that ZTA, when integrated with Identity and Access Management (IAM), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), …

Notes For Contributors, Editors Space And Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Review Article: International Relations: State Of The Field. Paul R. Viotti’S Kenneth Waltz: An Intellectual Biography (Ny: Columbia University Press, 2023)., Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

In this review essay, Damon Coletta examines Paul R. Viotti’s Kenneth Waltz: An Intellectual Biography (Columbia University Press, 2023), positioning it as both a tribute to and a reexamination of one of International Relations’ most influential theorists. Viotti, a former student of Waltz, reconstructs the intellectual development of structural realism—tracing its philosophical and methodological roots from Man, the State, and War (1959) to Theory of International Politics (1979)—while situating Waltz’s scholarship within the geopolitical and academic transformations of the Cold War era. Coletta highlights Viotti’s skillful balance between biography and disciplinary analysis, showing how Waltz’s systemic approach to international politics …

Review Article: Monetary Power And National Security. A 10th Anniversary Review Of Paul R. Viotti’S The Dollar And National Security: The Monetary Component Of Hard Power (Stanford, Ca: Stanford University Press, 2014), Ricardo Crespo

Space and Defense

In this ten-year retrospective, Ricardo A. Crespo reassesses Paul R. Viotti’s The Dollar and National Security (2014) as a foundational text bridging the fields of monetary policy and national security. Viotti’s central thesis—that military power ultimately depends on a stable and privileged monetary foundation—has only grown more relevant amid today’s weaponization of finance and the geopolitics of sanctions. Crespo highlights Viotti’s argument that sustaining the U.S. dollar’s global dominance requires cooperative security and international consensus, noting how historical parallels—from the sterling gold standard to Bretton Woods—illustrate the fragility of monetary hegemony under fiscal mismanagement or political fragmentation. The review situates …

Plan To Fail By Failing To Plan: Deterring Prc Nuclear Force Expansion, Mark Tang, Grace Buettner

Space and Defense

This article argues that the United States must adapt its nuclear deterrence strategy to counter the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) accelerating nuclear force expansion. As Beijing seeks to achieve nuclear parity with Washington—projecting up to 1,500 warheads by 2035—the authors contend that U.S. strategy must evolve from Cold War-era models to meet the Indo-Pacific’s unique strategic challenges. They propose the establishment of a Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) A-10 Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Division, modeled after its European counterpart, to enhance regional nuclear planning, integration, and allied assurance. The paper emphasizes the concept of escalation domination, arguing …

Earth’S Orbital Prison: Codifying Customary Law To Prevent Environmental Catastrophe In Space, Jacob Cook

Space and Defense

This article argues that the accelerating proliferation of space debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) poses an existential threat to the sustainability of the orbital environment—one comparable in strategic gravity to nuclear deterrence during the Cold War. Drawing on liberal internationalist theory and the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), the paper asserts that deliberate satellite destruction through anti-satellite (ASAT) testing and negligent debris generation risk triggering a self-sustaining cascade of collisions known as the Kessler Syndrome. Existing treaties, including the Outer Space Treaty and the Artemis Accords, lack enforceable mechanisms to prevent such catastrophic harm. To fill this …

Enabling The Decisive Advantage, Mallory Stewart

Space and Defense

In her keynote address at the 2025 USSPACECOM Legal Conference, former Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart argues that law, norms, and international cooperation are central to maintaining the United States’ “decisive advantage” in outer space. She emphasizes that rules and standards—far from constraining innovation or strategic flexibility—enhance predictability, reduce risk, and empower responsible competition. Stewart highlights the success of initiatives such as the Artemis Accords, the U.S. commitment to forgo destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests, and the global expansion of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) agreements as examples of how legal and normative frameworks reinforce stability and collaboration. She …

Space, Law, And National Security, Stephen Whiting

Space and Defense

In his address to the 2025 USSPACECOM Legal Conference, General Stephen Whiting underscores the indispensable role of legal professionals in shaping the future of military space operations and maintaining the rules-based international order in an increasingly contested domain. He outlines the rapid transformation of the space environment driven by commercial innovation, technological proliferation, and the accelerating threat landscape posed by adversaries such as China and Russia. The speech highlights U.S. Space Command’s three “moral responsibilities”: ensuring the delivery of space capabilities to the joint force and allies, protecting and defending critical space assets, and safeguarding the joint force from space-enabled …

Allied Abandonment And Nuclear Proliferation: Lessons From South Korea’S Secret Nuclear Program, Joseph W. Brown

Space and Defense

This article examines South Korea’s clandestine nuclear weapons program of the 1970s as a historical case study for understanding how perceptions of allied abandonment can drive nuclear proliferation. Drawing on alliance theory and archival evidence, the paper situates Seoul’s nuclear ambitions within the context of U.S. burden-shifting under the Nixon Doctrine, subsequent troop withdrawals, and diplomatic retrenchment across East Asia. Despite the continued U.S. military presence, South Korean leaders interpreted American rhetoric and policy actions as signaling a waning commitment to the alliance, prompting the initiation of a secret weapons program under President Park Chung-hee. The study identifies two enduring …