The Cyber Deterrence Dilemma: Parallels Between Cyber And Intelligence Special Operations,
2026
National Defense University of Argentina
The Cyber Deterrence Dilemma: Parallels Between Cyber And Intelligence Special Operations, Jorge R. Kravetz Msc
Joint Force Quarterly
The dilemma of cyber deterrence, alongside its potential failures, has gained increasing academic attention, though its parallels with traditional special operations remain less examined. Cyber and special operations—often covert activities involving espionage, sabotage, and subversion, generally linked to strategic or military intelligence—typically evade standard deterrence mechanisms. Drawing on a theoretical framework of deterrence, academic literature, historical cases, and qualitative analyses, this article argues that deterrence tends to fail when deterrers manage to destabilize an adversary without causing significant strategic impacts on the target’s power, economic, or social dynamics, as well as on international relations. Retaliation, shaped by implicit agreements or …
From Farm To Fork, And Beyond: The International Politics Of Food Standards,
2026
Cleveland State University
From Farm To Fork, And Beyond: The International Politics Of Food Standards, Julia E. Srnec
The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University
Food safety standards are incredibly politically charged due to how much they can differ between countries and how implementing new standards in a country can impact the economy of those depending on the exports of food products. The political division regarding food safety standards can begin to be understood once the impacts on national and international economics, as well as the consequences of regulations beyond the economy, are considered. Nongovernmental organizations such as the World Health Organization help to mitigate conflict over trade policy disagreements, however some divisions persist.The use of non-tariff barriers on the imports of food-related goods can …
From The Editor In Chief,
2026
US Army War College
From The Editor In Chief, C. Anthony Pfaff
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
Welcome to the Spring 2026 issue of Parameters, which consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Clausewitz and Modern Warfare, Operational Considerations, and Historical Studies), and the Strategic Competition Corner.
Strategic Rivalries: How Are They Won?,
2026
US Army War College
Strategic Rivalries: How Are They Won?, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
This article argues strategic rivalries—distinct from general strategic competition—are best understood as contests in which states prioritize weakening a specific opponent’s capacity to compete. It departs from existing work by critiquing the Joint Concept for Competing’s narrow definition and by emphasizing rivalry termination as a central but understudied dimension. Drawing on decades of international relations scholarship and historical datasets of interstate rivalries since 1815, the article analyzes how rivalries end and identifies strategic preclusion as a proactive approach for winning them. Its insights offer policy and military practitioners guidance for shaping competitive strategies short of war.
Parameters Spring 2026,
2026
US Army War College
Parameters Spring 2026, Usawc Press
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
No abstract provided.
Approaching The Military As A Profession Through The Clausewitzian Trinity,
2026
US Army War College
Approaching The Military As A Profession Through The Clausewitzian Trinity, Adam T. Biggs
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
The Clausewitzian trinity (people, government, and military—or passion, reason, and chance) can enhance existing scholarship and discussions about military professionalism by emphasizing the fundamental purpose of military forces. Specifically, managing chance incorporates elements of reducing uncertainty and applying creativity as individuals develop coup d’oeil. Junior personnel manage chance by reducing cognitive load while enhancing cognitive skills needed to quickly assess battlefield conditions as they progress to becoming senior leaders. This article contrasts these ideas against the various roles assigned to civil-military forces in the Clausewitzian trinity to emphasize professionalism in developing military leaders.
Strategic Theory And Clausewitz’S Trinitarian Test,
2026
US Army War College
Strategic Theory And Clausewitz’S Trinitarian Test, Lukas Milevski
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
Carl von Clausewitz’s trinity represents a qualitative test for strategy in both theory and practice. With the trinity, Clausewitz transforms competing influences into a mark of theoretical quality. Synthesizing several translations of Clausewitz’s On War and interpretations by experts such as Hew Strachan, Antulio J. Echevarria II, and Frank G. Hoffman, this article suggests that Clausewitz believed that good theory encompasses and accounts for all fundamental forces of war, whereas bad theory emphasizes the extremes of one force. The trinity compels mandatory considerations for students of theory, war planners, and practitioners.
Book Reviews,
2026
US Army War College
Book Reviews, Usawc Press
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
No abstract provided.
Spezialpropaganda: The East German Military’S Covert Information-Warfare Program,
2026
US Army War College
Spezialpropaganda: The East German Military’S Covert Information-Warfare Program, Joe Cheravitch
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
This article details the East German military’s extensive, innovative covert-propaganda program, which was designed to influence West German attitudes for almost two decades during the Cold War. Unlike existing scholarship that primarily addresses intelligence-led disinformation, this study exclusively analyzes military-led information warfare. The article uses previously classified East German military records to examine capabilities and tactics ranging from fake conscription notices to radio broadcasts. The findings offer contemporary US military planners and practitioners insight into the complexities of integrating information-warfare capabilities, measuring the effectiveness of propaganda, and understanding adversarial influence campaigns, with direct implications for current Joint Force planning and …
Imitating Us Doctrine Cost Europe Its Heavy Combat Power,
2026
US Army War College
Imitating Us Doctrine Cost Europe Its Heavy Combat Power, Bence Nemeth
The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters
This article argues that Europe’s loss of heavy combat power is primarily the result of doctrinal shifts influenced by the United States, rather than underfunding alone. Unlike existing research that focuses on defense budgets or burden-sharing, this study isolates the opportunity costs of adopting US-based expeditionary and counterinsurgency doctrines. Using force structure data for Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom (1990–2022), it conducts a counterfactual analysis of lost tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and heavy artillery pieces. The article shows that Europe’s shortfalls are doctrinal as much as fiscal and highlights the relevance of maintaining balance in future doctrinal choices.
Retaliation Management : Trade Imbalance And China’S Retaliatory Tariffs During The 2018 Trade War,
2026
Lingnan University
Retaliation Management : Trade Imbalance And China’S Retaliatory Tariffs During The 2018 Trade War, Jinpo Li
Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)
In 2018, the United States initiated a trade conflict with China, prompting a counter-response by the latter. Despite extensive research into the ramifications of the US-China trade conflict, the intricacies of China’s strategic formulation of retaliatory tariffs remain unclear. This study focuses on how the trade imbalance influences China’s retaliatory tariff strategies during the trade war. Our findings suggest that China’s retaliatory measures mainly concentrate on products with which China maintains a bilateral trade surplus vis-à-vis the United States. On an extensive margin, notwithstanding the comprehensive tariff imposition on US imports, products that represent a surplus are more likely to …
Evolving U.S. And Chinese International Development Policy: Institutions, Strategies, And Global Impact,
2026
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Evolving U.S. And Chinese International Development Policy: Institutions, Strategies, And Global Impact, Julian Kai Lehto
Social Sciences
This paper is inspired by, and meant to understand, recent changes in global policy towards foreign aid and international development. 2025 saw one of the biggest changes to international development in decades, when President Donald Trump’s new administration made the decision to effectively shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At the same time, China has been taking on a growing role in foreign aid and development over the last decade. Chinese projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have become globally significant. This paper will explore the changing impacts and influence of both the U.S. …
The Road To The Abraham Accords: An Examination Of The Uae’S Role Transformation (2011-2020),
2026
The British University in Egypt
The Road To The Abraham Accords: An Examination Of The Uae’S Role Transformation (2011-2020), Farida Elatriss, Moatamer Amin
Political Science
The normalization agreement signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 15th of September 2020, signals a breakthrough in state relations. It transitioned Emirati Israeli relations from clandestine business collaborations directly to people-to-people normalization without prior cold peace agreements (Lemay-Hebert & Visoka, 2022, p. 133). It is noteworthy that this abrupt change in the UAE’s stance towards Israel takes place as part of a broader change that occurred in the Emirati foreign policy following the Arab Spring in 2011. The state started adopting a more interventionist foreign policy and a more active regional role (Ragab, 2017, p. …
China And International Economic Dispute Settlement: Disaggregating The State,
2026
Singapore Management University
China And International Economic Dispute Settlement: Disaggregating The State, Gregory Shaffer, Ji Li, Henry S. Gao
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Most studies take a unitary state-centric approach to assessing China’s relationship with international economic law. In contrast, we provide a more nuanced approach that assesses variation in China’s engagement. We examine the role of different Chinese state and non-state actors, considering their interests, ideological frames, institutional contexts, and relation to state power. We illustrate our analytic framework by examining China’s response to and engagement with international dispute settlement systems in three areas: international commercial arbitration, international trade dispute settlement, and investor–state arbitration. Our approach is important for global cooperation in discrete policy areas so that the West does not ‘other’ …
Whose Rules, Whose Rights?: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence And Legal Protections In Wartime,
2026
University of Karachi, Pakistan
Whose Rules, Whose Rights?: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence And Legal Protections In Wartime, Sadaf Shabbir
Journal of International Women's Studies
This article critically analyzes conflict-related systematic sexual violence (CRSV) within the frameworks of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Moving beyond viewing CRSV as an isolated atrocity, it situates sexual violence within the historical and political roots of conflict, using case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic. The analysis demonstrates how sexual violence operates as a weapon within exploitative wartime economies, where institutional collapse and illicit resource networks enable the commodification and control of women’s bodies. Furthermore, the article introduces a sectarian lens to the study of CRSV, …
Moment Of Recognizability: Askancing And The Global South,
2026
University of San Francisco
Moment Of Recognizability: Askancing And The Global South, Pedro Lange Churion, Tanu Sankalia
Global Studies Faculty Publications
This article introduces askancing as an epistemic strategy for the Global South to challenge the Global North’s construction of the Global South’s alterity. Askancing is a neologism we propose by engaging with Jacques Lacan’s speculations on the gaze as it pertains to the construction of “the other.” We argue that this strategy of askancing might already be implicit in postcolonial theories, from the notion of the subaltern, through “decoloniality,” to “ecologies of knowledge.” Central to askancing—and contrary to the decolonial call for an epistemic break with modernity—we agree with Dipesh Chakrabarty’s assertion that modernity’s rational discourse is both “indispensable and …
Securing Or Securitizing? Unveiling The Role Of Securitization “Audience” In Israel’S 2007 Bombing Of The Syrian Nuclear Site.,
2026
The American University in Cairo AUC
Securing Or Securitizing? Unveiling The Role Of Securitization “Audience” In Israel’S 2007 Bombing Of The Syrian Nuclear Site., Dunia Essam Hassanin
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the 2007 Israeli bombing on Syria's Al-Kibar nuclear reactor through the lens of securitization theory, concluding that intelligence served as crucial audiences in legitimizing the operation. Building on the Copenhagen School's paradigm, which defines securitization as the process by which actors build issues as existential threats necessitating extreme measures, this study fills a critical theoretical gap: the underdeveloped role of the audience. While classic formulations focus on public approval, this study suggests a more sophisticated notion of the Political Intelligence Audience: intelligence agencies that validate and operationalize securitization moves. The concept contends that groups such as the …
Security In The Arctic: The Decline Of Arctic Exceptionalism? Between Cooperation And Militarization,
2026
The American University in Cairo AUC
Security In The Arctic: The Decline Of Arctic Exceptionalism? Between Cooperation And Militarization, Victoria Berg Hagen
Theses and Dissertations
The Arctic has been understood as a region separated from international relations, where states choose to collaborate and maintain stability (Gjørv et al. 2020: 2). This has led to the creation of the concept of “Arctic Exceptionalism” (Heininen 2019: 226). Currently, the Arctic is becoming strategically important. Furthermore, the region is witnessing militarization and increased international tensions affecting the Arctic states (Padrtova 2020: 38). This thesis analyzes how Arctic exceptionalism, as reflected in bilateral relations (specifically Russia-Finland and Russia-Norway), has been impacted by the Donbas War, the invasion of Ukraine, and militarization in the Arctic by both NATO and Russia. …
Asia’S Future Will Be Won By Soft Power, Not Force,
2026
Singapore Management University
Asia’S Future Will Be Won By Soft Power, Not Force, Lily Kong
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Lily Kong argues that while force remains essential to deter aggression and manage worst-case scenarios, military strength may prevent defeat, but it rarely produces legitimacy. When hard power dominates the strategic imagination, volatility rises and markets suffer. Soft power – the ability to influence countries through persuasion, attraction and legitimacy – has become a strategic asset, she writes. It shapes expectations, lowers baseline tensions, and creates off-ramps in moments of crisis, often determining whether tensions escalate, how long crises last, and how much economic damage they inflict. Prof Kong believes that in a nuclear-armed, economically interdependent Asia, the real test …
Distribution Of Power In South Asia: Assessing Sino-Indian Conflict Propensity,
2026
CUNY Graduate Center
Distribution Of Power In South Asia: Assessing Sino-Indian Conflict Propensity, Fatima Faisal
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
In international relations, the distribution of power is a key theme impacting the propensity for nations to break into wars; however, the vast academic literature is Eurocentric with a concentration on the United States and the Soviet Union. This paper shifts to the unexplored distribution of power in South Asian with a particular focus of Sino-Indian border conflicts namely the Sino-Indian War (1962), the Nathu La and Cho La clashes (1967), the Arunachal Ambush (1975), Sumdorong Chu standoff (1987), the Armed Confrontation (2013), and the Doklam Standoff (2017), and the Galwan Valley (2020) to determine if the region was more …
