Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

To Walk The Earth In Safety 23rd Edition (Fy2023), Cisr Jmu

Global CWD Repository

In this year’s edition of To Walk the Earth in Safety, we highlight the many ways that U.S. conventional weapons destruction assistance promotes post-conflict recovery. For example, our humanitarian demining funding enhances food security by helping to revitalize agricultural fields in countries like Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This funding is especially critical in Sri Lanka where more than 6 million people—nearly 30 percent of the population—are currently food-insecure. In Vietnam, our commitment to promoting agricultural security is a key component to successful post-conflict recovery, even decades after war ended.

The United States is the world’s top supporter of conventional …

The Reconfiguration Of The Spanish-Moroccan Border Regime: The Impact Of The 2021 Diplomatic Border Crisis, Shayra Nunez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper focuses on the relationship between Morocco and Spain, particularly those affecting migration control at the border in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The research question is: how do the events of May 2021 (the unauthorized opening of the border by Morocco) impact migration control practices in Ceuta and Melilla, and what are the implications for Spanish-Moroccan operational cooperation? The unauthorized opening of the border is conceptualized as a “diplomatic border crisis,” which is also a main contribution of this paper. The study analyzes this incident, which has impacted the border regime and led to changes in …

Brics: The World’S New Emerging Economic Alliance, Robert J. Flanigan Iii

Master's Theses

National Security is ever-changing and evolving. As our nation moves forward in today’s world after the conclusion of the Iraq War and Afghanistan War, and moves into a new modern warfare, our nation must be on alert; searching for the next threat to keep our sovereignty alive and our citizens free and safe. This is especially important when nations who desire to harm our great nation find common interests in others to join forces against the United States of America. While looking at Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa Coalition (BRICS) and what these countries coming together could do …

The Place Of Nuclear Weapons In Russian Identity: An Ontological Security Analysis, Peter Ernest Yeager

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

On May 9, 2008, Russia’s Victory Day, four 14-wheeled MAZ-7917s drove through Red Square carrying Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles. This was the first time nuclear weapons had been paraded through Moscow since before the end of the Cold War. The previous August, Russia had resumed nuclear-capable bomber patrols, and in January, 2007, President Putin acknowledged Russia had begun to build new nuclear weapons. These remarkable events were met with little acknowledgement in the West, as if they were completely normal. Instead, they represented a major evolution in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia. Sixteen years of fitful …

Review: Hybrid Warriors: Proxies, Freelancers And Moscow’S Struggle For Ukraine, Sarah Lohmann

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Anna Arutunyan

Reviewed by Dr. Sarah Lohmann, teaching faculty, University of Washington

Dr. Sarah Lohmann, editor of What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare (US Army War College Press, 2022), calls Anna Arutunyan's latest book, Hybrid Warriors, a "must-read for senior members of the US defense community" that "encourages strategists to think beyond segmented operations to ensure Russia's broad defeat." Lohmann highlights the book's value in that it provides "perspectives that have not yet been heard in the West," as Arutunyan "relies on Russian sources from media and academia, as well as hundreds of interviews." Lohmann also notes …

Book Review: The War In Nicaragua, Joerg Stenzel

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Review essay by Colonel Joerg Stenzel, instructor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

Colonel Joerg Stenzel (German Army), an instructor at the US Army War College, lends his expertise in strategy to this review of "the most famous and successful" filibuster featured in William Walker's 1860 work, The War in Nicaragua. As Stenzel notes, the book is Walker's "personal description of his own war in Nicaragua" that it is "arguably biased" and written "in the third person in a style that differs greatly from his earlier editorials." Stenzel provides an overview of Walker's life …

Book Review: Conflict: The Evolution Of Warfare From 1945 To Ukraine, John A. Nagl

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Authors: David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts

Reviewed by Dr. John A. Nagl, professor of warfighting studies, US Army War College

Teaser: Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's best-selling book, Conflict, which Nagl considers "'[t]he closest thing to a memoir" of Petraeus and "likely . . . the best first-person account in history of [Petraeus's] efforts and results in Iraq and Afghanistan that made him the most important Army officer of his generation." Nagl focuses on what he believes are Petraeus's main contributions to the …

On Global Security Governance’S New Trends And China’S Responses From Perspective Of Scientific And Technological Revolution, Haoguang Liang, Linman Wu, Zhujun Liu, Yaojun Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Due to the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, the relation between scientific progress and national security has been upgraded to an unprecedented strategic height. Therefore, it is vitally important to explore the current situation and future trajectory of the relation between the two. This study discusses the new trends between global scientific progress and the security of sovereign countries. It believes that scientific progress has catalyzed the new geopolitical contests, development contradiction and hegemonic tools in global security governance, thereby enlightening China’s approach to national security. To maintain holistic national security, China should formulate an overall strategic …

Breaking Through “Data Bottleneck” Of Ai Large Models—Reflections On Building A National Corpus Operation Platform, Xingteng Li, Feng Feng, Liqiang Huang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

At present, the competition within the global artificial intelligence (AI) large model industry is intensifying, and corpus resources emerging as a critical determinant for enhancing the technical performance and practical efficacy of AI systems. Nevertheless, China’s corpus development faces dual challenges in both quantity and quality, struggling to meet the escalating training demands of the rapidly evolving AI large model sector. Internationally, nations are ramping up efforts to develop their corpus infrastructures, particularly prioritizing the creation and deployment of high-quality linguistic datasets. In this context, through comparative analysis of international benchmarks and domestic conditions, this study proposes a strategic framework …

Views Of Chinese And American Think Tanks From Perspective Of Sino-Us Geo-Technological Competition And Its Implications For China, Xi Chen, Guangyan Shao, Jiayu Hu, Xufeng Zhu, Dong Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The geo-political and technological competition (geo-technological competition) between China and the United States is the main arena of great power competition in the 21st century, which has impacted the global technology, supply chain, and economic development landscape in unexpected ways. Although this issue has been widely discussed in the academic community, there is a lack of a systematic study of the actions of first-class think tanks in China and the United States. Therefore, this study selects the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the Brookings Institution, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) as the research objects, collects, sorts …

Challenges On Public Security System In Ai Era—Preface For Special Column “Artificial Intelligence And Public Security”, Juan Cao, Qiang Sheng, Guojie Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The rapid development of artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) technology has triggered new public security risks, posing a serious threat to national security and social stability. This study exhibits the recent advances of artificial intelligence (AI) content generation and detection techniques, points out the challenges of detection techniques in real-world scenarios, and advocates that it is necessary to develop AIGC detection technology for public security needs and build a whole-process detection technology system from generative models to online platforms, which supports AIGC to be labeled at the generation phase, identifiable during dissemination and source-traceable after the incident occurs.

Research On Artificial Intelligence Crime And China’S Countermeasures, Jianxin Gao, Jinping Sun, Yukun Cai, Chongpeng Wang, Yanyan Yang, Kaiyue Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technology has constantly given rise to new scenarios, models, and markets, changing the way information and knowledge are generated. Nevertheless, the security risks exposed by technology, such as algorithm bias, data leakage, false content generation, and improper use, are also prone to trigger various new types of crimes. There are still loopholes in legal regulation and technological prevention under the current situation, which poses severe challenges to crime crackdown. In order to effectively meet the new challenges of China’s artificial intelligence (AI) crime, we should supplement and improve the existing legal norms, improve the …

Intelligent Algorithm Safety: Concepts, Scientific Problems And Prospects, Xueqi Cheng, Wei Chen, Huawei Shen, Shiguang Shan, Xilin Chen, Guojie Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Intelligent algorithms refer to the methods embodied in the computational processes that realize intelligence. These methods are often characterized by being data-driven, involving uncertain computations, and with unexplainable model inferences. These characteristics simultaneously introduce potential safety risks to the application of intelligent algorithms and AI. This study firstly explores the concepts of intelligent algorithm safety. Specifically, intelligent algorithm safety, based on the degree of human-machine integration, extends from the univariate safety of the algorithm itself to the bivariate applicational safety when the algorithm serves humans, and finally evolves into the multivariate systemic safety arises within complex socio-technical systems of human-machine …

Embodied Artificial Intelligence Security And Governance, Wenyuan Xu, Xiaoyu Ji, Chen Yan, Yushi Cheng

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Embodied artificial intelligence (EAI) is progressively integrated into the fabric of our daily lives, enhancing various sectors such as industrial production, healthcare, and national defense. Nevertheless, the diverse range of hardware devices, software algorithms, and data communications that constitute these complex systems may contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers, posing a serious threat to personal, social, and national security. Thus, this study examines the security implications and proposes a security framework of EAI, from the perspectives of the information domain, physical domain, and social domain, focusing on its ontological security, interaction security, and application security. To mitigate these …

Computing Power Security Governance From Perspective Of Overall National Security Concept, Hui Li, Na Wang, Long Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Currently, with the rapid development of computing technology and the continuous expansion of computing applications, various types of computing security incidents occur frequently. As an emerging security issue, computing security has become a key fact affecting national security. Strengthening the governance of computing power security has become an important part of the modernization of the national security governance system and governance capacity in China. To clarify the theoretical connotation, risk manifestations, and governance strategies of computing power security governance, this study takes the overall national security concept as guidance and the logical guidance of “issue identification-risk deconstruction-governance response” to analyze …

Strengthening National Infrastructure Resilience, Alan Saquella

Publications

The current landscape of critical infrastructure organizations is undergoing a paradigm shift, characterized by dynamic workforce structures that include remote, hybrid and diverse work settings, alongside generational transformations. However, this shift presents a formidable challenge — the persistent and escalating threat of insider attacks. Reports estimating the cost per insider threat incident at over $15 million underscore the urgency for a broad and thorough approach encompassing prevention, mitigation, investigation and reporting mechanisms.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2024 issue of Parameters. Readers will note a few differences in the formatting for this issue: we are now using endnotes instead of footnotes to facilitate switching from pdf to html via Adobe's Liquid App; also, readers will be able to click on each endnote number to view the full endnote and then switch back to the text to resume reading. Please drop us a note to let us know how you like the changes. More are coming!

China's Use Of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower In Asia, Sheena Chestnut Greitens

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and influence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response.

International Law, Self-Defense, And The Israel-Hamas Conflict, Eric A. Heinze

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears …

Strategy As Problem-Solving, Andrew Carr

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article proposes a new definition of strategy as problem-solving that challenges the focus on goals and assumptions of order within many post–Cold War approaches to strategy. It argues that the military needs strategy to diagnose the complex problems of the twenty-first century before they can be solved. Inspired by practitioners such as Andrew Marshall and George F. Kennan, this new definition clarifies what strategists do and offers a logic for distinguishing the use of the term strategy. Practitioners will also find problem-solving tools and pedagogies they can adopt today.