Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Book Review: Total Defense: The New Deal And The Invention Of National Security, Michael S. Neiberg

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Author: Andrew Preston

Reviewed by: Dr. Michael S. Neiberg, Chair of War Studies, US Army War College

In Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security, Andrew Preston reveals how Franklin D. Roosevelt’s domestic reforms laid the groundwork for America’s modern national security state. Blending political history with strategic insight, the book uncovers how the New Deal reshaped the U.S. approach to global threats long before World War II. It’s a compelling story of how internal crises forged a new vision of American power on the world stage.

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems And The Principles Of Distinction And Proportionality, Nicholas Cromie

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) challenge the core principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), distinction and proportionality, by delegating life-and-death decisions to algorithms rather than human judgment.  This dissertation examines whether LAWS can conform to these principles and, if so, under what conditions.  Through process tracing, the study traces the historical integration of disruptive weapons technologies, including chemical, biological, nuclear, and armed drones, into IHL-compliant frameworks or their exclusion via prohibition.  Each case reveals distinct pathways: outright bans for indiscriminate or inherently inhumane systems (chemical and biological weapons), normative restraint and limited acceptance despite destructive power (nuclear weapons) and phased …

Book Review: Obama And The Bomb: New Start, Russia And The Politics Of Post-Cold War Arms Control, Brennan Deveraux

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Author: Frank Leith Jones

Reviewed by: Brennan Deveraux, US Army Strategist

A close examination of how nuclear arms control shaped military planning, diplomacy, and domestic politics during a pivotal moment in post–Cold War relations. This review explores how treaty negotiations became a test of trust, strategy, and civil-military engagement at the highest levels of US national security decision making.

Book Review: The New Calculus Of Escalation: Avoiding Armageddon In Great Power Conflict, Darren W. Buss

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Author: Martin C. Libicki

Reviewed by: Colonel Darren W. Buss, faculty instructor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

In The New Calculus of Escalation, Martin C. Libicki redefines how we understand the thresholds between peace, conventional war, and nuclear conflict in an era shaped by cyber warfare and emerging technologies. Drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war and Cold War doctrines, he offers a fresh framework for managing escalation to prevent catastrophic outcomes. This timely and thought-provoking book is essential reading for strategists, policymakers, and anyone concerned with the future of great power conflict.

Book Review: Beyond Black Hawk Down: Intervention, Nation-Building, And Insurgency In Somalia, 1992-1995, Christian Werner

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Author: Jonathan Carroll

Reviewed by: Colonel Christian Werner, director of European studies, Department of National Security and Strategy, US Army War College

In this groundbreaking military history, Jonathan Carroll moves beyond the infamous Battle of Mogadishu to uncover the full scope of the US and UN intervention in Somalia. Drawing on newly available sources and the Somali perspective, Carroll reveals how a promising humanitarian mission unraveled into a cautionary tale of political missteps and failed nation-building. Beyond Black Hawk Down offers vital lessons for future interventions in fragile states, making it essential reading for policymakers, historians, and military strategists alike. …

Book Review: Lessons Learned And Unlearned: The Drivers Of Us Indirect-Fire Innovation, Michael E. Lynch

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Author: Brennan S. Deveraux

Reviewed by: Dr. Michael E. Lynch

How does military innovation really happen—and what causes it to stall? In Lessons Learned and Unlearned, Brennan S. Deveraux traces the evolution of U.S. indirect-fire systems, revealing how institutional memory, battlefield experience, and strategic priorities shape technological progress. This sharp analysis offers vital insights for defense planners, historians, and anyone interested in the mechanics of military adaptation.

Review Essay: World War Ii Generals, John A. Bonin

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Books Reviewed:

1. Tubby: Raymond O. Barton and the United States Army, 1889–1963 by Stephen A. Bourque

2. Patton’s Tactician: The War Diary of Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes edited by James W. Holsinger Jr.

Reviewed by: Dr. John A. Bonin, distinguished fellow, US Army War College

Two revealing studies shed light on overlooked World War II commanders whose leadership shaped key moments from Normandy to the early Cold War. These dual studies uncover the complexities of senior Army leadership—showing how personal relationships, hard‑won experiences, and strategic insights shaped victory in Europe.

©2026 John A. Bonin

Book Review: Occupation: Russian Rule In South-Eastern Ukraine, Christopher J. Hickey

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Author: David Lewis

Reviewed by: Colonel Christopher J. Hickey, PhD, associate professor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

In this timely and penetrating study, David Lewis examines the mechanisms and consequences of Russian governance in occupied southeastern Ukraine. Through on-the-ground analysis and geopolitical insight, the book reveals how local institutions, identity, and resistance are reshaped under foreign rule. It’s an essential read for understanding the evolving dynamics of power, control, and legitimacy in one of Europe’s most contested regions.

Jihad As Discourse: The Houthi Movement's Official Rhetoric On The 2023–2024 Red Sea Attacks, Moh. Iqbal Bulgini, Imam Khomaeni Hayatullah

Journal of Terrorism Studies

This study examines how Ansar Allah (the Houthi movement) constructs and legitimises a jihad discourse through official speeches and formal statements issued by military spokesperson Yahya Sarea and the movement's official platforms during the 2023–2024 Red Sea attacks. Employing Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework—integrating textual analysis, discursive practice, and sociocultural context—the study analyses a purposive corpus of 45 verified institutional texts. Three dominant and mutually reinforcing discursive formations are identified: (1) the Humanitarian-Juridical Discourse, which reconstitutes armed attacks as legally and morally obligatory acts of protection; (2) the Anti-Hegemonic Resistance Discourse, which constructs the movement as a …

Indonesia And The Global Maritime Fulcrum: Structural Crisis Of The Four Pillars Of Maritime Power, Frisca Ayu Suciandika

Journal of Terrorism Studies

This article critically examines Indonesia’s position in realizing its vision as a Global Maritime Fulcrum through an analysis of four main pillars of maritime power: maritime science, financial strength, maritime industry, and naval defense. The study is motivated by the paradox between Indonesia’s vast geographical and historical potential as an archipelagic state and its limited structural capacity to build modern maritime power. This research employs a qualitative descriptive approach using library research and critical analysis of academic literature, international data, and Indonesian maritime policy documents. The findings show that Indonesia still faces an epistemic deficit in maritime science due to …

Critical Geopolitics And The Reconstruction Of Meaning: A Discourse Analysis Of The 'Terrorism' Label Applied To Hamas By Western Hegemony, Cahaya Mulyani Sakti, M.Hamdan Basyar

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The emergence of Hamas in 1987 cannot be separated from the configuration of modern colonialism and the continuity of occupation that shaped the political reality. Hamas’s early phase was rooted in socio-religious activities through education and community empowerment programs, before evolving into armed resistance against the occupation. The labeling of Hamas as a “terrorist” organization began in the mid-1990s in U.S. legal documents, which subsequently generated debate and gave rise to counter-narratives. This study employs the frameworks of critical geopolitics (Ó Tuathail & Agnew) and the Discourse-Historical Approach (Wodak) to analyze the labeling of Hamas as “terrorist” by Western hegemony. …

Governance Structures And Conflict Mitigation Strategies In Food Supply Chains: Evidence From Niger State, Nigeria, Araoye Olarinkoye Ajiboye, Aminu Kandi Suleiman, Habila Daniel Diko, Tayo Moses Adebayo

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Food supply chains in fragile and semi-institutionalised economies continue to experience persistent instability driven by weak governance structures and recurring conflicts among market actors. However, despite extensive studies on food system challenges in Nigeria, there remains limited empirical understanding of how governance structures interact with conflict mitigation mechanisms to shape system stability at the local market level. Available literature tends to treat governance and conflict management as separate processes, thus overlooking their interdependent dynamics within everyday market operations. This study addresses this gap by examining governance structures and conflict mitigation strategies in food supply chains in Niger State, Nigeria. Anchored …

The Effect Of Incompatibility Types On The Escalation Of Global Armed Conflicts, Michael Haratua Rajagukguk, Ruben Cornelius Siagian Rcs

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Global armed conflicts show variations in intensity influenced by the type of issue incompatibility. This study aims to analyze the influence of territorial, ideological, and combined incompatibilities on the probability of high-intensity conflict escalation, as well as its implications for conflict mitigation strategies. Global conflict dyadic data were analyzed using a multilevel logistic regression model with controls for time, region, and conflict type. The results show that ideology-based conflicts have a lower probability of reaching high intensity than territorial conflicts (OR ≈ 0.51, p < 0.05), while conflicts with a combination of ideology and territory tend to be at greater risk of high escalation (AM effect ≈ +26.6 points), although the effect is not yet statistically significant. Temporal analysis shows a downward trend in conflict intensity over time, especially in the post-Cold War period, while regional effects and conflict types show significant variation. These findings fill a gap in the literature on the dual interaction of ideological and territorial claims, showing that the highest escalation of violence occurs when symbolic and material dimensions are intertwined. In conclusion, conflict escalation is more influenced by a combination of issues and structural characteristics of conflict than by ideology alone. The novelty of this research lies in the identification of the strengthening effect of dual incompatibility and the downward trend in conflict intensity after the Cold War, which emphasizes the importance of a relational and temporal context-based mitigation approach in global conflict management.

Hybrid Threats In The Lake Chad Basin: The Nexus Between Terrorism, Illicit Wealth, And Transborder Crime, Cletus C. N. Nwadiogbu

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Threats to security in the Lake Chad Basin have changed over the years and hybrid elements have become interweaved. Sustained Boko Haram and ISWAP activities have increased the insecurity in the region, enabling the mixing of armed insurgency and organized criminals, including narcotics dealers, extortion rackets, arms trafficking, drugs production and smuggling, kidnapping and fuel smuggling among Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon states. Nexus elements of illicit wealth, illicit transborder crime and terrorism were thus analysed as interdependent and contributing elements to Hybrid threats in the Basin. The study used a hybrid design (qualitative-quantitative) documenting data from the following institutions: …

The Offense-Defense Balance And The Modern System In Ukraine, Daniel Hogestyn

Master in Public Policy Theses

This thesis evaluates whether the Russo Ukrainian war represents a revolution in military affairs (RMA) by testing Stephen Biddle’s "modern system" theory of battlefield outcomes against recent combat operations. Applying Biddle’s formal model to the 2023 Ukrainian offensive in Zaporizhia, the thesis finds that the offensive's failure conforms closely to Biddle’s causal logic, with force employment variables drawn from 20th century combat sufficient to account for the outcome. Biddle's model in military power argues that force employment has explained victory and defeat since World War I, rather than technology or numerical preponderance alone. Many commentators claim that proliferation of small …

Welcome Tilly Norwood: Forecasting Hollywood’S Ai Policy Futures, Samuel P. Rooker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

In late 2025, weekly trade publication Variety Magazine reported on the announcement of a new acting talent in Hollywood: Tilly Norwood. Norwood is an industry outsider and the pet project of Eline Van der Velden, who unveiled the actress’ existence to the world at the Zurich Film Festival. The announcement quickly gained media coverage while Van der Velden has since faced cyclical backlash from Hollywood trade unions, which does not seem entirely without reason. Tilly Norwood is a digital persona, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) program, designed by Van der Velden’s novel AI talent studio, Xicoia, to become the next …

Bodies Under Command: A Feminist-Foucauldian Narrative Analysis Of Institutional And Cultural Betrayal In Military Sexual Misconduct, Chelsea Wheeler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The military continues to experience alarming rates of sexual aggression, reaching epidemic levels. While all people can experience sexual aggression, women, compared to men, are more likely to experience this, despite women making up only 17 percent of the military. Throughout history, the military has demonstrated several instances of reactive attempts at combating the concerns of sexual aggression; however, these attempts have not been successful. From a feminist-Foucauldian lens, this dissertation research explores narratives of service members to gain a more in-depth understanding of the systemic dynamics that contribute to institutional and cultural betrayal in sexual victimization experiences. Additionally, this …

Addressing Sexual Health For Older Veterans By Healthcare Providers: A Mixed Method Study, Andrew James White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Older adults remain sexually active, yet sexual health is frequently under-discussed in healthcare settings, particularly within veteran populations. Sexual health is essential to overall quality of life, and prior studies have shown that older patients value these conversations. However, veterans often face unique factors such as military-related trauma, including military combat exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to compounded stigma from these topics in regards to open discussions about sensitive health issues to their healthcare providers. This study is significant in its potential to uncover systemic, cultural, and interpersonal influences that shape these dynamics, with a particular emphasis …

The Making Of An Extremist: How Do We Become Someone Else’S Nightmare?, María Paula Morales

The Confluence

This article explores how ordinary people can be pulled into extremist movements and what psychological forces drive that process. It looks at three perspectives: social identity theory, which explains how group belonging shapes behavior, identity development, which shows how people searching for meaning may find it in extremist causes; and social neuroscience, which connects radicalization to brain activity linked to fear, loyalty, and moral judgement. Together, these approaches show that radicalization is not simply about ideology but about identity, emotion, and belonging. By understanding these dynamics, we can find better ways to prevent extremism and promote healthier, more inclusive communities.

Treatment Of Different Non-State Actors In Detention: A Legal, Moral, And National Security Analysis, Alison P. Raedel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This thesis analyzes state behavior regarding the treatment of non-state actors through three major frameworks: international law, ethical theory, and national security. Two cases are compared: the treatment of al-Qaeda detainees by the United States after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the treatment of the Angolan liberation movements by the Portuguese during the Angolan War of Independence. These cases were chosen to assess how the three frameworks apply across different non-state actors, which include terrorist organizations and liberation movements. International law provides a baseline for rights and protections, but it is often selectively interpreted. Just war theory gives …