Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

The World Is Not About Us: Information And Power In The Current Strategic Environment, Will Reno, Jesse R. Humpal

Joint Force Quarterly

Τhe Taj Mahal Guest House made a unique offer: Give us data, get beer.1 The Jalalabad, Afghanistan, café offered beer to anyone who brought video files, voice recordings, documents, and data dumps. The Taj shut down after Jalalabad became too hostile to outsiders, but not before its proprietors amassed extensive fine-grained data on local political and economic matters and supported projects that set up communications networks for local people. At least as important was the Taj’s role in facilitating informal personal relationships across government (foreign and local), commercial, humanitarian, and ordinary social networks. While not overtly a U.S.-led information operation, …

Cognitive Warfare: The Fight For Gray Matter In The Digital Gray Zone, Michael J. Cheatham, Angelique M. Geyer, Priscella A. Nohle, Jonathan E. Vazquez

Joint Force Quarterly

Τhe United States is facing unprecedented challenges in the cognitive domain. While democracies struggle to develop frameworks that promote collective understanding, adversaries are employing gray zone tactics—those that never rise to the level of war—as a form of cognitive warfare against the United States and other democratic societies. François du Cluzel, head of innovative projects at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Allied Command Transformation Innovation Hub, describes the key distinctions of the emerging cognitive domain:

Cognitive warfare degrades the capacity to know, produce, or thwart knowledge. Cognitive sciences cover all the sciences that concern knowledge and its processes (psychology, …

A New Army Air Force, R.D. Hooker Jr.

Joint Force Quarterly

Αfter 75 years, it is time. The U.S. Army needs its own airplanes for sound reasons that deserve careful consideration. This bold assertion should draw a strong reaction from Airmen, but the simple truth is that close air support (CAS) for the Army runs counter to everything an independent, strategic air force stands for. In war after war, bitter inter-Service rivalry recurs over the use of airpower. In the end, the Army needs fixed-wing combat aircraft for the same reasons that the Navy and Marine Corps do. Moreover, the Army cannot get reliable CAS from the Air Force, and its …

After Afghanistan: The Need For A New Noncombatant Evacuation Operation, E.R. "Elle" Klein

Joint Force Quarterly

With the noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) in Afghanistan almost 3 years past and a NEO in South Korea an ever-present possibility, it is time to reevaluate the framework that governs the roles and responsibilities of Federal agencies in these life-and-death operations. What the Afghanistan NEO demonstrated—and what conflict on the Korean Peninsula bodes—is that the present framework buckles, if not collapses, under pressure. The United States must rethink the way it conducts NEOs if it is to properly protect noncombatant U.S. persons and allies in the increasingly unstable geopolitical terrain. This article argues that it is time for a new …

The Marine Corps The United States Needs, Adam Clemens

Joint Force Quarterly

Τhe U.S. Marine Corps is in the process of a bold modernization initiative known as Force Design, and Congress has called for an independent review, assessment, and analysis of this initiative.1 Force Design began during the tenure of the previous commandant, General David H. Berger, and the new commandant, General Eric M. Smith, sworn in last year, endorses it in his official guidance, FRAGO (Fragmentary Order) 01-2024, Maintain Momentum.2 The continuation of Force Design under a new commandant and the congressional attention it is receiving provide opportune circumstances to consider the Marine Corps’ roles and missions.

Engines Of Chaos: Counterlogistics In Competition, 2023-A Class Of The Advanced Logistics Readiness Officer Course

Joint Force Quarterly

U.S. success at the operational level of war has led to a blossoming of competition in domains below the level of open hostility. The 2023 Joint Concept for Competing (JCC) points out that our adversaries seek to “win without fighting” and that the joint force is at risk of “losing without fighting.”2 The JCC attempts to reorient the joint force to better compete below the level of high-intensity conflict.

Jointness As Virtue: Increasing The Value Of Joint Qualification To The Joint Force And Services, Thomas D. Crimmins, Eric S. Fowler, Daryl A. Chamberlain

Joint Force Quarterly

Ιn “Balancing Nonresident Joint Professional Military Education With Military Life,” Commander Doug Morea makes the salient point that the current joint professional military education (JPME) process fails the individual joint warfighter in preparing for the challenges of serving in combatant commands and other joint forces.1 As joint educators, we agree with Commander Morea’s premise and offer that the current JPME model not only fails the individual joint warfighter but is also wholly inadequate for what the joint force requires both today and in an uncertain future. From the start, the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense (DOD) Reorganization Act of 1986 enshrined …

Balancing Nonresident Joint Professional Military Education With Military Life, Douglas M. Morea

Joint Force Quarterly

Education has been a top focus in the United States since its earliest days. The Nation’s leaders have recognized the importance of dedicated, formal military education for over two hundred years. Although training in the field, wartime experience, and studying the military profession in foreign countries provided benefits, leaders such as George Washington, Henry Knox, and Alexander Hamilton understood more was needed. The United States would fail in the face of future challenges if its military leaders were not well-versed in the art and science of war.

In Memoriam: Douglas Michael “Dorothy” Morea Commander, U.S. Navy, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

Commander Doug “Dorothy” Morea hailed from Port Washington, New York, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. Doug earned his Wings of Gold in July 2006 and began training in the F/A-18 Hornet shortly thereafter.

Was 50 Years Long Enough? The All-Volunteer Force In An Era Of Large-Scale Combat Operations, Kent W. Park, John A. Nagl

Joint Force Quarterly

Ιn an era of geopolitical competition among major powers, a large-scale war could last longer and result in more casualties than anything the United States has experienced since World War II. It is unclear whether the all-volunteer force (AVF) that the United States has relied on for the past 50 years, with extraordinary and unexpected success, can meet the manpower requirements in quality and quantity and in time to win the large-scale combat operations that the Department of Defense (DOD) is preparing for.

Civilian Harm Mitigation And Response: The Imperative Of An All-Domain Approach, Alexus G. Grynkewich, Thomas R. Burks, Alex B. Coberly, Samantha A. Mcclure

Joint Force Quarterly

Τhe Department of Defense (DOD) seeks to reduce civilian harm caused by military operations and to improve its ability to respond when civilian harm occurs. To this end, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved and released the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP) on August 25, 2022. CHMR-AP is a watershed initiative in which DOD commits to improving its ability to prevent, mitigate, and respond to civilian harm. No amount of prevention or mitigation will eliminate civilian harm in armed conflict, nor does international law demand that civilian harm be eliminated. Still, providing civilians more protection than international …

Deviance And Innovation: Change In A “Society Of Saints”, Thaddeus V. Drake, Derrick L. Mcclain

Joint Force Quarterly

Μilitary innovation and adaptation studies are a growth industry. Since the publication of Barry Posen’s seminal study The Sources of Military Doctrine in the early 1980s, the field has grown extensively. Despite well-known military thinkers’ recent book-length treatments of the topic, most studies of change in the military retain two key commonalities. First, nearly all assume that innovation or adaptation is inherently good and worth pursuing. Second, they agree that militaries are famously resistant to change and accept this as part of the fundamental nature of the military system. This article acknowledges the first point; indeed, modern military leaders continually …

The Future Of Great Power Competition: Trajectories, Transitions, And Prospects For Catastrophic War, Thomas F. Lynch Iii

Joint Force Quarterly

Τhe dominant geostrategic framework of international relations today is that of a Great Power competition (GPC) among three rivalrous, globally dominant states: the United States, Russia, and China. After more than two decades of mainly cooperation and collaboration, they drifted into de facto competition at the end of the 2000s. By the middle of the 2010s, their undeclared but obvious rivalry intensified. Fully acknowledged GPC arrived in late 2017 when the United States published its National Security Strategy and declared a formal end to the 25-year era of U.S.-led globalization and active American democratization initiatives.

Executive Summary, William T. Eliason

Joint Force Quarterly

Αs I have written before in this space, change is a constant. NDU Press and Joint Force Quarterly are not immune to this fact. Recently, we moved to a more modern Web-based platform that will be less expensive to maintain and operate. The work became more complicated than anticipated, causing JFQ 113 to be a bit tardy online and in the mailbox, but our team worked out a way to daylight. Leading the charge was our “unicorn” Internet Publications Editor, Ms. Joanna “Joey” Seich. She took a suggested path from my director here at NDU’s Institute for National Strategic Studies …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 114, 3rd Quarter 2024, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

Joint Force Quarterly 114 explores the evolving dynamics of great power competition, military innovation, and the future of joint force effectiveness. The issue opens with insights from senior leadership, setting the stage for discussions on the trajectories of global power shifts, civilian harm mitigation, and the viability of the all-volunteer force in modern warfare. Contributions to joint professional military education (JPME) highlight the need to balance career development with military obligations, enhance joint qualification value, and address logistics challenges in contested environments. Commentary pieces examine the strategic direction of the Marine Corps, the future of noncombatant evacuation operations post-Afghanistan, and …

The Chairman On Trust, General Cq Brown Jr.

Joint Force Quarterly

Ιn the early 1940s, the world stood on the edge of a massive geopolitical shift, with escalating tensions and the onset of global conflict. As he oversaw a 40-fold expansion of the Army ahead of the United States’s entry into World War II, General George Marshall told his Director of Civil Affairs: “[The American armed forces] have a great asset, and that is that our people, our countrymen, do not distrust us and do not fear us. . . . This is a sacred trust. . . . We are completely devoted . . . the sole purpose of which …

Analyzing The Legitimacy, Effectiveness, And Legacy Of The United Nations, Hunter Wade Calley

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the legitimacy and effectiveness of the United Nations since its establishment, while also exploring the shortcomings of its predecessor, the League of Nations. The legitimacy of the United Nations and the role the organization plays in the world of international politics, the flaws of the UN Security Council, and the impact of the Cold War on the legitimacy and processes of the United Nations are especially highlighted throughout this thesis.

The successes and shortcomings of the United Nations are best understood given the historical context of the League of Nations, the organization founded to bring world powers …

Atrocity Prevention In The Digital Era: Adapting Norms, Laws, And Code To Changes In The Ways Atrocities Are Committed, David J. Simon, Samhitha Josyula, Joshua Lam, Julian D. Melendi

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Emerging digital technologies have changed some of the ways that genocides are planned and executed. This paper examines those differences, calling attention to how changes in the execution of genocide should prompt a shift in the approaches to atrocity prevention. It develops a conceptual framework addressing how atrocity prevention efforts might adapt to new technology within three realms of potential prevention efforts: the ethical (norms), the legal (laws), and the digital (code).

Introduction To Strategies And Outcomes, Lisa A. Leitz, Socrates Mbamalu

Peace Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this, Volume 48 of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, chapters contribute to scholarship on the strategies and outcomes of social movements, with only one (Corrigall-Brown, this volume) exploring the relationship between the two and others examining each aspect of social movement scholarship independently."

The Conflict Between The United States And Iran And Its Effect On Iraq, Sarah Alsalih

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the dynamic interplay between the United States and Iran and its repercussions on Iraq in the post-9/11 era. Against a backdrop of historical adversities, the research delves into the evolving relationship between the U.S. and Iran, elucidating its multifaceted dimensions and the consequential effects on Iraq. The central inquiry driving this investigation is: "Against the adversarial historical backdrop of U.S.-Iran relations, how has the relation between the two countries changed and impacted Iraq throughout the post 9/11 era?"

Drawing upon a comprehensive analysis through the lens of diplomatic interactions, military interventions, and regional dynamics, this study seeks …