April 1, 2014

A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions

China’s military modernization is focused on building modern ground, naval, air, and missile forces capable of fighting and winning local wars under informationized conditions. The principal planning scenario has been a military campaign against Taiwan, which would require the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to deter or defeat U.S. intervention. The PLA has sought to acquire asymmetric “assassin’s mace” technologies and systems to overcome a superior adversary and couple them to the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems necessary for swift and precise execution of short-duration, high-intensity wars.

Dec. 1, 2013

The Noncommissioned Officer and Petty Officer: Backbone of the Armed Forces

A first of its kind, this book—of, by, and for the noncommissioned officer and petty officer—is a comprehensive explanation of the enlisted leader across the U.S. Armed Services. It complements The Armed Forces Officer, the latest edition of which was published by NDU Press in 2007, as well as the Services’ NCO/PO manuals and handbooks. Written by a team of Active, Reserve, and retired senior enlisted leaders from all Service branches, this book defines and describes how NCOs/POs fit into an organization, centers them in the Profession of Arms, explains their dual roles of complementing the officer and enabling the force, and exposes their international engagement. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey writes in his foreword to the book, “We know noncommissioned officers and petty officers to have exceptional competence, professional character, and soldierly grit—they are exemplars of our Profession of Arms.”

Oct. 28, 2013

Strategic Shift: Appraising Recent Changes in U.S. Defense Plans and Priorities

This paper examines major changes in U.S. defense plans and priorities that the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued through high level strategy and other guidance documents during 2012 and the beginning of 2013. It recommends that DOD “double down” in its pursuit of globally integrated operations through joint force integration in the context of the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations and the cross-domain synergy needed to operate effectively in the face of sophisticated adversaries.

Aug. 1, 2013

The Future Can’t Wait

In Spring of 2011 USAID’s Science and Technology Office and NDU agreed to co-host a symposium on future development challenges. USAID and NDU agreed to collaborate on a follow-up publication to the symposium.

April 1, 2013

Convergence: Illicit Networks and National Security in the Age of Globalization

Acceleration. Magnification. Diffusion. Entropy. Empowerment. The global environment and the international system are evolving at hypervelocity. A consensus is emerging among policymakers, scholars, and practitioners that recent sweeping developments in information technology, communication, transportation, demographics, and conflict are making global governance more challenging. Some argue these developments have transformed our international system, making it more vulnerable than ever to the predations of terrorists and criminals. Others argue that despite this significant evolution, organized crime, transnational terrorism, and nonstate networks have been endemic if unpleasant features of human society throughout history, that they represent nothing new, and that our traditional means of countering them—primarily conventional law enforcement—are adequate. Even among those who perceive substantial differences in the contemporary manifestations of these persistent maladies, they are viewed as major nuisances not adding up to a significant national or international security threat, much less an existential threat.

Nov. 1, 2012

Strategic Reflections: Operation Iraqi Freedom, July 2014 - February 2007

Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom were the first major wars of the 21st century. They will not be the last. They have significantly impacted how the U.S. Government and military think about prosecuting wars. They will have a generational impact on the U.S. military, as its future leaders, particularly those in the ground forces, will for decades be men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is imperative that leaders at all levels, both military and civilian, share their experiences to ensure that we, as a military and as a country, gain appropriate insights for the future.

Oct. 1, 2012

Anticipatory Governance Practical Upgrades: Equipping the Executive Branch to Cope with Increasing Speed and Complexity of Major Challenges

The report suggests: (a) four concrete initiatives and eighteen specific proposals for organizing foresight as an input into the policy process; (b) eight initiatives and thirty-eight specific proposals for improving the capacity of existing systems to mesh their activities for coherent effect (i.e., networked governance); and (c)five specific, sequential initiatives to detect and respond to error and unintended consequences in mid-stream, before calamities occur (i.e., feedback).

Dec. 1, 2011

Capability Development in Support of Comprehensive Approaches: Transforming International Civil-Military Interactions

This book is the product of the Second International Transformation (ITX2) Conference, held in Rome, Italy, at the NATO Defense College (NDC) in June 2011.

Oct. 1, 2011

Policing and COIN Operations: Lessons Learned, Strategies and Future Directions

A monograph that grasped the need to expand the focus of the role of policing in counterinsurgency, and considering the framework for the desired outcome to influence policymakers on the future directions of the role of policing.

Aug. 1, 2011

New Directions in U.S. National Security Strategy, Defense Plans, and Diplomacy: A Review of Official Strategic Documents

Where are U.S. national security strategy, defense plans, and diplomacy headed in the coming years? An answer to this important question comes from seven official studies that have been issued during 2010.