Books and book chapters covering a wide range of topics related to national security, defense policy, and military strategy.
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Crossing the Strait: China’s Military Prepares for War with Taiwan
Joel Wuthnow, Derek Grossman, Phillip C. Saunders, Andrew Scobell, Andrew N.D. Yang, Joshua Arostegui, Michael Casey, Alexander Chieh-cheng Huang, Chieh Chung, Mathieu Duchâtel, Conor M. Kennedy, Roderick Lee, Sale Lilly, and Drew Thompson
Both the U.S. and Chinese militaries are increasingly focused on a possible confrontation over Taiwan. China regards the island as an integral part of its territory and is building military capabilities to deter Taiwan independence and compel Taiwan to accept unification. Based on original research by leading international experts, Crossing the Strait: China’s Military Prepares for War with Taiwan explores the political and military context of cross-strait relations, with a focus on understanding the Chinese decision calculus about when and how to use force, the capabilities the People’s Liberation Army would bring to the fight, and what Taiwan can do to defend itself.
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The PLA Beyond Borders: Chinese Military Operations in Regional and Global Context
Joel Wuthnow, Arthur S. Ding, Phillip C. Saunders, Andrew Scobell, Andrew N.D. Yang, John Chen, Dean Cheng, Chung Chieh, Kieran Green, Kristen Gunness, Isaac B. Kardon, Ying-Yu Lin, Joe McReynolds, Jonah Victor, and Shinji Yamaguchi
No longer confined to China’s land territory or its near abroad, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is conducting increasingly complex operations farther and farther from China’s continental borders. Within Asia, the PLA now regularly operates into the far reaches of the South China Sea and deep into the Western Pacific, enforcing China’s territorial claims and preparing to counter U.S. intervention in a regional conflict. Beyond Asia, the PLA is present on the ground, at sea, or in military exercises with foreign partners across the Indian Ocean and into the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Foreign militaries now regularly encounter the PLA, whether in tense incidents or friendly contacts, on their home turf and in the global commons.
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Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition
Thomas F. Lynch III, Hassan Abbas, Zachary M. Abuza, Justin Anderson, Richard Andres, David Auerswald, Paul Bernstein, R. Kim Cragin, Diane DiEuliis, Gerald Epstein, Douglas Farah, T.X. Hammes, Todd C. Helmus, Frank G. Hoffman, Steven Philip Kramer, Irene Kyriakopoulos, Bryce Loidolt, Amanda Moodie, Mariya Omelicheva, James Przystup, Phillip C. Saunders, Shannon Smith, and Caitlyn Yates
In retrospect, it seems clear that the new era of Great Power competition that is the subject of the chapters in this volume began to take shape almost as soon as the last era had drawn to a close. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the sudden end of the Cold War, the United States found itself in a position of unchallenged (and seemingly unchallengeable) global preponderance.
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A Persistent Fire: The Strategic Ethical Impact of World War I on the Global Profession of Arms
Timothy S. Mallard, Nathan H. White, Victoria J. Barnett, Nigel Biggar, Paul Coyer, Graham Fairclough, Michael H. Hoffman, Mark C. Lee, Marc LiVecche, John Mark Mattox, James C. McConville, Patrick Naughton, Eric D. Patterson, C. Anthony Pfaff, David Richardson, Michael Snape, and Thomas J. Statler
The profession of arms in the 21st century is at significant risk of losing its status as a profession due to several salient factors. Because of the rapid development of technology in relation to warfare, for instance, there are growing questions as to how much control human beings will retain of future combat, particularly given the speed of decisionmaking required for victory on the modern battlefield. As well, with the rise of new geopolitical and military coalitions, many are concerned as to how much war will remain an act of and in accordance with the political interests, values, and histories of individual nation-states, especially considering the thornier problem of developing the same for coalitions or allied forces. Furthermore, amid an increase in value-neutral societies (and the concomitant lack of personal moral formation of individual citizens), it may rightly be asked whether values-based institutions such as professional militaries can be adequately shaped to reflect any coherent national ethical consensus.
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Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms
Phillip C. Saunders, Arthur S. Ding, Andrew Scobell, Andrew N.D. Yang, Joel Wuthnow, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Dennis J. Blasko, Edmund J. Burke, Arthur Chan, John Chen, Tai Ming Cheung, John Costello, Mark R. Cozad, Andrew S. Erickson, Kim Fassler, David M. Finkelstein, Daniel Gearin, Justin Godby, Brian Lafferty, David C. Logan, LeighAnn Luce, Ma Chengkun, Joel McFadden, Joe McReynolds, Ian Burns McCaslin, and Erin Richter
China’s current military reforms are unprecedented in their ambition and in the scale and scope of the organizational changes. Virtually every part of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) now reports to different leaders, has had its mission and responsibilities changed, has lost or gained subordinate units, or has undergone a major internal reorganization.
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The Armed Forces Officer
Richard M. Swain and Albert C. Pierce
In 1950 when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, “that American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally.”
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Charting a Course: Strategic Choices for a New Administration
R.D. Hooker , Jr.; David Auerswald; Charles L. Barry; John P. Caves , Jr.; R. Kim Cragin; Craig A. Deare; Janice M. Hamby; T.X. Hammes; F.G. Hoffman; Christpher J. Lamb; Julian Lindley-French; Thomas F. Lynch III; Hilary Matfess; Michael J. Meese; Denise Natali; James J. Przystup; Theresa Sabonis-Helf; Phillip C. Saunders; Thomas C. Wingfield; and Peter B. Zwack
The new administration takes office in a time of great complexity. Our new President faces a national security environment shaped by strong currents: globalization; the proliferation of new, poor, and weak states, as well as nonstate actors; an enduring landscape of violent extremist organizations; slow economic growth; the rise of China and a revanchist Russia; a collapsing Middle East; and a domestic politics wracked by division and mistrust. While in absolute terms the Nation and the world are safer than in the last century, today the United States finds itself almost on a permanent war footing, engaged in military operations around the world.