This study explores the role of the military as an instrument of national power in the transformation of Republics to Empires. It concentrates on two case studies. The first is the Athenian transformation from Radical Democracy to an Informal...
El Salvador is coming to the end of a civil war that cost more than 80,000 lives. This thesis surveys the factors which led to this war and, soon thereafter, to United States involvement. The historical, economic, social, and political development...
Panama began its modern history as a semi-colonial appendage of the United States (US). Since gaining independence in 1903, Panama witnessed both elitist quasi-democratic governments and authoritarian populist governments. The oligarchic system in...
The current operating environment faced by the United States military presents many challenges based on the global nature of United States strategic interests. Pursuant to these interests is a need to operate in, and effectively communicate with, a...
The purpose of this treatise is to determine the essence and role of mercenaries in the western tradition. The approach is to delineate, analyze and compare mercenary phenomena in their various settings from their ancient European forms around the...
This monograph discusses the role the American military instrument of power played in supporting the government of El Salvador during its battle against rebel forces during the period 1980-1992. The U.S. provided extensive military, political and...
As the year 2000 begins, the disintegration of Colombia in a situation of violence, political unrest, and economic upheaval is a very real threat to the national interests of the United States. It is critical that Washington’s concern for failed...
Interagency reform: the congressional perspective. Congressman Geoff Davis, speech given at PNSR/ROA Luncheon, 8 May 2008; Congressman Davis explains why we need to reform the interagency process in regard to national security and what must be...
This newsletter is a collection of articles focused on stability operations in the Western Hemisphere, specifically in Central and South America. Today, stability operations in Afghanistan and Iraq rightfully receive the lion’s share of our...
This study investigates the role of sub-state actors and leadership in the stabilization, the collapse or the renewal of the African state. Understanding the root causes of the mutations occurring in today's African states will help to build...
The United States is using lessons learned from fighting insurgents in the Philippines to fighting insurgents in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Experts say that history does not repeat itself, but it does experience similarities, which allow us to learn...
Six years after the fall of Saigon, South Vietnam, the effects of the Domino Theory appeared to have unfolded. Communist and nationalist movements had defeated American allies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Then, in 1979, Nicaragua fell to...
This study analyzes the counterinsurgency efforts of the Peruvian government to defeat the Maoist Shining Path movement. An examination of the government response within the context of the Peruvian environment reveals the government's failure to...
This paper argues that the rise of India will have a positive effect on nearby Nepal, allowing Kathmandu to foster a more prosperous and democratic state. India, the second most populous country in the world, is rapidly advancing as a regional and...
Ukrainian strategic policy decisions have a direct impact on US policy in Eastern Europe. Ukraine is often at the forefront of political tensions between the US, EU and Russia. The gas crisis of 2009 resulted in the cutoff of natural gas supplies...
Conflict in the Philippines has endured for five centuries. The contemporary conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Islamic separatists in the Mindanao islands is the latest evolution of resistance in the...
This monograph explores the question of whether there is a trend toward global perception of the United States as a rogue state. Research revealed a rogue state is one that is isolated, dedicated to the rule of force, oppresses its people,...
The attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, originating from Afghanistan, and the earthquake in January 2010 that devastated Haiti illustrate the different dangers that weak and failed states represent to the international...
This monograph explores political science theory and contemporary practice to develop a structural framework for nation-building. The generalized framework is predicated on the observation that interagency operations can achieve a degree of...
The United States today finds itself in a turbulent era of failing and underdeveloped states. When a population either threatens or undertakes an overthrow of their government, the government will often request United States assistance for...