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Priorities for NATO Partnerships in an Era of Strategic Competition
No full textThe Joseph Biden administration’s 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) establishes the People’s Republic of China as the “pacing challenge” and a priority for the United States, followed by Russia’s “acute” threat in Europe. The NDS also emphasizes the importance of working with allies and partners to address these threats and reinforce deterrence. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the most institutionalized and capable of U.S. alliances, aspires to play a role in addressing both the threat from Russia in Europe and the longerterm global security implications of China’s rise. With a position of leadership in NATO, the United States has an opportunity tohttps://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/inss-strategic-perspectives/1008/thumbnail.jp
Rightsizing Chinese Military Lessons from Ukraine
No full textRussia’s failures in the early phases of the 2022 Ukraine conflict, and Ukraine’s successes, have raised questions about the implications for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). U.S. and other foreign analysts have identified several lessons the PLA could learn from the Ukraine conflict that would improve China’s prospects in a future conflict with Taiwan and the United States or potentially with a different regional rival. The PLA has made it frustratingly difficult to answer these questions using direct evidence: several months into the conflict, PLA officers have produced almost nothing detailing their views on the implications of the conflict for future Chinese operations and modernization. It is also doubtful that internal assessments, if they exist, will be available in a way that can substantiate foreign speculation.https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/strategic-forums/1000/thumbnail.jp
A Year Of Working Intentionally
No full textAs we pass this hard-to-fathom milestone of one year out of the office due to COVID-19, we will no doubt read many pieces on Zoom fatigue and pandemic fatigue and desires for return to a “normal” pre-COVID life. While I too feel this fatigue and intense desire for travel and normalcy, and of course I’d love to hug my extended family, I think it is important to acknowledge, reflect, and appreciate some of the beneficial aspects of work-life that have helped many women, including myself, thrive during this time of 100% telework. I have witnessed a new flexible mindset in the Department of Defense (DoD) and hope that some of the more positive changes we have observed may continue once we return to a more normal battle rhythm of in-person work
Policy Roundtable: The Future of Trans-Atlantic Nuclear Deterrence
No full textThis January, Perry World House hosted a two-day workshop titled “Transatlantic Disruption: Challenges and Opportunities.” The essays in this roundtable emerged from a panel on the future of trans-Atlantic nuclear deterrence.
Dr. Amy J. Nelson\u27s full article, The Cost of Uncertainty: European Strategic Autonomy and U.S.-E.U. Relations, is available here →
Arguably, the most quietly contentious issue confronting the transatlantic relationship today is that of defense innovation and Europe’s inward turn in pursuit of its own strategic autonomy. The defense trade, namely U.S. defense exports to Europe, has served as the backbone of the relationship since the Cold War. With the European Union’s recent launch of new initiatives to produce novel technologies and systems made in Europe by Europeans using European technology and know-how, the United States, with a sizeable amount of defense exports to the region, now stands to lose out
The PLA Beyond Borders: Chinese Military Operations in Regional and Global Context
No full textNo 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.https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/books-and-book-chapters/1000/thumbnail.jp
Joint Force Quarterly 102 (3rd Quarter, July 2021)
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/jfq-full-issue/1011/thumbnail.jp
Cyber Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction
No full textFor two decades, U.S. policymakers, military leaders, and analysts have drawn connections between cyber threats and WMD that demand attention from experts who work in both fields. While recognizing there are a variety of definitions for WMD in use today, the WMD Center does not believe classifying cyber threats as WMD is warranted or advantageous for the United States at this time.https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/wmd-proceedings/1007/thumbnail.jp
Baltics Left of Bang: The Southern Shore
No full textSponsored by the U.S. National Defense University (NDU) and the Swedish Defence University, this is the fourth and final paper in a series of INSS Strategic Forums dedicated to the multinational exploration of the strategic defense challenges faced by the Baltic states. The December 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy describes Russia as “using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America’s commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments.”1 The American and European authors of this paper, along with many others, came together in a series of exercises conducted in late 2017 through the winter of 2019 to explore possible responses to the security challenges facing the Baltic Sea region (BSR).https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/strategic-forums/1004/thumbnail.jp
Future Directions for Great Power Nuclear Arms Control: Policy Options and National Security Implications
No full textThe New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which represents the sole treaty currently limiting nuclear arms arsenals between the United States and Russia, will expire in 2026. What approach should the United States take as it seeks to maintain a “safe, secure, and effective” nuclear deterrent while also considering possible future negotiations on nuclear arms control and risk reduction agreements?
This monograph by 2020 National Defense University-U.S. Strategic Command Scholar Lt Col Justin Bronder, USAF, assesses four different approaches for the United States to consider: 1) seek a bilateral U.S.-Russia agreement that maintains strategic nuclear forces at New START levels with some additional transparency measures on missile defenses and “tactical” nuclear weapons; 2) attempt to negotiate a multilateral legally-binding treaty aimed at significant reductions of nuclear weapons; 3) hold separate talks with Russia and China on bilateral, politically-binding agreements seeking to manage nuclear risks; or 4) unilaterally pursue nuclear superiority. The paper provides a detailed evaluation of each of these potential options across five categories: strategic stability (How might this approach affect arms race stability and first-strike stability?); proliferation (Will this affect whether other states consider developing or otherwise attempting to acquire nuclear weapons?); extended deterrence (How might U.S. allies respond? Will it affect their views of U.S. nuclear security guarantees?); cost (How might it affect the U.S. budget?); and competitive advantage (How might it affect the “direction and velocity” of strategic competition with Russia and China?).https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/wmd-occasional-papers/1012/thumbnail.jp
PRISM Vol. 9, No. 2
No full textThe global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 has catalyzed a re-examination of what national security consists of, and what responsibilities the world’s armed forces must or should assume to meet such non-military challenges. Yet the competition between the United States and its adversaries has intensified, requiring that the national security enterprise retain traditional capabilities while keeping up with the fierce pace of technological innovation. PRISM V.9,N.2 authors address the emerging challenges armed forces must meet, offer perspectives on competitors, and suggest major changes in the innovation ecosystem.https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/prism-full-issue/1034/thumbnail.jp