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362. The Myth of Petroleum Independence and Foreign Policy Isolation
- Author:
- Sarah A. Emerson and Andrew C. Winner
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Abstract:
- U.S. politicians often work the topic of oil import independence into their campaign rhetoric as an ideal that would help separate U.S. economic prosperity and military responsibility from the volatility of Middle Eastern politics. In theory, oil independence would mean that events such as the Iranian revolution or internal political unrest in key Arab oil producers would have much less direct impact on the flow of oil to the United States, and thus U.S. prosperity (even if, in a global market for oil, the price impact of any supply disruption is shared by all consuming countries). More importantly, intra-state conflicts such as the Iraq-Iran war or the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait would not necessarily require large-scale U.S. military involvement to ensure oil production and exports to the United States and its allies. This linkage between U.S. oil import dependence and military commitment to the Gulf region has given rise to a myth favored by policymakers, markets, and the public that if the United States could attain oil independence, we could also reduce our military responsibilities around the world. Recent and ongoing changes in both the oil sector and in political-military strategy are for the first time in forty years combining in a manner that is leading some to believe this story could come true.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait
363. Australia's embrace of the 'Indo-Pacific': new term, new region, new strategy?
- Author:
- David Scott
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- This article argues that the 'Indo-Pacific' has become an increasingly influential term during the last few years within Australian strategic debate. Consequently, the article looks at how the concept of the 'Indo- Pacific' as a region is impacting on Australia's strategic discussions about regional identity, regional role, and foreign policy practices. The term has a strategic logic for Australia in shaping its military strategy and strategic partnerships. Here, the article finds that Australian usage of the term operates as an accurate description of an evolving 'region' to conduct strategy within, but also operates quite frequently (though not inevitably or inherently) as a more contested basis for China-balancing. The article looks closely at four themes: the Indo-Pacific as a term, the rhetoric (strategic debate) in Australia surrounding the Indo-Pacific term, the Indo-Pacific policy formulations by Australia, and the developing Indo-Pacific nature of bilateral and trilateral linkages between Australia, India, and the United States.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, India, and Australia
364. A Strategy for Dealing with North Korea's Provocations
- Author:
- David S. Maxwell
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- This article argues that to deal with North Korean provocations, the Alliance must take a holistic strategic approach to the entire North Korean problem. As long as the Kim family regime continues a strategic approach focused on regime survival, reunification of the peninsula under its control, attaining recognition as a nuclear power and trying to remove US forces from the peninsula, it will continue to use provocations as part of its strategy while oppressing its people and conducting illicit activities around the world. The Alliance has taken a piecemeal or stovepipe approach to the complex problems posed by North Korea with various organizations and senior officials responsible for a specific portfolio with no apparent effective synchronization among them. All activities of the Alliance must be focused on achieving an overall end state that is in concert with the 2009 Joint Vision Statement emphasizing peaceful reunification and ultimately answering the so called "Korea Question" that the 1953 Armistice said must be answered. By synchronizing ways and means toward this end, the Alliance can effectively deal with provocations while working to shape the conditions necessary for reunification. However, it must be understood that the foundation for the Alliance strategy rests upon readiness of the combined military forces.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- Korea
365. Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions
- Author:
- David A. Crockett
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- In The Federalist, No. 70, Alexander Hamilton argues in favor of an executive office comprising one person, principally because that unitary structure will provide “energy in the executive,” which for Hamilton is a “leading character in the definition of good government.” Qualities directly associated with this unity – energy relationship include “decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch.” This structural feature of the second branch of government would seem to make the identity of the president rather important. After all, the loss of one member of Congress leaves 534 legislators to soldier on. Change the president, however, and you end up with a completely different administration, even if subordinate personnel do not change.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
366. Counterinsurgency after Afghanistan: A Concept in Crisis
- Author:
- David Ucko
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Six years have passed since the publication of Field Manual (FM) 3−24, Counterinsurgency. Embraced by sections of the military and civilian defense community seeking a fresh approach to the conflict in Iraq, the new field manual gained a political significance and profile unlike previous doctrinal publications. When General David Petraeus was able to incorporate some of the manual's core precepts into the new U.S. strategy for Iraq, and casualties and instability in Iraq declined over the following few years, both counterinsurgency doctrine and the people associated with it gained unprecedented influence.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
367. Jagannath P. Panda, China's Path to Power: Party, Military and the Politics of State Transition (New Delhi: Pentagon Press Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, 2010).
- Author:
- Dinoj Kumar Upadhyay
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- The unprecedented rise of China as a global power in the international arena has prompted many global scholars and researchers to embark on critical studies of its dynamism and transition. Though much valuable literature is available on Chinese economic and social transformation for the interested readers, the vast majority does not depict a clear picture of “how, where and when China was transformed exactly?” There are several misperceptions associated with Chinese transformation, the nature of its polity, its decision-making processes, economic development and the civilian-military relationship. With his most recent work, China's Path to Power: Party, Military and the Politics of State Transition, Jagannath P. Panda seeks to explain, explore and conceptualize the Chinese transition design, “systemic incrementalism”, and provide a substantial contribution to the various facets of the never-ending debate on the rise of China. Panda argues that much of the analysis on the Chinese issues has been done through a prism of ideology and focused narrowly on its world view and economic growth. A scientific and comprehensive analysis of its gradual progressive reforms in the realm of politics and economics is missing.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- China
368. Simon Chesterman and Angelina Fisher (eds,). Private Security, Public Order. The Outsourcing of Public Services and its Limits
- Author:
- Ebrahim Afsah
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This is the second release by a research project undertaken by the Institute for International Law and Justice at New York University, following the previously reviewed (21 EJIL (2010): 251) From Mercenaries to Market. The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies (Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnhardt (eds), Oxford University Press, 2007). In that commendable first volume, the editors sought to bring a variety of perspectives to bear on the increasingly topical issue of private security providers and their regulation by states. The contributions to that earlier collection were characterized by a distinctly pragmatic approach to the issue, seeking to re-assess the degree to which international law's categorical proscription of mercenarism remained tenable in a world where most states, rich and poor, view private service providers as an increasingly important part of their military posture.
- Topic:
- Security and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- New York
369. Strategy and contingency
- Author:
- Hew Strachan
- Publication Date:
- 11-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Strategy is oriented towards the future. It is a declaration of intent, and an indication of the possible means required to fulfil that intent. But once strategy moves beyond the near term, it struggles to define what exactly it intends to do. Part of the problem is generated by the conceptual shift from what current NATO jargon calls 'military strategy' to what the United States calls 'grand strategy' (and which other states, as the US once did, have come to call 'national strategy'). The operational plans of military strategy look to the near term, and work with specific situations. Grand strategy, on the other hand, can entertain ambitions and goals which are more visionary and aspirational than pragmatic and immediate. It is as much a way of thinking as a way of doing. By using the same word, strategy, in both sets of circumstances, we create an expectation, each of the other, which neither can properly fulfil. The shift from 'military strategy' to 'grand strategy' is particularly fraught: it suggests that the latter, like the former, is underpinned by an actionable plan. If strategy is a matter of combining means, ways and ends, what are the ends towards which a state, nation or group is aiming when it cannot be precise about the future context within which its means and ways are being applied? Answering that question is the central conundrum of grand strategy, and being able to do so sensibly is correspondingly more difficult the more extended the definition of the future which grand strategy uses.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States
370. Shock and Awe a Decade and a Half Later: Still Relevant, Still Misunderstood
- Author:
- Harlan k. Ullman
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Fifteen years ago, a small group of former senior military and civilian defense officials were troubled by the debate over American military strategy and its associated force posture. Given the implosion of the Soviet Union half a decade earlier and the stunning and overwhelming victory in the 100-hour Gulf War of 1991, the predominance of the U.S. military was assured. The weaponry was technologically the best in the world and the fighting force unmatched in ability. In essence, the first Gulf War finally cast off the dark shadow and unhappy legacy of Vietnam once and for all.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
371. Evolving Military Responsibilities in the U.S.-ROK Alliance
- Author:
- Bruce Klingner
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The U.S.–South Korean security alliance has been indispensable in achieving Washington's strategic objectives and maintaining peace and stability in northeast Asia. A confluence of developments, however, is forcing changes in the alliance. These factors include a changing threat environment, an evolving U.S. military strategy, and South Korea's desire for greater autonomy as a result of its improving military and economic capabilities. It is important that the alliance begin the evolution from a singularly focused mission to a more robust values-based relationship that looks beyond the Korean Peninsula. Without substantial and sustained involvement by the senior political and military leadership, the alliance may not be sufficiently adapted to the new threat environment, including as a hedge against Chinese military modernization. The U.S. and South Korean administrations must also provide a clear strategic vision of the enduring need for the alliance and implement a robust public diplomacy program to prevent the erosion of public and legislative support. The plan to develop a U.S.–South Korean strategic alliance is a testament both to the successes of the long-standing military relationship and to the shared values of the two democracies.
- Topic:
- Economics and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Asia, and South Korea
372. Kanaaneh: Surrounded: Palestinian Soldiers in the Israeli Military
- Author:
- Nahla Abdo
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- In Surrounded: Palestinian Soldiers in the Israeli Military , Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh, a visiting scholar at New York University's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, discusses a contested area in the lives of Palestinians in Israel: Arabs—albeit a minority—joining the Israeli military. Considering the preexisting rigid national/ ethnic conflict and contradictions between Palestinian and Jewish citizens within a state that defines itself as Jewish, the author skillfully asks why some Palestinian Arabs voluntarily join the Israeli military. Although the phenomenon of Arab soldiering in Israel represents only a minority of this group, it remains worth exploring and this is what Kanaaneh undertakes in this book.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- New York, Israel, and Arabia
373. The Pentagon's Wasting Assets
- Author:
- Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Summary -- The military foundations of U.S. dominance are eroding. In response, Washington should pursue new sources of military advantage and a more modest grand strategy.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Washington
374. Flipping the Taliban
- Author:
- Fotini Christia and Michael Semple
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Summary -- The deployment of more U.S. troops to Afghanistan is necessary to tip the balance of power against the Taliban. But this military "surge" must be accompanied with a political one designed to persuade insurgents to give up their fight.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States
375. Russian perceptions and policies in a multipolar East Asia under Yeltsin and Putin
- Author:
- Paradorn Rangsimaporn
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- While the desire to counterbalance US unilateralism informed Russian perceptions and advocacy of multipolarity globally, the complex and fluid balance of power in a multipolar East Asia complicates Russian perceptions and policies of multipolarity regionally and counterbalancing US power became not the sole goal. Russia's aim in East Asia was to reassert its influence while ensuring a stable regional environment in order for Russia to restore itself as a great power. However, the relatively stabilizing US regional role, the rise of neighboring China, the prospects of Japanese remilitarization and strengthened US–Japanese military alliance, and the lack of a Northeast Asian security structure are factors that pose both challenges and opportunities for Russian policymakers in pursuing Russian interests and great-power aims. Such factors have served to make Russian perceptions and policy in East Asia somewhat contradictory. While Russia's great-power aspiration was relatively clear, the policies to achieve this remained vague and inconclusive.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, and Asia
376. Neither Pigs nor Parrots: A Military Culture that Can Win the Peace
- Author:
- Ryan Close
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
- Institution:
- School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
- Abstract:
- As ongoing operations in Iraq illustrate, the nature of warfare is changing: peacekeeping and warfighting are converging as the space between military and humanitarian activity erodes. Because of the vastly different challenges of fighting wars and handling post-conflict challenges, militaries traditionally train soldiers to be either warriors or peacekeepers. This new type of conflict, however, requires soldiers who are both of these simultaneously. Unfortunately, current organizational culture – focused almost entirely on combat – may prevent the ideological shift within the military that is necessary for molding a new soldier identity. This article addresses this challenge and proposes policy measures that would help transform military culture and better match combat prowess with broad intellectual, political, and social vision. To this end, this article considers how the security environment is evolving, examines how such an environment will severely stress the U.S. military, and offers recommendations for cultural change that concern force structure, operational planning, and the selection, training, and promotion of soldiers.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Culture, and Military
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
377. Eastward Bound: The Strategy and Politics of Repositioning U.S. Military Bases in Europe
- Author:
- Todd W. Fields
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
- Institution:
- School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
- Abstract:
- This article examines the strategic rationale and political implications of the U.S. Department of Defense’s proposal to reposition U.S. military bases in Europe. The Pentagon’s plans call for a withdrawal of U.S. bases and personnel from Germany and the creation of various smaller, more flexible bases in Central and Eastern Europe. While the removal of U.S. forces from Germany is appropriate given the absence of an imminent security threat to Europe, revamping the European basing structure in the midst of current trans-Atlantic tensions presents formidable political challenges. Given the impact that base realignment is likely to have on U.S. relations with Germany, Russia, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States must exercise a deft diplomatic touch—balancing the pursuit of its strategic interests with the preservation of its regional relationships and alliances.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, Military Strategy, and Military Bases
- Political Geography:
- Europe, North America, and United States of America