Faculty Publications

European nations, and to a lesser extent the United States, are conflating the strategic importance of the items sent to Ukraine with the industrial organization of their production. Essential weapons like artillery rounds and drones are commodities and their acquisition presents unique problems and opportunities.

The last month has seen attacks and acts of destruction in the Ukraine-Russia War that may constitute war crimes. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of orchestrating these attacks. Ukraine and Russia have denied involvement in these attacks, likely to avoid attribution for state responsibility for war crimes in any post-conflict tribunal.

The Taiwan question remains unresolved. The PRC believes that there is one China, and Taiwan is part of it. The United States and Taiwanese authorities seem content to maintain the status quo and not provoke the PRC.

The expected Ukrainian offensive may see Russia resurrect its “Escalate to De-escalate” Strategy to deploy a tactical nuclear weapon to stop an overwhelming conventional attack. An examination of the permissibility of the use of these weapons under the Law of Armed Conflict is needed.

The operational concepts and organizational changes associated with Force Design 2030 have sparked heated debate inside and outside the Marine Corps since The 38th Commandant’s Planning Guidance was published in 2019. These initiatives are meant to better prepare it to participate in a naval campaign against China.

The role of civilian roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) ferries in a PLA invasion of Taiwan deserves its growing notoriety. With port access secured or coupled with developing logistics over the shore capabilities, RO-RO ferries could deliver significant volumes of forces across the Taiwan Strait, offsetting shortfalls in the PLA’s organic sea lift.

Ukraine’s military has defied expectations in its war with Russia, and many analysts attribute its success to U.S. help. But the mere fact of receiving aid is no guarantee of a positive outcome. After all, the United States provides security assistance to many countries with mixed results. Billions of dollars in aid and decades of training, advising, and institution building did not stop the armies of Afghanistan and Iraq from collapsing.

Assessing People's Republic of China (PRC) and People's Liberation Army (PLA) positions is complicated by language barriers and classification levels in both countries. Few Marines or sailors speak or read Chinese, and it is difficult to access U.S. intelligence community products. The good news is that there is a great deal that can be learned from unclassified, public material published by PRC defense sources.

I’ve heard a lot of people saying recently, ‘Quantity has a quality all its own.’ And I just want to be clear: No, it doesn’t. That’s one of the dumbest damn things I’ve ever heard.” With respect to the quoted speaker, not only does quantity have a quality all its own, but it also almost always proves decisive in naval warfare when professional competence is equal.

Kennedy draws one connecting thread through the resources, strategies, and ends of each naval power, and explains the goals of battles and how they affected the war’s outcome. Such succinct and overarching analysis is rare, making the work a valuable addition. For those learning to connect military means to grand strategic outcomes, the book is required reading.

The blasts that tore through the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last Monday have already blown up whatever was left of five decades of German energy policy. While the circumstances of the explosions are still unclear, Danish and Polish leaders have stated that the likely cause is sabotage, while a Ukrainian official deemed the explosion a “terrorist attack planned by Russia.”

When the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its first Type 075 class Landing Helicopter Dock in April 2021, it represented an important advance in power projection capability for China’s maritime forces. For the first time, the PLAN had an amphibious warship capable of hosting significant rotary wing forces while acting as the flagship for an amphibious task force.

The agreement to open the Black Sea to Ukrainian grain shipments previously blockaded by Russia floats on rough seas. Russia has shown itself to be an unreliable partner, striking the port of Odesa less than 24 hours after inking the deal. Among Russia experts, there is little consensus that the agreement will prove lasting.

Rather than trying to turn national attention to climate change during a historic global energy crisis, the Biden administration should sharply focus its message on addressing energy and national security, a politically savvy strategy that would reap more benefits for the climate.

President Joe Biden took office in 2020 with climate action as a top priority, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other events have thrown his energy policy into chaos. Yet this crisis also an opportunity: Biden can, and should, reframe the clean-energy transition as an urgent national security priority.