Research & Wargaming at The Center for Naval Warfare Studies
Founded, in the words of Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, United States Navy, as “a place of original research,” one of the primary functions of the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) is to conduct research, analysis, and gaming to support the requirements of the Secretary of the Navy and others. The Center for Naval Warfare Studies (CNWS) at NWC complements our educational curriculum by serving as a home for original research, innovative thinking, and creative problem solving.
About the Center for Naval Warfare Studies
Dedicated to assisting the Chief of Naval Operations to define the future Navy and the Navy's contribution to national strategy, CNWS comprises several departments – the Strategic and Operational Research Department (SORD), the Wargaming Department, the Stockton Center for International Law, and the Naval War College Press – each with its own mission and specific study/research groups.
News, Media, & Events
U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet Hold Combined Wargame at U.S. Naval War College
Reassessing Genocide in Ukraine
Power Projection: Proceedings from the 2022 Strategic Landpower Symposium
Lectures of Opportunity: "The Role of Operational Energy in National Security"
Featured Faculty
Margaret M. Polski
Dr. Polski provides national security analysis and research for senior military leaders and their staff. She has over thirty years of experience helping organizations innovate to address threats, emerging opportunities, and operating performance. Dr. Polski's research is focused on strategic behavior in complex adaptive systems, and includes work in experimental design, game theory, cognitive neuroscience, and computational social science. Her current research interests are related to understanding the behavior of heterogeneous systems.
Paul S. Schmitt
Professor Schmitt is a research professor in the Strategic and Operational Research Department of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies. He currently teaches joint military operations research and analysis of high-technology conventional warfare in the near future, using wargaming as a tool for experiential learning. His current research focuses on the character of operational-tactical warfighting in the near future to 2030, conducting net assessments of future capabilities and concepts to identify best practices, enduring imbalances and trends.
Featured Publications
Russia’s Mercenaries are Bolstering Autocratic Regimes in the Sahel
Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction
More Information on the College
Center for Naval Warfare Studies Faculty
Our experienced and renowned faculty have years of earned expertise across a wide range of naval and research topics.
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U.S. Naval War College is home to specialized research centers, each dedicated to a geographic region or a specific warfare concern—from the Arctic to the internet.
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