Research & Study Groups

Examines enduring warfare imbalances of high-intensity conventional warfare in maritime area denial situations, specifically in the Pacific Theater. This group uses iterative, ongoing wargaming and operational analysis as their primary methodologies.

They are supervised by faculty advisors with expertise in the areas studied. Faculty members, including the faculty advisor chosen to guide the student’s research and the director of the program, evaluate each ARP proposal and final product. Nominally, individual research projects are proposed in the student’s first trimester at the college with preliminary research done in the second trimester. The student’s final trimester is then used to complete the research and produce the written product. The most successful students in this program have some level of experience in research methodology and in writing thesis-length papers.

The Arctic Studies Group (ASG) is an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and students with interest, expertise, or experience in the dynamic and emerging Arctic region. In August 2013, the ASG was created to educate leaders, strengthen maritime partnerships, and generate rigorous, forward-thinking, and timely research to support the needs of the joint and naval community.  The ASG provides a platform for students and faculty to engage in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving and multi-disciplinary research on Arctic governance and security issues.

ASG students will explore the linkage between Arctic culture, history, economics, and security through independent research, gaming, field trips, and frequent engagement with regional and functional experts from government, academia, and industry. The curriculum encourages creative, out-of-the box thinking that enables students to explore solutions to real-world planning missions and problem sets provided by leaders from the Navy, Coast Guard, U.S. European Command, U.S. Northern Command, Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council, and the Arctic Council. In cooperation with other regional study groups and departments, the ASG hosts a series of lecturers, roundtables, and workshops throughout the year to link students and faculty with scholars and practitioners from both Arctic and non-Arctic states.

ASG faculty frequently publish scholarly articles and books on the region and present their research findings to senior leaders and at major academic conferences.

The Europe-Russia Studies Group (ERSG) comprises faculty and students with an interest in Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus. While addressing issues internal to those geopolitical areas, the ERSG focuses on issues of transatlantic interest in the political, economic, and security spheres. The purpose of the ERSG is to stimulate the exchange of applied learning and knowledge, bringing educational value to the Naval War College, its faculty and its students, and supplying strategic and operational thought to topics of relevance to the Navy and the Joint Force through academic research and engagement.

To accomplish this, the ERSG program uses subject matter experts, guest speakers, and colloquia capable of addressing economic, political and security issues related to European and Russian institutions, governments, trends and processes. A primary focus of the group has been on establishing and developing a curriculum of elective courses focusing on the region. Currently, there are a number of regional courses addressing the history, economics and politics of the region, including coverage of NATO and the European Union. Over the past year, the ERSG has sponsored lectures from nationally renowned experts on Russia, NATO, and the European Union. It has taken a leading role in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program to improve the Professional Military Education of Azerbaijan. Forthcoming initiatives of the ERSG include the development of a cooperative relationship with the Russian Naval War College (Kuznetsov Academy) in St. Petersburg. The ERSG is the principal vehicle through which the Naval War College’s special partnership with the U.S. European Command is implemented, providing academic and analytical support for the theater combatant commander.

The Latin American Studies Group, comprised of faculty, staff and students with an interest in the region, coordinates the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of an extensive engagement program throughout the Latin American region. The group also shares perspectives on key political, economic and security issues in the region with a focus on understanding context and providing perspective on this dynamic and growing region of the world. This engagement program supports theater security cooperation activities of the U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Northern Command, their naval components, and the U.S. Navy.

The study group supports a variety of regionally-focused activities: conferences; wargames; research projects; faculty travel to conduct lectures, workshops, and curriculum reviews; and war college and faculty visits from the region to the Naval War College. Additionally, the group supports the Inter-American War Game and the Multilateral War Game involving over 14 countries from the region. Latin America Studies Group faculty also prepare and deliver lectures and short courses at naval war colleges, defense staffs, think tanks, and civilian universities throughout the region. The knowledge and regional understanding gained is brought back and incorporated into the college's core curriculum, electives, and research programs.

Faculty members teach the three electives in the Western Hemisphere / Latin American area of study. The electives provide a general overview of the government, geography and culture of the region, a more focused examination of security challenges in the region, and a study of regional economic trends to include case studies of significant economic events in modern Latin American history.