Lacunae in the Study of Culture in International Security

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13523260802284324In the decade before the invasion of Iraq, the most important concepts in security studies for an American policy audience were the revolution in military affairs and transformation. Primarily due to the failures of that war and in Afghanistan and broader problems in the Middle East, culture has replaced these in the attentions of policymakers. Washington has been smitten by the idea that deeper understanding of cultural issues can reduce policy failures and advance national interests. This manifests most clearly in a range of recent policy documents from the Pentagon. Its recent Quadrennial Defense Review introduces a two-page section on the topic by arguing, ‘Developing broader linguistic capability and cultural understanding is also critical to prevail in the long war and to meet 21st century challenges.’1 The document mentions the importance of ‘cultural’ awareness a stunning 18 times. Consequently, the United States military has moved to increase its support for regional specialists in uniform (‘foreign area officers’ and their brethren), increased its support for language training, and is reaching out widely for academic expertise

China Policy Towards North Korea and its Implications for the United States: Balancing Competing Concerns; Strategic Insights, v. 5, issue 7 September 2006

This article appeared in Strategic Insights, v.5, issue 7 September 2006Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Chinese-U.S. Strategic Affairs: Dangerous Dynamism

Many aspects of the Chinese-U.S. relationship are mutually beneficial: some $400 billion in trade, bilateral military exchanges, and Beijing's increasingly constructive diplomatic role. There are other grounds for concern. Each side's militaries view the other as a potential adversary and increasingly make plans and structure their forces with that in mind

The Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis Is Just Starting

The article of record as published may be found at https://warontherocks.com/2022/08/the-fourth-taiwan-strait-crisis-is-just-starting

A Review of the Monitoring of Market Power The Possible Roles of TSOs in Monitoring for Market Power Issues in Congested Transmission Systems

The paper surveys the literature and publicly available information on market power monitoring in electricity wholesale markets. After briefly reviewing definitions, strategies and methods of mitigating market power we examine the various methods of detecting market power that have been employed by academics and market monitors/regulators. These techniques include structural and behavioural indices and analysis as well as various simulation approaches. The applications of these tools range from spot market mitigation and congestion management through to long-term market design assessment and merger decisions. Various market-power monitoring units already track market behaviour and produce indices. Our survey shows that these units collect a large amount of data from various market participants and we identify the crucial role of the transmission system operators with their access to dispatch and system information. Easily accessible and comprehensive data supports effective market power monitoring and facilitates market design evaluation. The discretion required for effective market monitoring is facilitated by institutional independence.Electricity, liberalisation, market power, regulation

China’s Offensive Missile Forces, Testimony before the US-China economic and security review commission

Following a period of only slow growth, Chinese nuclear posture modernization and buildup has been an important development over the past decade. Key deployments in both land and sea based forces provide Beijing with new capabilities. Although Beijing's declaratory policy has remained constant, there are some signs of more subtle shifts in the way China may be thinking about its force. It is important to understand the drivers -- both internal and external -- for this modernization, the implications for strategic stability in the Sino-American relationship, and the new challenges this poses for U.S. extended deterrence commitments in the region

Simple and Effective: Using Boxplots to Display Individualized Results

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

An Evaluator’s Journey Toward Bayes: Part II

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

U.S.-China strategic dialogue, phase II: conference report

The U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue brought together Chinese and U.S. strategic experts in their personal capacities to discuss to the role of nuclear weapons in Sino-American relations with the aim of minimizing mutual misunderstanding and identifying practical steps for bilateral cooperation. Relatively open discussions on core nuclear issues were held, positive signs on a number of regional topics were visible, and promising avenues for future discussions emerged. The goal of this series of annual meetings has been to identify important misperceptions regarding each side's nuclear strategy and doctrine and highlight potential areas of cooperation or confidence building measures that might reduce such dangers. Beyond that, the conference aims to deepen American understanding of the way China views nuclear weapons, the domestic debates that shape those views, and the degree to which there is change in strategy, doctrine, and force posture in Beijing. Both of the first two meetings have focused their discussions on general perceptions of the utility of nuclear weapons, the nature of current nuclear strategy and operational concepts of each side, regional issues pertaining to nuclear weapons issues, and prospects for cooperation with regard to specific policy areas. (A conference report from the first meeting was published last year and is available from N.P.S. at either the FOUO or unclassified level from this author).Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited