LibGuides

Library Guides (LibGuides)

Table of Contents
Afghanistan	Library Guides & Help
Africa	Library Resources for CDE Students
Asia-Pacific Region	Maritime Piracy
China And The Military	Middle East Region
Cyberwarfare	NWC 125th Anniversary
Energy	Psychological Health Awareness
Femina Militaris	Revolution in Military Affairs
Indian Ocean Region	Space
Iran’s Nuclear Program	Terrorist Groups
Irregular Warfare	The Strategic Aspects of Climate Change
Korean Peninsula	Unmanned Vehicles
Languages	War Gaming
Latin America Region

 

A mountainous and land-locked country in South-Central Asia, Afghanistan is of strategic importance as it connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. For the last several decades it has been in a continuous state of war and in 2001 the object of a U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime.

July 2011 is the target date for the initial drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. At this point, however, serious challenges remain. More than two decades of conflict have destroyed much of Afghanistan's limited infrastructure and disrupted normal patterns of social, political, and economic activity, and there still exists a Taliban insurgency that continues to threaten stability in the region.

 

The continent of Africa is comprised of fifty-four countries and 797 million people speaking over one thousand languages. As Africa's impact in the world community continues to grow, the understanding of African countries, their population and their economies is vital to promoting a harmonious relationship with the United States and our national security interest in this region.

This LibGuide seeks to highlight information on Africa and includes country specific links, maps, Web sites containing news, art, business, activism information, online journals as well as links to the U.S. Africa Command.

Links to books and articles by noted experts will be continuously updated to keep pace with the ever expanding research in the area of African studies.

 

The Asia-Pacific is a region of vital importance to the United States and to the international community. Home to 40% of the world's population, and 44% of the world's trade, the countries comprising the Asia-Pacific region have risen to become robust engines of world economic growth as well as an important collective force able to respond to global challenges. Accordingly, that region is where interests converge and developed countries interact with emerging economies. Peace, stability, and development of the Asia-Pacific region not only affect the well-being and future of countries in the region, but also those in the wider world.

This LibGuide provides selected resources for the study of the Asia-Pacific region. Here you will find links to maps, statistical data, bibliographies, books, articles, country profiles, news, blogs, feeds, databases and other online resources.

 

The FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that an annual report be sent to Congress on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China. Those reports, as well as China’s white papers on national defense and various official documents promulgated by Chinese government sources, give insights into what the United States knows about the military establishment in China.

In addition to links to full-text primary documents, this LibGuide provides links to information about China's armed forces found in books, databases and on Web sites, as well as links to facts, statistics, and maps relating to China’s military and national defense.

 

At his confirmation hearing on 9 June 2011, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta remarked that "the next Pearl Harbor that we confront could very well be a cyber attack that cripples our power systems, our grid, our security systems, our financial systems, our governmental systems." In light of cyber attacks such as seen in Georgia, Estonia, and Iran, and the escalation in number and sophistication of cyber-related incidents, governments worldwide are developing cyber defense strategies to counter both anonymous groups and state-sponsored cyber terrorists who threaten their national infrastructure.

This LibGuide provides links to primary documents, and identifies resources such as books, articles, Websites, and chronologies that would be helpful to the user doing research on cyberwarfare.

In 2009 President Obama signed an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to increase energy efficiency, reduce oil reliance, and increase expenditures for the use of environmentally-responsible resources.

This LibGuide provides information on renewable and nonrenewable energy resources, defense energy reduction programs, and energy security. The user will find search strategies and links to the NWC Online Catalog and suggested databases, as well as links to selected documents and Web sites.

This LibGuide supports the NWC Femina Militaris elective. In the Femina Militaris elective students will read, analyze and discuss a variety of biographies and autobiographies and articles as well as utilize art and watch films related to ancient and modern women and their roles in the profession of arms. Studies will cover many nationalities and periods in the history of war. The course also has a brief review of 20th and 21st century conceptualizations of issues in military gender.

This LibGuide transforms the Femina Militaris syllabus into a web-based finding aid. Items in the readings and bibliographies are linked to online sources, where available. The LibGuide provides call numbers for items that are held by the NWC Library but are not available digitally. It provides the OCLC accession number for items that are not held by the NWC Library so that patrons can enter that number in inter-library loan requests.

The Indian Ocean region is one of growing geopolitical importance and is characterized by competition and intense rivalries involving both littoral states and external powers. The strategic environment is volatile and a focus of increasing global attention. Eyes are on the emergence of China as a new and powerful regional player seeking to increase its influence in the region.

This LibGuide is a resource for identifying books, articles, and primary source documents relating to the Indian Ocean region, and highlights, in particular, strategic considerations of key players, regional cooperative efforts and environmental issues.

This LibGuide provides ready access to information concerning Iran’s emerging nuclear program.

Use this guide to locate Naval War College resources including books and journal articles. The guide will also assist the reader find US government documents on the topic, UN documents, as well as information from think-tanks, non-governmental organizations, and news-feeds.

Although irregular warfare is not a new concept and many examples of unconventional conflict exist throughout history, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 shifted our focus, and that of the U.S. military, to irregular warfare, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism operations. The broad range of activities that may be considered irregular warfare includes terrorist threats and events, insurgencies by armed groups, transnational crime, cyber-warfare, and other operations intended to destroy the stability and security of a region or country.

This LibGuide is an aid to those looking for information on irregular warfare. It is a tool by which the researcher can find information gathered electronically in one location. Links to websites, newsfeeds, the library catalog, suggested databases, and selected reports are provided. It is not a bibliography, but rather a starting place for research on the topic of irregular warfare that we think you will find useful.

Korean Peninsula Despite the end of the Cold War, the Korean Peninsula has remained a legacy of that conflict and continues to be a concern for peace and stability in the region. With the Death of Kim Jong-il and the ongoing succession of his son, Kim Jong-un, there are further questions regarding the long term stability of the North Korean Regime. Since 1953, the United States and South Korea have maintained a formal security alliance and today, the peninsula is home to 28,500 U.S. troops.

This LibGuide is an aid to those looking for information on the Korean Peninsula. It collocates generally useful information in one location. It contains links to websites, newsfeeds, the library catalog, and suggested databases. It is a good place to start when researching the Korean Peninsula.

The Languages LibGuide presents language-learning resources presented by regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The top tab for each region provides links to online tools useful for identifying the languages spoken for each region. Sub-tabs provide links to language-learning resources from the Naval War College and from online military and non-governmental resources.

Use this guide to explore the languages of the world and to find resources for learning those languages.

 

This LibGuide is intended to help those who are studying western hemisphere issues in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean region. Links are provided to documents issued by intergovernmental, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and to papers and reports from think tanks and universities. The focus is on U.S. policy toward Latin America, particularly in light of defense and security concerns, as well as on efforts of Latin American states to confront and address matters that threaten their peace, safety, and prosperity.

 

This LibGuide is meant to help patrons of the Naval War College Library make the most of their library experience by introducing important databases and resources available to them. There are descriptions of online databases, as well as links to those databases and to reference guides for searching them. Key components of this LibGuide are the captioned video tutorials. Each database or resource has a corresponding tutorial explaining its basic functions.

Reference Librarians are available to answer questions and suggest research strategies. Contact information for each of them is provided. This is a very helpful starting place to learn how to use the library online catalog and key databases.

 

This LibGuide is intended for use by College of Distance Education (CDE) students. It is a guide to library resources for those students who are studying off-site. Included is information on how to search for books and periodical articles, and how to request materials on interlibrary loan that are not available electronically on the Internet. This LibGuide lists selected Web sites and provides links to other LibGuides, the Naval War College's Writing and Style Guide, a Portals & Web Sites Guide, and information on the Navy's Professional Reading Program. There are also links to U.S. policy statements and to defense white papers world-wide. Additionally, there is contact information for each of the CDE programs. This LibGuide may also prove useful to the College's alumni and NWC community in general who are engaged in research but are physically removed from the Newport campus.

 

Modern day piracy has little to do with the swashbuckling privateers and corsairs portrayed in the media.

The United States is working with its international partners to combat acts of maritime piracy, primarily in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia, in Southeast Asia, and off the Indian subcontinent. The goal is to decrease incentives for those who threaten maritime security, and to resolve the operational, legal, political, technological, and economic issues that are associated with acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

This LibGuide is an electronic resource that provides links to primary documents such as maritime conventions, United Nations resolutions, and congressional testimony, as well as to maps, and information found in books, periodicals, and on Web sites. Piracy statistics are found in the annual reports of the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau.

 

This LibGuide is an aid to those looking for information on the Middle East. It collocates generally useful information in one location. It contains links to websites, newsfeeds, the library catalog, and suggested databases. It is not a bibliography (although it has links to several of them), but rather a starting place for research on the Middle East that we think you will find worthwhile.

On October 6, 1884, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler signed General Order No. 325, granting the establishment of the United States Naval War College on Coasters Harbor Island, Newport, RI. Today, 125 years later, the exceptional staff and faculty at the United States Naval War College remains dedicated to the “proper education of the officer whose life is dedicated to the Profession of Arms.” (S.B. Luce) Among the College’s esteemed graduates are Raymond A. Spruance, William Sims and the current U.S. Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.

The 125^th Anniversary LibGuide accentuates the heritage of the Naval War College through historical photos, informative websites and scholarly articles.

Service members coming back from deployments in war zones, most notably from recent tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, often return home with so-called "hidden injuries of war," wounds that are psychological rather than just physical in nature. Often, their problems pose a wide array of cognitive and health challenges, manifested by bouts of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, and sometimes by suicide. Diagnoses run the gamut from mTBI (mild Traumatic Brain Injury) to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Programs in both the civilian and military sectors support the returning veterans by teaching strategies that strive to foster psychological resilience.

This LibGuide provides links to online sources of information relating to problems encountered by returning troops, research being done to better understand and treat war-related psychological issues, and efforts being made on behalf of veterans so that they can better cope with stress and adapt to civilian life.

Innovative technology combined with a shift in military organization, doctrine and policy produce ever evolving practices in the conduct of modern warfare and provide a wealth of opportunities to continue research in this rapidly expanding concept.

The Library of the Naval War College contains an extensive collection of the latest research into RMA by renowned experts in the field.  Because RMA is a field where advances are continuously occurring, it is important to refer to the LibGuide in order to gain access to the most current information.

As limitless as space itself, issues regarding the topic of space are infinite . This LibGuide seeks to highlight information on aspects of space study that are relevant to members of the military, and includes material on astropolitics, space exploration, space weaponry, and the future implications of a military presence in space.

Links to books and articles by noted experts will be continuously updated to keep pace with the ever expanding research in the area of space studies . Likewise, this LibGuide will help one maximize the use of digital-age research technology available at the Naval War College.

 

Long term changes in weather patterns, through a variety of cascading events, could have significant global security consequences. This LibGuide provides research help for those wanting to study the effects of climate change from a global security and strategy viewpoint. Particular emphasis is given to issues relating to ice melt in the Arctic, though information is provided for the effects of climate change on other regions of the world, such as the destabilizing effects of crop failure, and water scarcity on struggling nations. Information on finding books and journal articles is provided as are links to recent reports, documents, Web sites, maps, and data.

 

This LibGuide will be useful to those researching Terrorist Groups and studying patterns of terrorism world-wide. Included are links to relevant documents, reports, executive orders, statutes, Web sites, research centers, blogs, and RSS feeds, as well as to the Naval War College's online databases for student and faculty research. Additionally, the guide has pages with links to documents organized by region. An interesting feature of this LibGuide is a link to the interactive tools of the U.S. Government's National Counterterrorism Center. The calendar's timeline of events allows users to explore key dates, including the anniversaries of terrorism-related incidents. Each month of the timeline provides a "Terrorist Profile" with accompanying photographs, and access to information on known terrorist groups and individual terrorists. On the interactive locator map, one can mouse-over terrorist group names and see their geographic area of influence.

 

Unmanned technologies are becoming increasingly integral to military operations. As stated in the Executive Summary of FY2009-2034 U.S. Secretary of Defense’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap :

This LibGuide is an aid to finding information on unmanned systems including aerial, terrain, and underwater vehicles. Links to book searches, articles, documents, Web sites, and news-feeds are provided.

 

This LibGuide provides links to the Naval War College War Gaming Department's Web pages, as well as to sites with information on the fundamentals of war gaming and on leadership, decision making, operational research and operations analysis in the military and defense arena. An effort has been made to place the concept of war gaming in historical perspective, to link to the current literature, and to demonstrate the application of gaming techniques in non-military activities.