Faculty Publications

Putin must find a way to salvage Russia’s more modest gains after six months of fighting while forestalling the further erosion of Russian power.

Will a ‘Peak’ China decide now is the time for war with America: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley have breaking news from 1832! Namely that it sometimes makes sense for the weak to pick a fight with the strong. No less an authority than Carl von Clausewitz affirms it.

Back in February, President Xi Jinping may have thought that, no matter which way the Russian-Ukrainian war went down, China would come out ahead. If the invasion succeeded, it would be a blow to Nato and the American-led global order; if it failed, it would be an even bigger blow to Russia, drawing it closer to Beijing. But Xi may be getting more than he bargained for.

In Russia, pro-Putin TV pundits are openly criticizing their president for his faltering war in Ukraine. In response, Putin has mobilized reservist forces, and threatened the West. But Russia experts warn, western leaders should be careful what they wish for. "I'd be very afraid if Putin were to be deposed because his most likely successor is not going to be a Western leaning Democrat." Today, On Point: Putin under pressure.

#PRC: The USN submarine fleet is not now adequate to block PLANavy attacking #Taiwan. James Holmes, first holder of the Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and blogger at The Naval Diplomat (https://navaldiplomat.com/). @GordonGCha

After months of virtual stalemate, a recent offensive has seen Ukrainian forces regain huge swathes of territory in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, sparking an unusual wave of criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin both at home and amongst international allies. Does this military breakthrough amount to a turning point in the war?

Last weekend, Ukrainian forces recaptured wide swaths of land in the country’s northeast which had been taken by Russia a few months earlier. Ukraine, awash in Western armaments, now clearly has momentum on its side, and though Russian forces continue to inflict heavy casualties on soldiers and civilians, Vladimir Putin’s invasion looks more like a debacle than ever.

Russia's growing reliance on private military companies in Ukraine, especially the Wagner Group, has serious implications for the war in Ukraine. This piece discusses some of the reasons why the Kremlin has elected to use of mercenaries and suggests that Putin faces a serious predicament in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

After Ukraine recently took back large swaths of land previously taken by Russia in a counteroffensive, one might ask: Is #Russia Losing the War?

ABC NewsRadio's Thomas Oriti spoke to Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He says the counter offensive marks a new phase in the war in Ukraine, proving Ukraine can take foreign military aid and use it to drive back Russian forces.

As Ukraine continues to defend against Russian invasion, its armed forces are increasingly turning to deception operations to minimize their asymmetrical disadvantages with Russian forces. As part of the campaign to regain control of Kharkiv, for example, Ukraine’s forces employed mannequins strapped to trees and other cover wearing military fatigues and armed with fake rifles to “confuse attacking Russian forces.”

You take your wisdom where you find it. In 2020, on impulse, I incorporated the “weird fiction” of H. P. Lovecraft, the grandmaster of the genre, into my recreational reading. I can’t remember exactly why. After all, that year was creepy enough without marinating in tales of monsters, demons, and ghoulish folk plaguing New England cities and towns.

As the death toll in the war between Russia and Ukraine climbs, the issue of how to properly treat the remains of dead soldiers has become a recurring theme. Some media reports claim, for example, that Ukrainian forces are publishing photographs of dead Russian soldiers on social media so family members can “determine whether the images feature a missing loved one.”

Girding for battle along the Ryukyus chain constitutes a major part of deterrence for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. Doing so, proclaims Defense of Japan 2022, will make “opponents realize that doing harm to Japan would be difficult and consequential.”