In recent years, commissions of inquiry have been common to the politics of the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia. Recent years have seen a much wider range of states establish commissions of inquiry into intelligence and security issues, and they have also played important roles in transitions in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Commissions of inquiry are no longer even the exclusive preserve of states, as transnational institutions such as the United Nations and European Union have begun to convoke them.

This groundbreaking book comprehensively examines commissions of...

"The Nexus: International Terrorism and Drug Trafficking from Afghanistan" addresses an issue that directly impacts the prospects for resolution of the current insurgency in that nation. Written by noted terrorism expert Frank Shanty, the book explores the nature and the extent of involvement between international criminal drug traffickers, particularly of drugs originating from Afghanistan, and international terrorist networks with global reach.

Shanty dispels the myths and disinformation surrounding this vital--and controversial--question, even as he arrives at his own answers. In...

The 20th century was dominated by three visions of Eurasian geopolitics: "The World Island," "Containment," and "Prometheism." "The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West" posits a fourth vision of Eurasian geopolitics: the 21st-century Geopolitical Strategy for Eurasia.

Through an original and comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the ideas of Sir Halford Mackinder, George Kennan, and Jozef Pilsudski, this title reestablishes fundamental Western strategy objectives. It analyzes the state of and potential for Western engagement with China, Afghanistan, Turkey,...

The necessity of a plan for conflict resolution should be intuitively obvious for policymakers, yet a survey of recent conflicts, including Afghanistan and Iraq, shows that not to be the case. "Beyond Guns and Steel: A War Termination Strategy" provides a practical approach to establishing a plan for war termination and conflict resolution "before" the bullets fly.

In explaining the difference between strategy and policy, Colonel Dominic J. Caraccilo clarifies the most important, and often the most constraining, element of a nation's power--its resources. He posits that termination...

Since 9/11, U.S. intelligence organizations have grappled with the use of "open source" information derived from unclassified material, including international newspapers, television, radio, and websites. They have struggled as well with the idea of sharing information with international and domestic law enforcement partners. The apparent conflict between this openness and the secrecy inherent in intelligence provides an opportunity to reconsider what intelligence is, how it is used, and how citizens and their government interact in the interests of national security. That is the goal of...

"North Korea under Kim Chong-il: Power, Politics, and Prospects for Change" delves deeply into what we know--and what we think we know--about the current North Korean system. This incisive book probes the dynamics that inform the nation's domestic and foreign policies, examining key leadership institutions and personalities, as well as prospects for the next regime.

In outlining the major events behind Kim Chong-il's assumption of power, Ken E. Gause illuminates the environment that shaped Chong-il's worldview and his concept of the regime and his role in it. The book focuses on regime...

Ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel are highly dangerous for the Middle East and have the potential to spark another major war in the region, perhaps on a much larger scale than prior conflicts. Such a confrontation between the two nations would jeopardize regional and international security, and is of immediate concern for the United States.

In this new book noted scholar Jalil Roshandel provides an in-depth look at topics such as Iranian state support for terrorism, its pursuit of nuclear capability and weapons, the implications of this activity for Israel, and their relations...

Given the centrality of David Galula's theory to U.S. Counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is striking that there has been no independent evaluation of Galula's recollection of his COIN operations in Algeria. "Galula in Algeria: Counterinsurgency Practice versus Theory" delivers just such an analysis, exploring the colonial French counter-insurrectionary theoretical milieu of which Galula's COIN theory was a part, the influence of Galula's theory on U.S. COIN doctrine, and the current views of Galula's theory in France and other NATO countries.

French defense...

This fascinating book examines a question that continues to puzzle soldiers, statesmen, and scholars: why do major powers--including the ostensible superpower United States--repeatedly perform poorly against seemingly overmatched adversaries? And what can they, and the United States, do to better achieve their military objectives?

"How Wars are Won and Lost: Vulnerability and Military Power" argues that beyond relying solely on overwhelming military might, the United States needs to focus more on exploiting weaknesses in their adversaries--such as national will, resource mobilization,...

" Stability, Security, Reconstruction, and Transition Operations: A Guide to the Issues" puts the people, places, and events crucial to nation-building and security operations through U.S. experiences under the microscope.

This book focuses on the period after the Cold War, when U.S. operations proliferated, but also outlines the development of U.S. strategic decisions on nation-building and stability operations in a chronological fashion, providing documentation of these actions throughout American history. Original documents are provided and referenced to clarify concepts. With the...