Decisive Point Podcast

American accounts of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) contend that it is a coherent grand strategy that reflects Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions. These accounts ignore the BRI’s fragmented nature, whereby Chinese provinces have been pivotal actors in its development and implementation. Furthermore, these accounts disregard the agency of participant countries and their capacity to shape the BRI. This article illustrates this fragmentation and agency by studying the Yunnan province and its domestic and international neighbors. It contends that these dynamics indicate that the BRI lacks coherence and that Beijing’s capacity to extract geopolitical benefits will remain limited. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss2/4/ E-mail usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: China, Belt and Road, fragmented authoritarianism, geopoliticsDownload the transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jul/10/2003500541/-1/-1/0/5-12-GARCIA-GUERREIRO-TRANSCRIPT.PDF

Russia will dominate information warfare if the United States does not treat disinformation as central to Russian strategy. This podcast examines the vital role disinformation played in post–Cold War Russian strategy, including its strategy in the current Russia-Ukraine War, and in a departure from previous scholarship, this podcast observes that US defense leaders are aware of Russian disinformation but have failed to assess its impact or sufficiently negate Russian influence. The podcast also suggests proactive ways to counter Russia’s disinformation strategy. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss2/6/ E-mail usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: Russia, Ukraine, information operations, disinformation, information literacy

The China Landpower Studies Center Director Richard Butler and Joshua Arostegui, the center’s research director and chair, discuss the center’s research agenda. Previously, Butler outlined the center’s mission and how the researchagenda answers large campaign questions across the perspectives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States, and US allies and partners.Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/12/Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article.Keywords: China, Landpower, People’s Liberation Army, Chinese Communist Party, protracted war

Strengthening ties with Taiwan is the best chance the United States has to preserve the liberal international order in Asia and improve its security relative to China. This study offers a normative perspective on how Taiwan can contribute to US-led international institutions and the Asian regional order and reduce conflict risk. It concludes with recommendations for the United States and its partners to integrate Taiwan into multilateral institutions in Asia. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/6/Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article.Keywords: US foreign policy, China, Taiwan, Indo-Pacific, rules-based orderDownload the podcast transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jun/13/2003484847/-1/-1/0/DP-5-8-LAI-TRANSCRIPT.PDF

The essay this podcast episode is based on sets the stage for the Strategic Studies Institute’s research on the growing importance of South Korea to the US alliance system and security objectives across the Indo-Pacific region, provides reasons why South Korea may become commensurate with Japan as the region’s primary US ally, and proposes ways the United States should leverage this reality to maximize this relationship and maintain a free and open Pacific. This important analysis challenges the orthodox view of South Korea as a self-contained problem set with little relevance to other regional security issues and explains its underappreciated connections to regional stability.Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol53/iss2/15/Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article.Keywords: South Korea, North Korea, Indo-Pacific (INDOPACOM), armistice agreement, security, nuclear, Russia-Ukraine War, national defenseDownload the transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/May/30/2003475800/-1/-1/0/DP-5-8-Wolford-Transcript.PDF

This podcast examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears to have a sound basis in international law. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/7/. Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: self-defense, international law, non-state actors, Israel, HamasDownload the transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/May/23/2003471525/-1/-1/0/DP-5-6-HEINZE%20TRANSCRIPT.PDF

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and inf luence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response.Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/5/Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article.Keywords: China, strategic Landpower, internal security, security force assistance, policeDownload the transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Sep/12/2003542574/-1/-1/0/DP-5-6-GREITENS-TRANSCRIPT.PDF

Domestic constraints make it difficult for the United States to pursue a coherent program of restraint in the Middle East. As events in Gaza revive debates about the appropriate size and scope of the military footprint in the region, this article shows the importance of grounding any revised posture on a firm domestic foundation. Going beyond accounts that blame the obstructionism of a foreign policy establishment, it explores barriers to strategic adjustment and supports its claims through a case study of the Obama administration’s record, drawn from relevant literature, data on the distribution of military capabilities, and interviews with senior officials. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/8/ Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: Middle East, restraint, public opinion, domestic politics, polarization, civil-military relations Download the transcript: https://media.defense.gov/2024/May/01/2003454360/-1/-1/0/DP-5-4-PAYNE-TRANSCRIPT.PDF

Self-deterrence is critically understudied in deterrence theory. Similarly, deterrence practitioners prefer to focus on adversaries’ threats rather than seeking to account for the full scope of fears influencing the decision calculus of policymakers. Through historical case studies, this article identifies where self-deterrence has occurred, highlights the benefits of incorporating the concept in future strategic planning and intelligence assessments, and recommends that policymakers, strategists, and analysts acknowledge self-deterrence as an important factor when preparing for future wars. Read the article here: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol54/iss1/9/ Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: deterrence, self-deterrence, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, decision making

This article proposes a new definition of strategy as problem-solving that challenges the focus on goals and assumptions of order within many post–Cold War approaches to strategy. It argues that the military needs strategy to diagnose the complex problems of the twenty-first century before they can be solved. Inspired by practitioners such as Andrew Marshall and George F. Kennan, this new definition clarifies what strategists do and offers a logic for distinguishing the use of the term strategy. Practitioners will also find problem-solving tools and pedagogies they can adopt today. Email usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.parameters@army.mil to give feedback on this podcast or the genesis article. Keywords: complexity, Andrew Marshall, George F. Kennan, problem-solving, strategy