How Thick or Thin Is Russian Support for Putin’s War Against Ukraine?—Political Perspectives of Russian Elites and Mass Publics Before the Invasion: An Analysis of Survey Data (2020-2021)

March 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Sherlock, T. (United States Military Academy, West Point) Date: 23 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Thomas Sherlock (Professor of Political Science, United States Military Academy, West Point) as part of its SMA EUCOM Speaker Series. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a politically risky decision when ordering the invasion […]

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Escalation Management in Gray Zone Crises: A Proposed Toolkit

March 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Ellis, D. (University of Maryland); Elder, R. (George Mason University); Astorino-Courtois, A. (NSI) Date: 22 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Mr. Devin Hayes Ellis (University of Maryland), Lt Gen (Ret) Robert Elder, PhD (George Mason University), and Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI) as part of its SMA General Speaker Series. Gray zone conflict—which […]

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Special Forces in Great Power Competition

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Speaker(s): Watling, J. (Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)) Date: 16 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Jack Watling (Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)) as part of its SMA General Speaker Series. Special operations forces (SOF) have historically been at the center of US military actions, especially at the beginning […]

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Russian Information Operations and War in Ukraine—What Can We Expect and Do?

March 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Pomerantsev, P. (Johns Hopkins University); Rid, T. (Johns Hopkins University) Date: 17 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Thomas Rid (Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins University) and Mr. Peter Pomerantsev (Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins University) as part of its SMA EUCOM Speaker Series. While it is hard to process all […]

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Systemic Strategic Thinking, Policy Analysis, and Planning

March 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Porter, W. (Naval Postgraduate School) Date: 15 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Wayne Porter, CAPT, USN (Ret)(Senior Lecturer, Naval Postgraduate School) as part of its SMA Anticipating the Future Operational Environment (AFOE) Speaker Series. The world is comprised of a complex network of systems which take long-term, nonlinear, […]

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War: How Conflict Shaped Us

March 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): MacMillan, M. (Oxford University) Date: 9 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Prof. Margaret MacMillan (Professor of International History, Oxford University) as part of its SMA NDU (INSS/PRISM) Speaker Series. War has always been a force for change between countries and within society. The relationship between society and war is cyclical as […]

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Countering Russia Through Irregular Warfare: Cost Imposition in Ukraine and Beyond

February 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Meredith, S. (National Defense University) Date: 8 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Spencer Meredith (Professor of National Security Strategy, National Defense University) as part of its SMA EUCOM Speaker Series. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is exposing that it was not well equipped to carry out a large-scale military invasion. The […]

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Defense Strategy and a Strategy of Denial?

February 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Colby, E. (The Marathon Initiative) Date: 3 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Mr. Elbridge Colby (The Marathon Initiative) as part of its SMA NDU (INSS/PRISM) Speaker Series. US grand strategy for contesting China’s potential aggression in the Asian Pacific, but also more broadly, must be redefined. Following the collapse of […]

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Stabilizing Great Power Rivalries

February 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Mazarr, M. (RAND); Charap, S. (RAND) Date: 2 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Michael Mazarr (RAND) and Dr. Samuel Charap (RAND) as part of its SMA EUCOM/INDOPACOM Speaker Series. Ensuring stability between geopolitical rivals can strengthen overall international security and deescalate potentially world-changing conflicts. For a rivalry to be […]

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Complexity, Cognition, and Language: How Our Linguistic Habits Shape—and Distort—Our Understanding of Today’s Complex Strategic Environment

February 2022 No Comments

Speaker(s): Kerbel, J. (National Intelligence University) Date: 1 March 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Mr. Josh Kerbel (National Intelligence University) as part of its SMA General Speaker Series. Understanding the language of state leaders from non-English speaking countries is important for diplomatic dialogue and national security. However, the US State Department’s […]

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