China’s Role and Interests in Afghanistan
China’s Role and Interests in Afghanistan Speaker: Pantucci, R. (Royal United Services Institute [RUSI]) Date: 20 July 2018 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Raffaello Pantucci (Royal United Services Institute [RUSI]) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM (Afghanistan) Speaker Series. Mr. Pantucci first provided a brief history of China’s […]
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11th Annual SMA Conference – “A Utopian or Dystopian Future, or Merely Muddling Through?”
11th Annual SMA Conference – “A Utopian or Dystopian Future, or Merely Muddling Through?” Author | Editor: Aviles, W. (NSI, Inc.). Conference Theme This Conference assessed what today we rightly or wrongly perceive as historically unprecedented changes from the perspectives of politics and history, sociology, biology, information science, and technological innovation. There is a large […]
Continue ReadingPost-War Economic Development in Iraq & Syria
Question (R6.5): After a long period of war, both Iraq and Syria are devastated and considerable rebuilding efforts will be necessary to make these countries economically sound again. Is there an opportunity to entice regional countries to invest and thus improve stability and inter-state relations in the region and decrease their (economical) dependence on western […]
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US Retain Stability in Post-Kurdish Referendum Iraq
Question (R6.8): What is the role of the United States and coalition partners in maintaining stability as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, as other groups grapple with the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum? Authors | Editors: Aviles, W. (NSI, Inc.) Overview Since the controversial September referendum for Iraqi Kurdish independence, the political stability of the Kurdistan Regional Government […]
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Alleviating US-Iran Tensions
Question (R4.6): What are the competing national interests of the United States and Iran in the Middle East and what are the options for alleviating United States / Iranian tensions to mutual satisfaction and improved regional stability? Author | Editor: Astorino-Courtois, A. (NSI, Inc). Executive Summary The US and Iran have the same types of […]
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Promoting greater stability in post-ISIL Iraq, Volume 1
Promoting greater stability in post-ISIL Iraq, Volume 1: Analysis of the drivers of legitimacy, security, and social accord for key Iraqi stakeholders. Author | Editor: Bragg, B., & Polansky (Pagano), S. (NSI, Inc.) Executive Summary United States Central Command (CENTCOM) posed the following question to the Strategic Multi-layer Assessment (SMA) virtual reach back cell: What […]
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Promoting Greater Stability in Post-ISIL Iraq, Volume 2
Promoting greater stability in post-ISIL Iraq, Volume 2: Why do groups form and why does it matter for stability in Iraq? When the social becomes political. Author | Editor: Bragg, B., & Polansky (Pagano), S. (NSI, Inc.) Executive Summary United States Central Command (CENTCOM) posed the following question to the Strategic Multi-layer Assessment (SMA) virtual […]
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Prioritized Iranian Interests in the Middle East
Question (R6.9): How does Iran prioritize its influence and presence in the region? Author | Editor: Canna, S. (NSI, Inc). Executive Summary Hoping to answer the question of how Iran prioritizes its influence and presence in the Middle East, we asked fifteen experts to list—in rank order—Iran’s key interests, how it seeks to realize those […]
Continue ReadingPopulation’s Positive View of ISIL
To what extent do populations maintain positive views of ISIL or ISIL’s ideology, particularly in European, N. African, and Arabian Peninsula countries most associated with foreign fighter flows into Syria and Iraq? What are the general perceptions associated with ISIL endorsed themes, to include: 1) desire for re-establishing the Caliphate; 2) imposition of Shariah law; […]
Continue ReadingCounter Extremism in Sunni Communities
Question (V2): What are the key factors that would impact the wave of violent extremism and ideological radicalism that affect the Sunni community? Author | Editor: Canna, S. (NSI, Inc). Executive Summary The Sunni community is not homogenous, and contributors expressed their discomfort making broad generalizations for a number of reasons. Most Sunni Arabs still […]
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