Modeling Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure

December 2021 No Comments

Authors: Lt. Gen (Ret) Robert Elder (George Mason University) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Publication Preview George Mason University (GMU) worked with Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to model risk of strategic deterrence failure, […]

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The Escalatory Attraction of Limited Nuclear Employment For Great Power Competitors of the United States

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Authors: Christopher Yeaw (National Strategic Research Institute, University of Nebraska) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Publication Preview The United States has entered into a dangerously new era in which, for the first time in our nation’s history, […]

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Challenges to 21st Century Deterrence (Part II)

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Speakers: Lt Gen (Ret) Robert Elder, PhD (George Mason University); James Siebens (Defense Strategy & Planning Program, Stimson Center); Dr. Christopher Yeaw (National Strategic Research Institute, University of Nebraska) Date: 9 December 2021 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a panel discussion with Lt Gen (Ret) Robert Elder, PhD (George Mason University), Mr. James A. Siebens […]

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Invited Perspective: Anticipating the Effects of Emerging Technologies on Nuclear Deterrence

November 2021 No Comments

Author: Melanie Sisson (Brookings Institution) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Invited Perspective Preview The effectiveness of nuclear deterrence depends upon mutual confidence in second-strike capabilities – for nuclear deterrence to work, nuclear-armed competitors must all believe that […]

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The Role of Nuclear-Conventional Intermingling on State Decision-making and the Risk of Inadvertent Escalation

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Authors: Benjamin Bahney (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]) and Dr. Anna Péczeli (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Publication Preview Questions Addressed Framing the Problem In practice, there are three main forms of […]

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Challenges to 21st Century Deterrence (Part I)

November 2021 No Comments

Speakers: Benjamin W. Bahney (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]); Dr. Anna Péczeli (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]); and Dr. Melanie Sisson (Brookings Institute) Date: 30 November 2021 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a panel discussion with Mr. Benjamin W. Bahney (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]), Dr. Anna Péczeli (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]), and Dr. […]

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Never Mind, We’ll Do It Ourselves: How a Team of Renegades Broke Rules, Shattered Barriers, and Launched the Drone Warfare Revolution

November 2021 No Comments

Speaker(s): Bierbauer, A. (CEO of Blackrock Strategy, LLC); Cooter, M. (USAF, Retired) Date: 9 November 2021 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Mr. Alec Bierbauer (Blackrock Strategy, LLC) and Col Mark Cooter (USAF, Retired) as part of its SMA General Speaker Series.  The US Department of Defense’s Predator program demonstrated how different organizations […]

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Operations in the Information Environment: Course of Action Analysis Exercise

November 2021 No Comments

Authors: Devin Ellis (ICONS); Dr. Egle Murauskaite (ICONS); Dr. Gary Ackerman (CART, SUNY Albany); Doug Clifford (CART, SUNY Albany) Publication Preview This report supported SMA’s Integrating Information in Joint Operations (IIJO) project. For additional speaker sessions and project publications, please visit the IIJO project page. The ICONS Project, a wargaming and simulation organization at the University […]

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SMA Perspectives Virtual Discussion

November 2021 No Comments

US versus China: Promoting “Constructive Competition” to Avoid “Destructive Competition” NOTE: This event has passed. Tuesday, November 16th 2021 1300–1500 (EST) Please join SMA for its second SMA Perspectives Virtual Discussion: a two-hour companion event to our recently released SMA Perspectives volume, US versus China: Promoting “Constructive Competition” to Avoid “Destructive Competition.” The discussion will […]

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Deterrence and Defense Strategy: Old Lessons and New Contexts

October 2021 No Comments

Speaker(s): Malkasian, C. (CNA) Date: 3 November 2021 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Carter Malkasian (CNA) as part of its SMA STRATCOM Academic Alliance Speaker Session. New academic studies focusing on multipolar nuclear deterrence are necessary to understand how posturing and brinksmanship by actors can deter a potential conflict or lead […]

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