Center for Defense Studies
All of AEI scholars' work on strategic and military affairs is now
showcased within a new Center for Defense Studies at AEI, which
includes a website where reports and studies are posted along with
frequently updated commentary and analysis, and aggregated links to
daily news stories on defense issues. Admiral Michael Mullin delivered
the keynote address at the Center's launch event. Thomas Donnelly and Frederick W. Kagan have launched a major initiative of conferences, working groups, and publications to evaluate and offer recommendations about the present organization and future orientation of America's land forces. Messrs. Donnelly and Kagan's recent book, Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power, details the proper size, structure, and missions of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Stemming from questions raised by this project, Messrs. Donnelly and Kagan have commissioned six new essays on land power in irregular warfare for a second volume, Lessons for a Long War, which will be released within the next couple of months. Also this year, Mr. Donnelly and Gary J. Schmitt will publish a monograph on the future of NATO and the defense policies of key U.S. allies in Europe, as revealed by the alliance's continuing mission in Afghanistan. Mr. Schmitt is launching a new project that will assess the defense capabilities of U.S. allies and security partners, and produce a "Hard Power Index." Among other projects, AEI's team is also undertaking a comprehensive assessment of American security commitments and defense requirements modeled on the Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review.
Program on Advanced Strategic Studies
Since 9/11, the United States has adopted an ambitious grand security strategy that, to be successful, will require sufficient resources, effective institutions at home, robust alliances abroad, and policies that leverage America's competitive advantages to exploit our adversaries' weaknesses. Gary J. Schmitt leads a program that analyzes the long-term issues that will impact America's security and its ability to lead internationally. The program publishes articles and op-eds and conducts regular conferences and seminars on topics including the state of transatlantic relations, the security structures necessary for addressing the "rise of China," and the impact of recent reforms on the U.S. intelligence community. Mr. Schmitt's edited volume, The Rise of China: Essays on the Future Competition, was published last spring. It includes collected essays on China's growing military and economic strength, featuring contributions from a number of AEI scholars and premiere international security analysts. Mr. Schmitt and Dan Blumenthal recently launched a project to identify opportunities for enhanced strategic and defense industrial cooperation between Taiwan and the United States. Additionally, Mr. Schmitt is completing a new book, Safety and Liberty, to be released this year, that will compare the domestic counterterrorism policies of key democratic allies in Europe--the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and France--with those of the United States.
Middle East Studies
AEI's Middle East Studies Program examines the key political, economic, and social developments in the region and, more broadly, the prospects and challenges of democratic reform. Encompassing the work of John R. Bolton, Ali Alfoneh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Frederick W. Kagan, Danielle Pletka, Richard Perle, and Michael Rubin, the program covers U.S. strategy in the Middle East and issues such as Islamic radicalism, democracy promotion, Iraqi reconstruction, Iran's nuclear intransigence, U.S.-Turkish relations, the stability of Pakistan, and the growth and influence of opposition groups throughout the area. Mr. Kagan is leading the AEI Critical Threats Project, which highlights the complexity of the global challenges the United States faces with a primary focus on Iran and al Qaeda's global influence. The project has launched a new website linked to AEI's homepage, www.IranTracker.org, which incorporates AEI's past groundbreaking work, including Mr. Rubin's bilingual daily Iran News Round Up, which has been cited by experts as a "must read." Upcoming books include Mr. Rubin's Talking to the Enemy: The Promise and Peril of Engagement and Revolutionary Guards: Commanders, Commissars, and Collapse of Civilian Control, which will examine the IRGC's rise both as the dominant security apparatus of the Islamic Republic, but also in the political, economic, and informational spheres.
Asian Studies
AEI's Asian Studies Program includes the work of foreign policy and defense specialists Dan Blumenthal, John R. Bolton, Thomas Donnelly, Nicholas Eberstadt, Gary J. Schmitt, and our scholar in Japanese studies, Michael Auslin, as well as economists Claude Barfield, Kevin A. Hassett, Philip I. Levy, and John H. Makin. The program looks beyond traditional questions and explores the prospects and uncertainties of the region. Current research focuses on the rise of China as an economic and political power; Taiwan's security and economic agenda; Japan's military transformation; the threat of a nuclear North Korea; and the impact of regional alliances and rivalries on U.S. military and economic relationships in Asia. These and other topics are addressed in AEI's periodic Asian Outlook. Messrs. Donnelly, Blumenthal, and Schmitt are planning a project that will convene a series of working groups to discuss a variety of major issues central to developing a U.S. security strategy for Asia. They will consider threats in the Asia-Pacifc region, changing military and nuclear balances, and proposed changes in strategy and force posture. Mr. Eberstadt's latest book, Policy and Economic Performance in Divided Korea during the Cold War Era: 1945-91, was just released by the AEI Press.
Latin American Studies
Roger F. Noriega studies the Western Hemisphere, the region with the fastest-growing trade partners for the United States and one that is critical to U.S. security and energy concerns. Ambassador Noriega writes AEI's Latin American Outlook (published both in English and Spanish and circulated throughout the region) and conducts regular public and private sessions on key regional issues, including democracy and the rule of law, poverty, energy policy, free trade and foreign aid, and U.S.–Latin American relations. In the months ahead, he will be focusing on such issues as Cuba's admission into the Organization of American States, the anti-democratic and anti-institutional behavior of the authoritarian populist regimes in Latin America, trade, and economic crisis issues. AEI's work will highlight the importance of supporting effective partners in the region and will continue to recommend constructive, practical regional policy options.
Russian Studies
After years of progress toward liberal democracy, capitalism, and international cooperation, Russia once again poses strategic challenges for the West. Leon Aron analyzes Russia's key social, political, and economic trends, currently focusing on the toll of Russia's economic crisis on its single-industry towns (monogorods) and Russia's role in the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. He writes for AEI's quarterly Russian Outlook--a recent edition discusses U.S.-Russian relations and attests that better relations or renewed partnership will have to wait for an ideological and political evolution in Moscow. Mr. Aron is continuing to work on Roads to the Temple: Ideas and Ideals in the Making of the Russian Revolution, 1987–1991, which will examine how publicly expressed visions of a just and moral society inspired and shaped the revolt against the Soviet Communist regime. Future areas of focus for Mr. Aron will likely include studying the cleavages between the Putin/Medvedev tandem rule, the ongoing Khodorkovsky/Lebdev trial, and the unrest in the North Caucuses.
Development Studies
AEI's research on international development comprises the work of Roger Bate, Mauro De Lorenzo, Nicholas Eberstadt, Adam Lerrick, Philip I. Levy, Allan H. Meltzer, and Paul Wolfowitz. AEI's development program monitors and assesses U.S. and international economic development agencies, such as USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and regional development banks. The program encourages greater organizational effectiveness and explores the intersection of development policy, entrepreneurship, democracy promotion, public health, and security. Current projects include Mr. Bate's efforts to analyze the health and economic consequences of substandard and counterfeit drugs in developing countries, and the most cost-effective and sustainable methods of malaria control. Mr. Eberstadt's work on demographics and human capital in the developing world - particularly in the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets - assesses the impact of health and educational attainment on a society's prospects for economic growth and institutional consolidation. Mr. De Lorenzo is working on a book project to move U.S. development policy toward enhancing the business competitiveness of developing countries, rather than funding and managing their social spending.
National Sovereignty and Global Governance
How the United States, Europe, and other regions in the world approach ventures in global governance has profound implications on national sovereignty and the strength of international institutions. Together, Claude Barfield, John R. Bolton, Mauro De Lorenzo, and John Yoo address topics such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, terrorism and the laws of war, and the growing influence of formal and informal international law. Mr. Yoo recently edited a series of papers on the outsourcing of American law that consider the role of international and foreign law in American judicial decision making (now posted on AEI's website). He is also coauthoring a book to be published this year titled Globalization and American Sovereignty, which will examine the extent to which the U.S. Constitution places structural constraints on international cooperation. AEI cosponsors Global Governance Watch, a web-based resource that addresses issues of transparency and accountability in the United Nations, NGOs, and related international organizations (www.globalgovernancewatch.org).
Research Highlights
