Strengthening the Defense of NATO's Eastern Frontier

Strengthening the Defense of NATO's Eastern Frontier PDF Author: Billy Fabian
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deterrence (Strategy)
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description
A resurgent and revisionist Russia poses a threat to the security of the NATO Alliance and its members states. Although a major conflict between NATO and Russia remains unlikely, plausible paths to conflict exist that NATO cannot afford to ignore. At the same time, the NATO Alliance faces strategic and operational challenges that threaten to undermine its ability to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression along the Alliance’s eastern frontier. The U.S. European Deterrence Initiative and other efforts have done much to strengthen collective deterrence and defense, but serious challenges remain, especially where the potential for conflict is most acute and the NATO Alliance is most vulnerable: the Baltic region. In this report, our authors offer a new strategy for deterring and, if necessary, defeating Russian aggression against NATO in the Baltic region and make recommendations for enhancing the U.S. forward posture in Europe and improving Poland’s military capabilities and force structure to support this strategy.

Strengthening the Defense of NATO's Eastern Frontier

Strengthening the Defense of NATO's Eastern Frontier PDF Author: Billy Fabian
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deterrence (Strategy)
Languages : en
Pages : 46

Get Book Here

Book Description
A resurgent and revisionist Russia poses a threat to the security of the NATO Alliance and its members states. Although a major conflict between NATO and Russia remains unlikely, plausible paths to conflict exist that NATO cannot afford to ignore. At the same time, the NATO Alliance faces strategic and operational challenges that threaten to undermine its ability to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression along the Alliance’s eastern frontier. The U.S. European Deterrence Initiative and other efforts have done much to strengthen collective deterrence and defense, but serious challenges remain, especially where the potential for conflict is most acute and the NATO Alliance is most vulnerable: the Baltic region. In this report, our authors offer a new strategy for deterring and, if necessary, defeating Russian aggression against NATO in the Baltic region and make recommendations for enhancing the U.S. forward posture in Europe and improving Poland’s military capabilities and force structure to support this strategy.

Reinforcing Deterrence on NATO's Eastern Flank

Reinforcing Deterrence on NATO's Eastern Flank PDF Author: David A. Shlapak
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Baltic States
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description
"Russia's recent aggression against Ukraine has disrupted nearly a generation of relative peace and stability between Moscow and its Western neighbors and raised concerns about its larger intentions. From the perspective of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the threat to the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- former Soviet republics, now member states that border Russian territory -- may be the most problematic of these. In a series of war games conducted between summer 2014 and spring 2015, RAND Arroyo Center examined the shape and probable outcome of a near-term Russian invasion of the Baltic states. The games' findings are unambiguous: As presently postured, NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members. Fortunately, it will not require Herculean effort to avoid such a failure. Further gaming indicates that a force of about seven brigades, including three heavy armored brigades -- adequately supported by airpower, land-based fires, and other enablers on the ground and ready to fight at the onset of hostilities -- could suffice to prevent the rapid overrun of the Baltic states"--Publisher's web site.

Beyond NATO

Beyond NATO PDF Author: Michael E. O'Hanlon
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815732589
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
In this new Brookings Marshall Paper, Michael O'Hanlon argues that now is the time for Western nations to negotiate a new security architecture for neutral countries in eastern Europe to stabilize the region and reduce the risks of war with Russia. He believes NATO expansion has gone far enough. The core concept of this new security architecture would be one of permanent neutrality. The countries in question collectively make a broken-up arc, from Europe's far north to its south: Finland and Sweden; Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus; Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and finally Cyprus plus Serbia, as well as possibly several other Balkan states. Discussion on the new framework should begin within NATO, followed by deliberation with the neutral countries themselves, and then formal negotiations with Russia. The new security architecture would require that Russia, like NATO, commit to help uphold the security of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other states in the region. Russia would have to withdraw its troops from those countries in a verifiable manner; after that, corresponding sanctions on Russia would be lifted. The neutral countries would retain their rights to participate in multilateral security operations on a scale comparable to what has been the case in the past, including even those operations that might be led by NATO. They could think of and describe themselves as Western states (or anything else, for that matter). If the European Union and they so wished in the future, they could join the EU. They would have complete sovereignty and self-determination in every sense of the word. But NATO would decide not to invite them into the alliance as members. Ideally, these nations would endorse and promote this concept themselves as a more practical way to ensure their security than the current situation or any other plausible alternative.

The Strategy of Denial

The Strategy of Denial PDF Author: Elbridge A. Colby
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300262647
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Why and how America’s defense strategy must change in light of China’s power and ambition Elbridge A. Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the most significant revision of U.S. defense strategy in a generation. Here he lays out how America’s defense must change to address China’s growing power and ambition. Based firmly in the realist tradition but deeply engaged in current policy, this book offers a clear framework for what America’s goals in confronting China must be, how its military strategy must change, and how it must prioritize these goals over its lesser interests. The most informed and in-depth reappraisal of America’s defense strategy in decades, this book outlines a rigorous but practical approach, showing how the United States can prepare to win a war with China that we cannot afford to lose—precisely in order to deter that war from happening.

Politics and Security of Central and Eastern Europe

Politics and Security of Central and Eastern Europe PDF Author: Ryszard Zięba
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031164199
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
This book analyzes major contemporary political and security problems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Presenting case studies on various CEE countries, it highlights the persistence of non-democratic political trends in the region, with particular emphasis on authoritarianism in Belarus and the illiberal shift in the politics of Hungary and Poland. Also, the book examines the growing geopolitical and military rivalry between the West and Russia in the CEE region, which led to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After addressing the increasing involvement of external entities such as NATO, the EU, the USA, Germany, France, and China, it highlights serious internal and external challenges to the democratic institutions and international security of CEE that call for new formats of multilateral cooperation to be established by the region’s countries. This book is intended for scholars and students of European politics, international relations and security studies, and for anyone interested in the political and security challenges facing the CEE region.

Deterrence and Escalation in Competition with Russia

Deterrence and Escalation in Competition with Russia PDF Author: Stephen Watts
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 1977408451
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
U.S. forward military posture can both deter and provoke armed conflict, and a similar logic pertains below the level of armed conflict. The authors of this report identify how forward posture could deter hostile measures in the competition space below the level of armed conflict through several mechanisms, particularly focusing on the presence of U.S. ground forces.

Strengthening NATO's Defense in the Southern Region

Strengthening NATO's Defense in the Southern Region PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Defense industries
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description


The Geopolitics of U.S. Overseas Troops and Withdrawal

The Geopolitics of U.S. Overseas Troops and Withdrawal PDF Author: Jo Jakobsen
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030944883
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Why is it so difficult for a great power or a hegemon to retrench its overseas military power? Specifically, why are U.S. military bases and troops still largely where they were five years ago, twenty years ago, or even seventy years ago? Through developing a theory of great-power persistence, this book offers an explanation. Closely aligned with neoclassical realism, the theory argues that the murkiness of the anarchic international system combines with specific psychological inclinations of individuals to produce “better-safe-than-sorry” policies. In the United States, decisions on troop deployments are powerfully influenced by the broader foreign-policy community. Its members tend to be risk-averse and highly sensitive to the possibility that even minor troop withdrawals might set off harmful geopolitical chain reactions. Preferring the status quo over any uncertain alternative, they want their country to continue to maximize its influence and project its military power abroad in order to steady wobbling geopolitical “dominoes.” The theory is put to the empirical test through a systematic analysis of U.S. overseas troop deployments, withdrawal attempts, and retrenchment resistance during the presidency of Donald Trump, which represents an ideal test case for these mechanisms. Even if U.S. voters elected a retrenchment advocate as president, and despite that the United States is a gradually declining power, the period saw very little change in U.S. overseas troop deployments. The book concludes that, barring any dramatic, unforeseeable international event, the vast network of overseas U.S. military bases and troops is likely to persist for a long time to come.

The Russian Way of War

The Russian Way of War PDF Author: Lester W. Grau
Publisher: Mentor Military
ISBN: 9781940370194
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces The mighty Soviet Army is no more. The feckless Russian Army that stumbled into Chechnya is no more. Today's Russian Army is modern, better manned, better equipped and designed for maneuver combat under nuclear-threatened conditions. This is your source for the tactics, equipment, force structure and theoretical underpinnings of a major Eurasian power. Here's what the experts are saying: "A superb baseline study for understanding how and why the modern Russian Army functions as it does. Essential for specialist and generalist alike." -Colonel (Ret) David M. Glantz, foremost Western author on the Soviet Union in World War II and Editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. "Congratulations to Les Grau and Chuck Bartles on filling a gap which has yawned steadily wider since the end of the USSR. Their book addresses evolving Russian views on war, including the blurring of its nature and levels, and the consequent Russian approaches to the Ground Forces' force structuring, manning, equipping, and tactics. Confidence is conferred on the validity of their arguments and conclusions by copious footnoting, mostly from an impressive array of primary sources. It is this firm grounding in Russian military writings, coupled with the authors' understanding of war and the Russian way of thinking about it, that imparts such an authoritative tone to this impressive work." -Charles Dick, former Director of the Combat Studies Research Centre, Senior Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, author of the 1991 British Army Field Manual, Volume 2, A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art and author of From Victory to Stalemate The Western Front, Summer 1944 and From Defeat to Victory, The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. "Dr. Lester Grau's and Chuck Bartles' professional research on the Russian Armed Forces is widely read throughout the world and especially in Russia. Russia's Armed Forces have changed much since the large-scale reforms of 2008, which brought the Russian Army to the level of the world's other leading armies. The speed of reform combined with limited information about their core mechanisms represented a difficult challenge to the authors. They have done a great job and created a book which could be called an encyclopedia of the modern armed forces of Russia. They used their wisdom and talents to explore vital elements of the Russian military machine: the system of recruitment and training, structure of units of different levels, methods and tactics in defense and offence and even such little-known fields as the Arctic forces and the latest Russian combat robotics." -Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Professor of Military Science and Project Director, Project on Asian Security, Emerging Technologies and Global Security Project PIR Center, Moscow. "Probably the best book on the Russian Armed Forces published in North America during the past ten years. A must read for all analysts and professionals following Russian affairs. A reliable account of the strong and weak aspects of the Russian Army. Provides the first look on what the Russian Ministry of Defense learned from best Western practices and then applied them on Russian soil." -Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and member of the Public Council of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Author of Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, Russia's New Army, and The Tanks of August.

Analyzing Political Tensions Between Ukraine, Russia, and the EU

Analyzing Political Tensions Between Ukraine, Russia, and the EU PDF Author: Christensen, Carsten Sander
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799829081
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
One of the world’s most prevalent political quarrels is the current geographical state of Ukraine, along with its relationships with Russia and the European Union. With the annexation of Crimea, Russian forces have gained control over most of Eastern Ukraine, igniting a clash between the two governments and triggering the European Union, United States, and several Post-Soviet states to involve themselves in the situation. As these engagements continue to unfold, significant research is needed to examine the current state of these administrations and the tensions that continue to intensify in this region of the world. Analyzing Political Tensions Between Ukraine, Russia, and the EU is a collection of innovative research on the recent developments inside this growing geopolitical conflict. While highlighting topics including neighborhood policy, NATO relations, and Eastern partnership, this book is ideally designed for politicians, policymakers, governmental strategists, researchers, educators, journalists, academicians, and students seeking further understanding of foreign relations and the current political struggles of these European territories.