Why Clausewitz Still Matters for Modern War
Why is Clausewitz still relevant today? This post explains common misunderstandings of On War and how Restoring Clausewitz helps readers interpret his ideas, plus details on meeting the author at ISA 2026.
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What Venezuela 2026 Reveals About US Coercive Diplomacy
For those tasked with understanding or responding to the 2026 Venezuela crisis—from policy analysts and foreign affairs professionals to academic researchers—US Coercive Diplomacy and the Global Order offers more than historical analysis. It provides a structured way to evaluate the logic, limitations, and long-term consequences of America’s most consequential strategic choices.
Whether used to inform foreign policy debates, support classroom discussion in graduate-level courses, or guide strategic assessments, the clarity, insight, and real-world grounding in Richard Outzen’s book make it a valuable resource.
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Book Excerpt: “Russia and the Changing Character of Conflict” by Tracey German
“Russia’s actions in and around Ukraine in 2014, as well as its activities in Syria and farther afield, sparked renewed debate about the character of war and armed conflict and whether it was undergoing a fundamental shift.”
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Book Excerpt: “Planning War with a Nuclear China: US Military Strategy and Mainland Strikes” by John Speed Meyers
The following is an excerpt from Planning War with a Nuclear China: US Military Strategy and Mainland Strikes by John Speed Meyers. In response to the growth of the Chinese military and the perception of a military balance tilting in favor of China, American strategists have devised and compared a number of…
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Book Excerpt: “Warrior Diplomats: Civil Affairs Forces on the Front Lines” edited by Arnel David, Sean Acosta, and Nicholas Krohley.
“As the United State rebalances and refocuses within a new strategic paradigm, it is vital that the US military rediscovers the value of Civil Affairs—and that Civil Affairs itself is ready to rise to the challenge.”
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Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 11)
In chapter 11, “Resourcing Homeland Security,” Mark Troutman examines the Department of Homeland Security. Because of its relative youth and extensive mandates, DHS’s process for creating and resourcing strategy is both the least developed and possibly the most consequential. Troutman argues that the DHS’s mission is likely to grow because…
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Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 10)
In chapter 10, “Programming Department of Defense Strategic Priorities,” John Ferrari discusses time as a critical factor in the resourcing calculus. He talks both about the time needed to become an expert of the system and in terms of the time an idea or strategy has the greatest chance of…
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Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 9)
In chapter 9, “Resourcing Military Readiness,” Laura Junor Pulzone gives an in-depth look at military readiness, showing the complex factors that influence this readiness and the ways the Department of Defense assesses it. Maintaining ready forces, Junor Pulzone writes, proves challenging both because the complexity of the mechanisms undergirding ready…
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Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 8)
In chapter 8, “Strategic Choices in Defense Force Structure,” Michael Linick discusses the complexities of resourcing national strategy to meet various security demands. Linick writes that “planners deal with tremendous uncertainty” and that the “bridging of ends, ways, and means is often missing or poorly articulated in DoD strategies.” Arguing…
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Book Excerpt from “Resourcing the National Security Enterprise” (Chapter 7)
In chapter 7, “The Defense Budget Process,” of Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ends and Means of US National Security, Tom McNaugher writes about how the budget process of the Department of Defense. McNaugher says that while the Department of Defense has “funded, over many decades, a remarkably…
