PUBLICATIONS
Fall 2009
"Correspondence: Another Skirmish in the Battle over Democracies and War"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Dan Reiter, Allan Stam and Alexander B. Downes, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2007-2008
Dan Reiter and Allan Stam respond to Alexander Downes's Spring 2009 article "How Smart and Tough Are Democracies? Reassessing Theories of Democratic Victory in War."
Fall 2009
"Long Time Going: Religion and the Duration of Crusading"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Michael Horowitz, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
Scholars have argued for centuries about the relative importance of religion in determining behavior. Do actors with genuine religious beliefs, both leaders and foot soldiers, actually fight wars and commit atrocities in the name of religion and religious institutions? Or is religion a proxy for materialist variables such as land grabs or wealth creation?
Fall 2009
"Transformative Choices: Leaders and the Origins of Intervention Strategy"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
When and why do great powers seek to transform foreign institutions and societies through military interventions? What role does executive leadership play in influencing the choice of intervention strategy, especially the degree to which an intervention interferes in the domestic institutions of the target state?
Fall 2009
"What’s in a Line? Is Partition a Solution to Civil War?"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Nicholas Sambanis and Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl
Does territorial partition of countries in civil wars help to end these wars, reducing the risk of recurrence? Researchers have proposed territorial partition with or without formal recognition of sovereignty as a solution to civil wars and a way to create self-enforcing peace. Quantitative studies of the effect of partition on the risk of renewed civil war, however, suffer several main shortcomings, including conflicting results in the extant literature that result mainly from data coding differences, selective use of case histories, and methodological problems.
Fall 2009
"China's Naval Nationalism: Sources, Prospects, and the U.S. Response"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Robert Ross
Recent developments in Chinese politics and defense policy indicate that China will soon embark on an ambitious maritime policy that will include construction of a power-projection navy centered on an aircraft carrier. But just as nationalism and the pursuit of status encouraged past land powers to seek great power maritime capabilities, widespread nationalism, growing social instability, and the leadership's concern for its political legitimacy drive China's naval ambition.
Fall 2009
"Bad Debts: Assessing China's Financial Influence in Great Power Politics"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
Commentators and policymakers have articulated growing concerns about U.S. dependence on China and other authoritarian capitalist states as a source of credit to fund the United States' trade and budget deficits. What are the security implications of China's creditor status? If Beijing or another sovereign creditor were to flex its financial muscles, would Washington buckle?
Summer 2009
"The Waning of U.S. Hegemony—Myth or Reality? A Review Essay"
International Security, issue 1, volume 34
By Christopher Layne, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1995-1996
Over the next two decades, international politics will be shaped by whether the international system remains unipolar or is transformed into a multipolar system. Can the United States sustain its primacy? Or will the emergence of new great powers reorder the distribution of power in the international system?
Summer 2009
"Speed Kills: Analyzing the Deployment of Conventional Ballistic Missiles"
International Security, issue 1, volume 34
The United States, if it works to mitigate the risk of misperception and an inadvertent nuclear response, should deploy near-term conventional ballistic missiles (CBMs) in support of the prompt global strike (PGS) mission. The prompt response of CBMs would likely be sufficient to defeat many time-sensitive, soft targets, provided actionable intelligence was available.
Summer 2009
"The Limits of Coercive Airpower: NATO'S 'Victory' in Kosovo Revisited"
International Security, issue 1, volume 34
Despite NATO's overwhelming strategic superiority, Milošević was able to reject his adversary's terms of surrender until his political position became untenable. This suggests that airpower may have greater limitations as a tool of statecraft than its supporters maintain.
Summer 2009
"Ending the Korean War: the Role of Domestic Coalition Shifts in Overcoming Obstacles to Peace"
International Security, issue 1, volume 34
Bargaining models of war suggest that war ends after two sides develop an overlapping bargaining space. Through preference, information, and entrapment obstacles, wars can become "stuck" and require a change in expectations to produce a war-terminating bargaining space. A major source of such change is a shift in belligerents’ governing coalitions.
