FPRI Featured Articles July 2010

The McChrystal Affair And U.S. Civil-Military Relations

Writing before the 2008 election, Richard Kohn, the eminent historian and student of US civil-military relations, predicted that "the new administration, like its predecessors, will wonder to what extent it can exercise civilian 'control.' If the historical pattern holds, the administration will do something clumsy or overreact, provoking even more distrust simply in the process of establishing its own authority." Recent events demonstrate that he was correct.

In late June of this year, it was reported that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, and members of his staff had criticized top Obama administration officials. The story, published in Rolling Stone, quoted officers on McChrystal's staff making disparaging remarks about the vice president, the national security adviser, and the president himself. Gen. McChrystal was summoned to Washington D.C., where he offered his resignation, which the president accepted. Read “The McChrystal Affair And U.S. Civil-Military Relations” »

Additional Articles on Civil Military Relations

Why The Military Makes Public Health A Priority

The military is involved in public health because diseases do not respect a uniform. The mosquito cannot tell whether the arm is in a uniform or not. The military has to protect itself—campaigns have been affected (even lost) because a force was unhealthy due to communicable disease. Read “Why The Military Makes Public Health A Priority” »

Canada At Mid-Year 2010: A View From North Of The Border

Following World War II, Canadian politics were regarded as dull; then, all of a sudden, they weren't. For almost two decades, the country raced through the political science equivalent of a wind sprint marathon: Read “Canada At Mid-Year 2010: A View From North Of The Border” »

The Mavi Marmara Incident, Rafah, and Egypt's Steel Wall

The Gaza Strip has represented a potentially strategic threat on both the local and regional levels for the past several years. During this time, various steps have been taken by Israel, Egypt, the United States, and the European Union to try to mitigate the considerable challenge posed by Gaza, though with very limited success. However, one recent measure initiated by the Egyptian government -- the building of a steel wall underneath the Egyptian-Gazan border -- stands a chance of making a decisive change on the ground. Cairo began constructing an underground border barrier in December 2009 in order to halt the smuggling of illegal weapons and other contraband via the Hamas-run underground tunnel network. This wall, however, is also emblematic of a new fault line that has emerged between competing sides in the Middle East, pitting the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, and in certain instances, Turkey. Read “The Mavi Marmara Incident, Rafah, and Egypt's Steel Wall” »

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Recent Audio and Video

From the Archive

Featured Video: James Mattis on Joint Warfare in the 21st Century

Joint Warfare in the 21st Century

James Mattis

February 12, 2009 / Washington, DC

James Mattis, the newly nominated commander of U.S. Central Command, spoke on Joint Warfare in the 21st Century.

This presentation was the keynote address at a February 2009 conference on National Security Challenges for the Obama Administration.

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Additional papers and videos from this conference are available.

Featured Media

Nation Building

Dominic Tierney, Assistant Professor Of Political Science, Swarthmore College, And Senior Fellow, FPRI

April 11, 2010 / Wheaton, Illinois

This presentation was part of The Role Of The Military In America's (Domestic) History: A History Institute for Teachers, presented by FPRI’s Wachman Center and the Cantigny First Division Foundation.

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FPRI Featured Orbis Articles

Change and the American Security Paradigm

While we have always assumed a neat institutional distinction between the United States’ internal defenses and the military power mobilized to protect its international interests, are porous borders and trans-national syndicates blurring those boundaries? Read Change and the American Security Paradigm » PDF

How the U.S. Lost the Naval War of 2015

Coupling its new asymmetric naval force to visionary maritime strategy and oceans policy, China ensured that all elements of national power promoted its goal of dominating the East China Sea. The United States, in contrast, had a declining naval force, maritime strategy focused on lower order partnerships, and a national oceans policy that devalued strategic interests in freedom of navigation. Read How the U.S. Lost the Naval War of 2015 » PDF

FPRI Featured Footnotes May 2010

Shiism: What Students Need to Know

Shiism is the second-largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. Today, the Shia comprise about 10 percent of the total population of Muslims in the world. Read “Shiism: What Students Need to Know” »

Sunni Islam: What Students Need to Know

It is the mark of a great world religion to accommodate different outlooks and sensibilities. According to the majority Sunni view, the Prophet Muhammad died in 632 C.E. without naming a successor. If Muhammad had had a son, the Muslims at Medina might easily have settled the issue of the succession, but the one son born to the Prophet died in infancy. Read “Sunni Islam: What Students Need to Know” »

Recent Footnotes