Conflict & Warfare

The U.S.-South Korea alliance has been the cornerstone of bilateral cooperation and the U.S. security presence in the Indo-Pacific region for over seven decades and continues to serve as a model of partnership amid a growing range of challenges. Nevertheless, the rise of exclusive nationalism guided by “America First” or “Korea first” leadership that places national self-interest above alliance-based cooperation on shared challenges represents a point of vulnerability for the relationship. Combined with deepening political polarization in both countries, the cohesion and resilience of the U.S.-South Korea alliance may come under threat. The United States–South Korea Alliance: Why It May Fail and Why It Must Not analyzes the internal and external threats to the alliance. It explores how a weakened U.S.-South Korea alliance could impact the security strategies of both countries and the broader security landscape in Northeast Asia. Additionally, it hypothesizes a future without the U.S.-South Korea alliance, shedding light on its potential impact and implications for U.S. and South Korean security strategies. Based on the analysis, the author concludes by offering valuable recommendations to the United States and South Korea for preserving and sustaining the alliance. This book is suitable for the following disciplines in undergraduate and graduate courses: International Relations East Asian Studies and History Contemporary East Asian Foreign Relations Asian Security

In Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias, CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Stephen Biddle explains how nonstate military strategies overturn traditional perspectives on warfare.

As the principal guarantor of international peace and security in an increasingly turbulent world, the United States is at risk of being drawn into potentially costly conflicts that, over time, diminish its power. In Preventive Engagement, Paul Stares offers a new comprehensive strategy for lowering this risk by reducing the demand for U.S. power overseas in the long, medium, and short term.

In this book, CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot offers a comprehensive history of guerrilla warfare and terrorism, and relates lessons of the past to current national security policy considerations. Teaching notes by the author.

In this book, CFR Fellow Micah Zenko examines thirty-six discrete military operations carried out by the United States and evaluates U.S. policy choices, recommending ways in which limited military force may be applied in the future. Teaching notes by the author.

In this book, CFR President Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made. Teaching notes by the author.