Collection: Online Resources

In this essay, the author first describes the concept of national security and how it is typically achieved before attempting to shed light on the concept of Transparency. Next, viewing Transparency as an instrument, he identifies the mechanisms underpinning its effects and discusses its value an...

This 3rd edition of the Army WOSpec Guidebook aims to enhance the awareness of Our Army WOSpecs to take greater ownership of our roles and responsibilities as competent warfighters, trainers and leaders to meet present and future challenges. It is the editorial committee’s intent that this refres...

In this essay, the author examines the continuities and developments in naval warfare in three sections. First, he examines the concept of naval warfare. Second, he studies the role of naval thought and technology in the revolution and evolution of naval warfare. In the third and final section, t...

In this essay, the author examines the challenges faced by states seeking to deter threats without the advantage of possessing nuclear weapons. He first examines the principles behind deterrence such as the two main strategies of denial and punishment. The factors needed for successful deterrence...

Both World War Two (WWII) and World War One (WWI) mark some of humanity’s darkest moments in the 20th century—cities razed to the ground, acts of unspeakable cruelty and deaths numbering in the untold millions. In this essay, the author argues that, despite the undeniably bloody legacy left by bo...

States are increasingly vulnerable in the modern-day 21st century geopolitical environment, arising from globalization, connectivity and disruptions from the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Economic interdependency and the global free flow of ideas and information have increased the vulnerabilit...

In this essay, the author cites Mary Kaldor1, who argues that armed conflicts in the post-Cold War era is fundamentally different from traditional Clausewitzian interstate conflicts. Unlike old wars, which were fought between state-controlled militaries for geopolitical and ideological reasons, '...

In this essay, the author highlights that while civilian leadership may help to drive top-down military innovation in peacetime, a civil-military relationship characterised by directive civilian control breeds a culture of deference and thus negatively affects a military's spontaneity in adapting...

In this essay, the author theorises that a state’s growth in economic might is often matched by an increasingly outward-facing strategic vision and a corresponding build-up of military power projection capabilities. He cited the example of the United States, a growing economic power by the late 1...