Showcasing Scholarly Works: Defense and Strategic Studies Presentations at West Point's Showcase Event

In a showcase of academic ingenuity, the United States Military Academy (West Point) held its twenty-third annual Projects Day on April 28. The event showcased cadet-led research projects and theses across various academic departments, with more than four hundred projects presented, many with ties to the academy's mission of generating new knowledge for the profession of arms.

The research presented this year focused on two primary themes: civilian violence and force modernization. One of the standout theses was Josh Damir's "Opposite Sides of the Coin: Understanding the Unlikely Success of the FLN and the Failure of the LTTE," which argues that insurgent group success depends on its strategy of violence and contextual variables such as regime type, state capacity, and insurgent resources.

The cadets' understanding of the American military and its role in the world was significantly impacted by the conflict in Afghanistan and the invasion of Ukraine. This influence was evident in Branden Harder's thesis, "The Silent Killer: The Rise of Domestic Terrorism in the 21st Century," which focuses on explaining the rise in domestic terrorism in the United States since 2000 and the radicalization process leading to violence.

Another notable thesis was Caleb Burnett's "Terrorists to Politicians: Understanding Insurgent Groups' Transition into Politics in the Philippines." This research examines the transition of terrorist groups into political ones in the Philippines.

The Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS) program at West Point, an interdisciplinary major that addresses problems related to conflict, war, and national defense policies, also had its share of insightful projects. Konrad Babraj's thesis, "Command Uncontrolled: The Effect of US Civil-Military Relations on the Use of Force in Counterinsurgency," explores the trends of civil-military relations within the United States and their impact on the use of force in counterinsurgencies.

The Uyghur genocide is a focus of current discussion, with President Biden's Interim National Security Strategic Guidance highlighting its importance. Jacob Lapin's thesis, not provided in the text, might discuss the strategic significance of the Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has declared a "People's War" against "separatism, terrorism, and extremism" in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The research also delved into the crime-terror nexus, with James "Kyle" Mathis' thesis, "Dangerous Connections: A Study on Drug Smuggling and Human Trafficking within the Crime-Terror Nexus," exploring financial connections between prominent criminal organizations in Latin America and active terrorist organizations with roots in the Middle East.

The findings show a significant level of cooperation by criminal and terrorist groups relating to weapons and drug trafficking throughout Central and South America. Jack Eames' thesis, "Classifying Cartel Civil Engagement Strategies," creates a typology of three ways in which Mexican cartels seek to control the behavior of civilian populations.

One of the most intriguing pieces of research was Nathan Miles' "An Ace in the War of Nerves: State Targeting of Noncombatants in Warfare," which explores the deliberate killing of noncombatants in warfare and finds that existing explanations are not sufficient to explain why states target noncombatants. The research focuses on Hezbollah as a case study and uses various sources, including open-source news articles, academic papers, government hearings, and interviews with US special operations personnel in Colombia.

The Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS) cadets' projects also included Dan Andreou's thesis, "The Army on the Korean Peninsula: Lessons Learned for Force Structure," which discusses the atrophy in large-scale combat operations skills within the US Army. Lastly, the research by Paul Staniland, titled "Opposite Sides of the Coin: Understanding the Unlikely Success of the FLN and the Failure of the LTTE," provides an analysis of the factors that contributed to the success of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in Algeria and the failure of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.

Showcasing Scholarly Works: Defense and Strategic Studies Presentations at West Point's Showcase Event