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This website is in transition from the 2009 Strategy Conference site to the 2010 conference site.
XIX Annual Strategy Conference April 6-8, 2010
Registration will be available in January 2010. This website will be updated with fresh content and a new look in December 2009. The conference is titled, "Defining War for the 21st Century."
What is WAR? And why does it matter?
The U.S. Army and the other Services exist to fighting and win America's wars. But in the contemporary security environment, what that means is subject to intense debate. To help in the ongoing effort to refine its understanding of the post-September 11 world and develop an effective U.S. strategy, the Strategic Studies Institute's 21st annual Strategy Conference will bring together the world's foremost experts on the changing nature of war to clarify the issues, outline the debates, and generate strategic options.
We'll address key questions including the following:
- Why does it matter how we define war?
- How does a nation know it is at war?
- Will all "wars" have discernable start and end points, or will some "wars" have no definable end?
- What are the political and social implications when the political elite and general polity differ in their interpretations of the competitive or conflictive environment in which the nation finds itself?
- What are the dangers of misusing or overusing the "war" label?
- Are the current international law of armed conflict and domestic war declaring, making and sustaining legal authorities sufficient or even appropriate for the 21st century competitive and conflictive environment?
- Must a new "theory of war" be developed for the 21st century competitive and conflictive environment?
- What are the dimensions of war in the 21st century-- unrestricted war, lawfare, hybrid war, cold war, asymmetric war, cyber war?
- What are the ramifications of war without a foreseeable end?
- What are the challenges in defining victory in the 21st century?
