Past Research Projects

The following research projects were completed before 2009.

Iran with Nuclear Weapons: Anticipating the Consequences for U.S. Security
Based on the assumption, unpalatable as it may seem, that a nuclear Iran is all but inevitable, this project, completed in 2008, focuses on three critically important questions.
project report (6.81 MB) || project details
Identifying Trends in Japan-DPRK Relations and Implications for U.S. Policy
This project, funded by the Smith-Richardson Foundation and completed in 2006, examined the determining factors behind Japan's evolving North Korea policy and how they will affect America's strategic and tactical approaches to the DPRK.
report (1.38 MB) || project details
North American Homeland Security and Defense: Enhancing U.S. Joint Planning and Cooperation with Canada and Mexico in the War against Terrorism
This project, completed in early 2006, explored options to increase homeland defense/security cooperation between the United States and Canada and between the United States and Mexico.
U.S.-Canada workshop report (2.34 MB) || U.S.-Mexico workshop report (673 KB)
Strengthening Forces for Democracy in the Middle East: Lessons from the Past and Strategies for the Future
This project was completed in 2006 as part of IFPA's ongoing work on democratization. The project's focus was democratic transformation in the Middle East and Central Asia.
project report (249 KB) || project details
Building on the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG): Exploring the Prospects for Expanding the TCOG Process as a Key U.S.-South Korea and U.S.-Japan Alliance Management Tool
This two-year project was completed in 2005. With a grant from the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership (CGP) IFPA collaborated with leading policy research institutions in Japan and South Korea on a policy research project to strengthen the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea relationships and enhance regional stability by improving the tools for alliance management.
monograph (1.87 MB) || related article (34 KB)
Planning for Long-term U.S. Military Engagement in Central Asia
This project, completed in 2004, examined the military and operational requirements that could be anticipated to drive U.S. security planning for operations in Central Asia and adjacent regions over the next ten to twenty years.
monograph (2.53 MB)
Stability and Confidence Building on the Korean Peninsula: Meshing Korean Reconciliation with U.S. Security Requirements
This study, funded by the Smith Richardson Foundation and completed in 2004, made a unique contribution both to the broad policy debate on the U.S. response to Korean reconciliation and to the articulation of a restructured military posture better suited to the geopolitical conditions of a reconciled (if not reunified) Korea. The study concluded with a monograph, Alliance Diversification and the Future of the U.S.-Korean Security Relationship, by Charles M. Perry, Jacquelyn K. Davis, James L. Schoff, and Toshi Yoshihara.
monograph available for purchase ($25)
Security Dynamics in Southeastern Europe
IFPA and the Kokkalis Foundation (Athens, Greece) collaborated on a project to examine the principal strategic-military challenges in this uncertain and evolving region and to assess their implications for the bilateral U.S.-Greek relationship and broader Alliance relations. Three volumes were produced:
  • Greek-Turkish Relations in the Era of Globalization, 2001
  • New Approaches to Balkan Studies, 2003
    available for purchase ($35)
  • Defense Reform, Modernization & Military Cooperation in Southeastern Europe, 2004
    available for purchase ($35)
Environmental Studies
IFPA conducted two projects that examined ways for communities threatened by environmental degradation or disaster to deal with these challenges: a November 2000 U.S.-GCC environmental conference and a multi-year study of the complex and diverse relationships between environmental threats and issues of ethnicity, ethnic tension, and potential ethnic conflict.
Northeast Asia After Korean Unification: Preparing the Japan-U.S. Alliance
This joint three-year study completed in 2003 by IFPA and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) examined the long-term implications of Korean unification for the U.S.-Japan alliance. The study concluded with a monograph, The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Preparing for Korean Reconciliation & Beyond, by Charles M. Perry and Toshi Yoshihara.
monograph available for purchase ($18)
Middle East Security and Energy Security
Ongoing analysis, in cooperation with Energy Security Analysis, Inc. (ESAI), of politico-military developments in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. Reports were issued quarterly between December 1998 and September 2002.
Enhancing Joint Crisis Management Capabilities: Issues and Policy Options for Japan-U.S. Cooperation
In this joint two-year study completed in 2002, IFPA and the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) examined issues and policy options on joint crisis management between Japan and the United States, exploring how Tokyo and Washington might better prepare for and respond to an array of crisis scenarios ranging from traditional security threats to emerging challenges.
Missile Defense and Counterproliferation Studies
Recognizing that over the first decade of the twenty-first century the United States and its allies will face a proliferation of precision weapons and missiles in the hands of adversaries, IFPA undertook several projects between 1997 and 2002 to assess U.S. and Allied missile defense and counterproliferation policy and technology.
Defense Trends and Security Planning Perspectives in Key Regional Theaters
This in-depth study of U.S., Allied, and coalition-partner security perspectives and policies focused on defense and security trends in South Asia, Europe, the Persian Gulf, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Nuclear Stability in South Asia
This study, completed in 2001, examined ways to enhance nuclear stability on the subcontinent.
monograph (1.59 MB)
Development of a Post-Cold War Academic Curriculum
Launched in 1994, this project explores post-Cold War instructional approaches in professional military educational institutions, particularly with regard to the security ramifications of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation and deterrence.
Overseas Presence and Power Projection
This study assessed the post-Cold War security environment and the contribution of American military posture to global security. Two monographs were produced: