Recent Publications & Presentations

IFPA regularly publishes special reports and monographs on topics of importance to the foreign affairs and security studies communities. The Institute also publishes summary reports on conferences, workshops, special studies, and seminars held by the Institute. Following are all publications completed since 2010 . Please visit our Archived Publications page for a list of earlier materials.

Most publications are available for download at no charge. To order a publication that is not available for download, click on the Available for Purchase link to purchase the publication online through PayPal, or telephone IFPA directly at 617-492-2116 to request a publication. You can also go directly to the Order Publications page to view and select from the complete list of publications available for purchase (but not for download).

major publications
conference/workshop reports
articles & presentations

  • Publications

    Anticipating a Nuclear Iran: Challenges for U.S. Security
    Jacquelyn K. Davis and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr.
    December 2013, Columbia University Press

    Based on a study originally completed under a grant to IFPA from the Smith Richardson Foundation, this book addresses major political and security challenges for the United States if Iran acquires a nuclear weapons capability. The co-authors are Dr. Jacquelyn K. Davis and Dr. Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr. It is scheduled for publication by Columbia University Press this fall.

    Rather than focus on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities, this volume assumes the worst, and a defensive, aggressive, and unstable Iran is already in the possession of a nuclear arsenal. How should the U.S. handle this threat, and can it deter the use of such weapons? Exploring three potential scenarios in which Iran becomes a nuclear state, this volume breaks down the political, strategic, and operational challenges facing the U.S. in a post-Cold War world.

    The volume concentrates on the type of nuclear capability Iran might develop; the conditions under which Iran might resort to threatened or actual weapons use; the extent to which Iran’s military strategy and declaratory policy might embolden Iran and its proxies to pursue more aggressive policies in the region and vis-à-vis the United States; and Iran’s ability to transfer nuclear materials to others within and outside of the region, possibly sparking a nuclear cascade. Drawing on recent post-Cold War deterrence theory, the authors consider Iran’s nuclear ambitions as they relate to its foreign policy objectives, domestic politics, and role in the Islamic world, and they suggest specific approaches the U.S. can undertake to improve its defense and deterrence planning.

    Jacquelyn K. Davis is executive vice president of the Institute.

    Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., is president of the Institute and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of International Security Studies at the Fletcher School, Tufts University.

     
    From Rhetoric to Reality: Foreign-Policy Making under the Democratic Party of Japan
    Weston S. Konishi
    April 2012, 112 pp

    This report examines the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)’s foreign-policy making since it took power in 2009. Prepared as part of a project supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the report looks at the key people, policies, and processes that have come to underlie the DPJ’s foreign-policy making as a ruling party, and it includes an attempt to define and categorize four main foreign policy strains within the party. Rather than focus on the current state of U.S.-Japan relations, this study examines Japan’s broader diplomatic and strategic activity beyond the bilateral relationship while considering how these actions might impact the U.S.-Japan relationship in the future.

     
    New Strategic Dynamics in the Arctic Region: Implications for National Security and International Collaboration
    Charles M. Perry and Bobby Andersen
    February 2012, 190 pp

    A comprehensive examination of the new strategic map now emerging in the Arctic as the polar ice cap continues to melt, opening a new ocean and giving way to new and ever larger waterways in the High North. This monograph is available as a free PDF download or as a bound copy for $24.99.

     
    Denuclearizing North Korea: Exploring Multilateral Approaches to Risk Reduction and Peace Regime Building
    Weston S. Konishi
    September 2011, 71 pp

    The final project report from a nongovernmental (Track 2) multinational working group led by IFPA to address security issues on the Korean peninsula.

     
    Countering the EMP Threat: The Role of Missile Defense
    White paper by Henry Cooper and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr.
    July 2010, 12 pp

    Among the threats facing the United States are short-range ballistic missiles launched from vessels such as freighters, tankers, or container ships off our shores to detonate a warhead that could have catastrophic Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) consequences for the United States. After discussing the potential for a successful EMP attack, this report suggests what can (and should) be done to counter such an attack by using existing and near-term missile defense capabilities, beginning immediately.

     
    A Comprehensive Approach to Combating Illicit Trafficking
    A joint report by IFPA and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP)
    June 2010, 176 pp

    This report is based on extensive independent research conducted by IFPA on the multifaceted challenges posed by illicit trafficking and efforts to combat it; the report also incorporates discussions held at a high-level international workshop on the topic organized by IFPA and GCSP in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 2009.

     
    Frequently Asked Questions about Ballistic Missile Defense: A Guide
    The Independent Working Group
    May 2010, 23 pp

    This guide is based on information contained in the 2009 Independent Working Group Report entitled Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. The purpose of the guide is to address the most often asked questions and to provide information about missile defense.

     

  • Conference & Workshop Reports

    U.S.-Japan Peacebuilding Cooperation: Recommendations toward a Whole-of-Alliance Approach
    Co-edited by Weston S. Konishi and Hoshino Toshiya
    October 2012, 172 pp

    U.S.-Japan Peacebuilding Cooperation: Roles and Recommendations toward a Whole-of-Alliance Approach is a compendium of workshop papers written by U.S., Japanese, and other experts and provides a comprehensive examination of how bilateral peacebuilding cooperation can be enhanced, both in the context of bilateral whole-of-alliance cooperation and as an effective mechanism for international peacebuilding operations. With case studies of peacebuilding operations in Sudan and Afghanistan, this report seeks to illuminate the obstacles and opportunities of U.S.-Japan peacebuilding cooperation in real-world scenarios. A list of policy recommendations at the end of the report provides further points of consideration for both policy makers and students of U.S.-Japan alliance relations and international peacebuilding alike.

     
    U.S. National Security Strategy and the New Strategic Triad: Capitol Hill Briefing Report
    Independent Working Group on Missile Defense and the Space Relationship
    July 2012, 34 pp

    Report of the April 20, 2102, Capitol Hill briefing convened and sponsored by the Independent Working Group (IWG) on Missile Defense and the Space Relationship. Organized by IFPA, the meeting brought together expertise on space, nuclear modernization, and missile defense to discuss the synergistic relationships among these core components which together form the elements of a new Strategic Triad to support U.S. national security strategy and defense policy. Participants included Senate and House Staff members, officials from the Departments of Defense, State, and the military services, subject matter experts, representatives from industry, and IWG members.

     
    The Marine Corps: America's Expeditionary Force in Readiness
    39th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy
    Conference report
    July 2011, 107 pp

     
    The U.S. Approach to Peacebuilding: From a Whole-of-Government to a Whole-of-Alliance Approach with Japan
    Weston S. Konishi and Charles T. McClean
    June 2011, 14 pp

    This paper was first presented at a one-day bilateral workshop on April 29, 2011, held in conjunction with the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) in Washington, D.C. In the papers, authors aim to assess each government's “whole-of-government” or interagency coordination of peacebuilding policies and to identify priorities, assets, and expertise as applied to Afghanistan and Sudan. The goal of the project is to explore the strengths and weaknesses of both the United States and Japan’s respective initiatives with an eye toward how the two allies can best cooperate and work synergistically in a “whole of alliance” approach to peacebuilding operations in vulnerable or failing states.

     
    Peacebuilding as a U.S.-Japan Alliance Mission: Developing a Complementary “Whole-of-Alliance” Approach
    Weston S. Konishi
    May 2011, 8 pp

    Summary of an April 29, 2011, workshop held in conjunction with the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Washington, D.C.

     
    Risk Reduction & Confidence Building on the Korean Peninsula: Challenges, Opportunities & Implications for Regional Stability
    Workshop report by Charles M. Perry, Jacquelyn K. Davis, and Weston S. Konishi
    May 2011, 21 pp

    Report on a January 19, 2011, workshop that brought together approximately fifty prominent policymakers and experts from the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea for in-depth discussions focusing on the current security situation on and surrounding the Korean Peninsula and prospects for greater cooperation among the three nations represented at the workshop.

     
    Air, Space, and Cyberspace Power in the 21st-Century
    38th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy
    Conference report
    September 2010

    The conference report from the 38th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy, "Air, Space, and Cyberspace Power in the 21st-Century," addresses the defining issues for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in the twenty-first-century security environment as well as the planning, operational, and investment challenges facing the USAF in the years ahead. These include balancing legacy missions with irregular warfare demands; determining where the USAF can take risks in platform modernization and how best to assign acquisition priorities in a constrained budget environment; identifying and promoting new mission areas and service competencies; and articulating an up-to-date strategy for enabling and supporting twenty-first-century security planning that facilitates combatant-commander security cooperation and joint and Allied/coalition operations, and contributing as well to broader interagency requirements.
    The conference was held on January 20–21, 2010, in Washington, D.C. Building on previous conferences in this series, the 38th IFPA-Fletcher National Security Conference brought together a unique mix of expertise from government and the private sector; from the civilian and military communities; from think tanks, industry, and academia; and from the United States and abroad.

     

  • Articles & Presentations

    New Strategic Dynamics in the Arctic Region: Implications for National Security and International Collaboration, article drawn from material in full-length study
    Charles M. Perry and Bobby Andersen
    Atlantisch perspectief [Atlantic Perspective] October 2012

    Statement for the Record on U.S. SOCOM and SOF Futures
    Dr. Jacquelyn K. Davis, July 11, 2012

    Testimony before the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, U.S. Congress hearing.

    NATO after 9/11: A US Perspective
    By Jacquelyn K. Davis, September 2011

    A Fiscal 2012 Missile Defense Agenda
    By the Independent Working Group, February 14, 2011

    A Dangerous Gap in Our Defenses? An EMP Attack Is a Terrible Threat That Could Be Countered Now
    Op-ed by Henry F. Cooper and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr.
    National Review Online, December 14, 2010

    Consensus Building and Peace Regime Building on the Korean Peninsula
    Charles M. Perry and James L. Schoff
    International Journal of Korean Unification Studies 19, no. 1 (June 30, 2010)

    Achieving Strategic and Economic Balance in the Japan-US-China Triangle
    James L. Schoff and Jun Kurihara
    Cambridge Gazette: Politico-Economic Commentaries, no. 4, March 29, 2010

    For Whom Japan's Last Dance Is Saved — China, the United States, or Chimerica?
    Lecture by James L. Schoff
    Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS), Tokyo, Japan, March 29, 2010

    The Road to Better US-North Korea Relations Starts in Seoul
    James L. Schoff

    PacNet, no. 8, February 22, 2010