The National Security Decision Making Game staff reviews recent changes and things to watch next year, including hotspots: Israel, Russia, China, Europe, Iran, North Korea. What's CNN missing?
Description:
Overview, analysis and insights on current and near-future world affairs. This panel discussion and seminar, the signature event of the National Security Decision Making (NSDM) Game staff, explores current, and potential future, problem areas around the world with a focus on domestic/international areas they feel may not have gotten the attention from the media, and possibly even from Western national security agencies, that they warrant. Want to know what to expect in the next year? What might happen and what are its implications? What are drivers, what indicators to watch for, and how might events be affected by the U.S. and the West? What potential catastrophes is CNN missing?
A front-page topic, but much reporting is biased. Objective discussion, tariffs' history & use. Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science specializing in International Relations Theory.
Description:
Tariffs have become a front-page topic, but much reporting is biased politically in one direction or another. What is the objective, academic truth? This defines tariffs, their historic impact & their effect on the domestic economy, and how tariffs are used in economic statecraft to affect imports into a country & to protect domestic industries. Historically, tariffs have been used aggressively to undercut other states' economies & to force consumers to buy domestic goods, and their effectiveness is mixed with some successes & numerous failures. Examples discussed include the British Empire & its Corn Law, the US Smoot Hawley Act, and post-war free trade & tariff policies. Presented by Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science specializing in the EU, International Relations Theory and Security and Defense Policy, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Mercenaries, Non-State Actors, Hybrid and Grey-Zone Warfare
Summary:
Modern war evolving. Examines hybrid & grey-zone war, mercs & non-state para-military units, and the reasons for these choices. Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science, of the NSDM staff.
Description:
Warfare has traditionally been between clear & defined armies used within some level of intensity. Modern combat has seen the emergence of new types of conflict. Modern "war" is evolving with states & other actors within the system engaging in different types of conflict, either below the level of war or using combatants which may not be nationals of the state. This lecture will examine what hybrid & grey-zone warfare is, and why actions are being taking below the level war. It examines the modern usage of mercenaries & non-state-actor para-military units to engage in conflict which can provide a State with plausibility deniability, and the reasons for these choices. Presented by Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science specializing in the EU, International Relations Theory and Security and Defense Policy, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Logistics, fall of Rome through 1300s. How armies & navies moved, ate, sustained operations. Primer on military history, source of RPG ideas. Panel by Merle Robinson & Mike Tucker of the NSDM staff.
Description:
Panel examines military logistics from the end of the Roman Empire through the 1300s. It describes how armies and navies moved, ate, and sustained operations. A great primer on the history of war and a source of ideas for various RPG fantasy campaigns. Panel with Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, & Mike Tucker, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff
Examines approaches to sustainable lunar presence, proposed projects, their requirements, & what humanity's future on the moon could hold. Panel by NSDM staff moderated by Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret
Description:
Several nations, including the US, have big plans for the moon. This panel examines possible approaches to sustainable lunar presence, specific proposed projects, their requirements, and what humanity's future on the moon could hold. Panel by NSDM staff moderated by Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret
Space Combat in Movies, Books and Games: Getting It Not Wrong
Summary:
Movies usually get things wrong when depicting space combat. Realistic ship movement, zero-G hand-to-hand combat, & unique aspects of space warfare for writers & game devs. Izaac Falken, NSDM staff.
Description:
Movies and novels often get things wrong when depicting combat in space. Zero-G & vacuum conditions produce effects that run contrary to human instincts & experiences, including those of the potential audience. This seminar examines how to write & simulate realistic space combat for storywriters & game developers. Well discuss the complexities of vessel movement in zero-gravity environments, where traditional concepts of speed & maneuverability are fundamentally different. Hand-to-hand combat in low-G & vacuum conditions will also be explored, highlighting unique challenges & outcomes. The session will cover both the benefits & pitfalls of incorporating these realistic elements into narratives, helping to create more immersive & believable space warfare scenarios. Presented by Izaac Falken, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
First war decided by factory output. Trains, telegraph, gatling guns. Just a few of the features of the Civil War being the first industrial war. Panel by NSDM staff moderated by Dr. Craig Greathouse.
Description:
A steampunk war. First war decided by factory output. Trains, telegraph, gatling guns, submarines, ironclads, air (balloon) reconnaissance, strategic warfare, trench warfare. Just a few of the features of the Civil War being the first industrial war. Panel by NSDM staff moderated by Dr. Craig Greathouse, Professor of Political Science, with Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., physicist and former nuclear submarine officer with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College
US national security classifications, roots, history. Why it's needed, recent spy cases, challenges from new tech. Balancing secrecy with transparency. Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret., NSDM Game staff.
Description:
Lecture examines US national security classifications, emphasizing the classification system's historical roots and evolution. Delves into motivations for secrecy, recent espionage cases, and addresses challenges posed by advancing technology. Reviews potential reforms balancing secrecy with governmental transparency in a democracy. Presented by Maj. Scott Macmann, USA/ret., on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Inter-war years, USN built 9 subs to test different designs against needs for a future cross-Pacific war. Experiment produced template for WW II Fleet Boat. Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., NSDM staff
Description:
World War I was over, the first war that saw significant submarine combat. World navies sub forces were outdated & inadequate, they sought to understand lessons of WW I & incorporate them, with their own strategic needs, into a next generation of sub designs. The US Navy built 9 operational subs of 5 different designs to test capabilities & limitations against their needs for a future conflict across the Pacific. V-1 through V-9 were not given individual names or class designations initially, had dissimilar sizes, ranges & endurances. These allowed the USN to hone in on a Fleet Boat design that served as the template for the hundreds of combat submarines that strangled the Japanese home islands in World War II. Lecture by Capt. Mark McDonagh, USN/ret., former submarine officer with 12 years' experience at the Naval War College, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.
Our past & future. Individual, national, cultural & generational decisions affect civilization. Demographics, birth/death rates, immigration, what will result? Merle Robinson, NSDM Game staff.
Description:
Individual, national, cultural and generational decisions have changed the course of human civilization, sometimes in surprising and unanticipated ways, and will continue to have an impact on what the world will look like in the future. How will the demographic changes that interact with birth and death rates, immigration, etc. affect the course of history going forward? Come and join in an exploration of our past and our future. Presented by Merle Robinson, lead simulation designer and retired DoD analyst, on the National Security Decision Making Game staff.