Three Top Websites for Analysis of Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, and National Security Issues in Today's World

Today there are more websites than ever with information and analysis of foreign policy, military strategy, strategic theory, and national and global security. Everyone from sophisticated think tanks all the way down to people with laptops in coffee shops with Wi-Fi connections writes a blog or maintains a website for analysis of these vital issues. While the quality of these sites ranges from perfectly awful to outstanding, the sheer number makes it hard to find the gems in all the rocks.

I have selected three sites that I believe provide readers with information, analysis, and informed opinion based on the following criteria:

1. The site does not exist for the primary purpose of advancing the platform or policies of a political party or political movement. Of course politics are an element of these issues, but they are only one element, and none of these sites are highly partisan.

2. The site's authors are highly knowledgeable, and in general, experts in their fields.

Institute for the Study of War

www.understandingwar.org

According to its "About Us" page, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is "a non-partisan, non profit, public policy research organization". The ISW "seeks to promote an informed understanding of war and military affairs through comprehensive, independent, and accessible open source research and analysis". The staff biographies show a variety of experts with backgrounds in the military, political science, communications, and academia. The current focus of the site is Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, a detailed report published in the summer of 2009 recommended that U.S. forces in certain provinces of Afghanistan be redeployed to areas where they could be more effective in counterinsurgency operations, as opposed to their current locations in less significant areas. The report also report warned against alienating the population with airstrikes that kill civilians, and stressed also that it was important to provide humanitarian assistance and development projects to gain support from the Afghans in these regions.

A great deal of information is available here, including maps, graphs and statistics, links to press reports, and archived webcasts. The site is also nicely designed. The ISW provides information and research to both military and civilian leaders, and a visit to this site allows the average person access to the same information these policymakers receive.

Thomas P. M. Barnett Weblog

www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog

Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett is a former professor at the U.S. Naval War College who is now employed in the private sector. He has written three books, numerous articles for various publications and websites, and is a prolific blogger. Barnett believes that globalization is connecting the world through communication and trade, and that these connected nations benefit from an improved standard of living, and are less likely to wage war. Barnett refers to these nations as the "Functioning Core" . Those nations that are not connected to the rest of the world and are not benefiting from globalization are called the "Non-Integrating Gap". These include places like most of the Middle East, Africa, and North Korea, regions that are more likely to have instability, a low standard of living, and war. In his blog, Barnett comments on various military, economic, and political issues largely within this context. Many of his entries are commentaries on articles from sources ranging from the mainstream media to obscure journals. Barnett has his own terminology for some of his concepts, such as "system perturbations", "leviathan" and "rule sets"; fortunately, a glossary of this terminology is on the blog.

Opponents of globalization may not be interested in his views, but Barnett's arguments are persuasive and he has influence and support in the military and foreign policy communities.

Small Wars Journal

www.smallwarsjournal.com

On this site's "About" page, the founders of Small Wars Journal define small wars as "falling somewhere in the middle bit of the continuum between feisty diplomatic words and global thermonuclear war". This includes concepts such as "counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense, support and stability operations, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and many flavors of intervention". In other words, the types of things happening in various parts of the world right now. The site's content covers all of these concepts.

The site includes articles, a blog, and discussion boards. Article submissions are peer reviewed before publication. Authors have backgrounds in the military, foreign policy analysis, and the academic world, and include both American and foreign experts in the field. The discussion boards cover a wide range of topics. The site also has a large listing of on-line resources for research in the field including governmental, civilian, military, and academic organizations.