Defense XXII

We are living in a time of compressed history. These essays strive to capture the history emerging our modern era, with a focus on defense issues. Examine the transition from a globalized world to a world in change from the perspective of defense and strategic analysts.

The essays in this volume address the epochal change we are going through as a society. We have highlighted some of the key developments affecting the evolution of defense and security challenges facing the United States and its key allies, as well as innovations and developments in selected military technologies and concepts of operations. The first section brings together essays on the world in conflict in 2022, which are assessments of the challenges facing the liberal democracies as we enter a new historical epoch. The second section focuses on lessons learned from the past being applied in the present. The third section focuses on the allies and their reworking of their approaches to defense. The fourth section highlights selective military innovations, including evolving concepts of operations that the U.S. and allied militaries have entertained or implemented during the year. The fifth section focuses on a specific aspect of this change, namely unmanned systems. The final section addresses the question of future evolution of the global system.

As a long-time analyst of global defense issues, Robbin Laird has worked in the U.S. government and several think tanks, including the Center for Naval Analysis and the Institute for Defense Analysis. He is a Columbia University alumnus, a frequent op-ed contributor to the defense press, and an author of several books on international security issues. Dr. Laird has taught at Columbia University, Queens College, Princeton University, and Johns Hopkins University. He acts as an editor and contributor to several defense websites, magazines, and journals. Dr. Laird also serves as a Research Fellow in Australia, and is currently based in Arlington Virginia and Paris, France.