U.S. Capabilities to Manage Irregular Conflicts in the 21st Century

President of the National Strategy Information Center (NSIC) and Emeritus Professor of Government, Georgetown University

Richard Shultz, Ph.D.

Professor and Director, International Security Studies Program,
Fletcher School, Tufts University and NSIC Research Director

Ariel Cohen, Ph.D.

Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

Deputy Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, The Heritage Foundation

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News media inquiries, please call (202) 675-1761

Defying common wisdom, most security challenges in the world today are not random, unrelated happenings. Rather, they are part of a conflict environment in which a burgeoning number of armed groups and other non-state actors, sometimes aided by authoritarian states, constitute the predominant and persistent sources of instability. Clear patterns can be seen in the global security environment and they will continue to threaten peace and security for at least the next quarter of a century. Dr. Roy Godson and Dr. Richard Shultz will discuss these patterns and highlight key findings and recommendations from a new report – Adapting America’s Security Paradigm and Security Agenda. The report was produced with the assistance of senior security practitioners from democracies around the world under the auspices of the National Strategy Information Center. Godson and Shultz argue that the United States needs a set of tools and skills suited to the world as it is and as it is likely to evolve, not as it was.