CSAG STRATEGY PAPER By: LTC GIAMPIERO CURRADO, ITA Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 16 January 2024 Overview: Years of political instability in combination with an ongoing economic crisis — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in the Port of Beirut in August 2020 — have brought the country close to collapse. Moreover, the current institutional vacuum Read More >
As a follow-up to the Washington Embassy Orientation, a NESA Center team was invited to the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., to discuss future partnering and a restart of a Lebanese National Defense University (NDU). On 13 December 2023, NESA Center Professors Richard Wiersema and Jennifer Jefferis, Associate Dean Charles Marks, and Program Manager for Read More >
View the NESA Center July–October 2023 Update focused on trends in the Levant region. The update also highlights July through October NESA Center programs and events, faculty and staff engagements, alumni contributions, and a calendar with upcoming events. Regional Trends – The Levant The 7 October 2023 terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas against Israel challenged prevailing Read More >
From 11–15 September 2023, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a Combating Transnational Threats Senior Executive Seminar (CTSES) titled “Emerging Security Platforms in the Digital Age,” held in Washington, D.C. The CTSES five-day seminar engaged 32 participants from 22 countries. Thirteen sessions began with speakers, followed by question-and-answer sessions with participants Read More >
The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, in partnership with the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), a leading Turkish think tank, held a roundtable discussion in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 17–19 July 2023. Scholars from Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye participated in the discussion. The agenda Read More >
CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: MAJ Ibrahim Elveren, Turkish Army (CSAG/CCJ5) and Lt Col Richard Pecinka, Czech AF (CSAG/CCJ5) 2 June 2023 Subject: Capt. America vs Capt. Agon (The Billion-Dollar Bargaining Chip for the Syrian Republic of Captagon) Purpose: This paper aims to present the CSAG’s analysis regarding how the Captagon drug industry in Syria affects Read More >
From April 10–14, 2023, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a seminar titled “An Evolving World Order” at National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, DC. The program was designed to provide an academic setting in which these officers could examine ideas relating to emerging threats and changes in global power Read More >
CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: LCDR Stipe Skelin, HRV Navy (CSAG/CCJ5); LTC Rene Berendsen, NLD Army (CSAG/CCJ5); LTC Richard Pecinka, CZE AF (CSAG/CCJ5); and MAJ Mihai-Florin Girboan, ROU Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 6 April 2023 Subject: Hezbollah’s “Financial Pyramid” Purpose: This paper is the third in a series about Hezbollah. The aim is to present the results of Read More >
CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: Richard Pecinka, LTC, CZE AF (CSAG/CCJ5), Rene Berendsen, LTC, NLD Army (CSAG/CCJ5), Hubert Mroz, CDR, POL Navy (CSAG/CCJ5) 16 February 2023 Subject: The Earthquake: Catalyst for dynamic change in Syria. Purpose: This paper presents CSAG’s summary analysis of the geopolitical and military evolution of the main actors in Syria following the Read More >
CSAG INFORMATION PAPER By: Stipe Skelin, LCDR, HRV Navy (CSAG/CCJ5), Richard Pecinka, LTC, CZE AF (CSAG/CCJ5), Mihai-Florin Girboan, MAJ, ROU Army (CSAG/CCJ5) 16 February 2023 Subject: Hezbollah – IRGC’s main coordinating tool in the Middle East. Purpose: This paper aims to present the results of the CSAG’s analysis of Hezbollah as the main coordinator for Read More >