Centers
The Institute for National Strategic Studies currently consists of six research centers:
Center for Complex Operations (CCO)
Website: http://www.ccoportal.org
CCO provides for effective coordination in the preparation of Department of Defense and other U.S. Government personnel for complex operations. The Center fosters unity of effort among the departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, foreign governments and militaries, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. CCO conducts research; collects, analyzes, and distributes lessons learned; compiles best practices; conducts conferences and workshops; and publishes a quarterly journal and other materials related to current issues in complex operations.
The Center identifies gaps in the education and training of Department of Defense personnel and other relevant U.S. Government personnel relating to complex operations and facilitates efforts to fill such gaps.
Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
Website: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/index.cfm?secID=52&pageID=4&type=section
CSR provides advice to the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and combatant commands through studies, reports, briefings, and memorandums; conducts directed research and analysis in the areas of strategic and regional studies; and engages in independent and leading-edge research and analysis in related areas.
Strategic studies encompass national security and military strategy, to include defense policy, defense organization, deterrence, arms control and counterproliferation, peace operations and small-scale contingencies, transnational security problems, command and control, and future warfare. Regional studies encompass national security strategy, defense policy, and military strategy issues as they relate to significant countries or geographic areas of the world.
The Center applies appropriate and cost-effective methodologies to include technology, agreements, and personnel exchanges to initiate and maintain regular contact and appropriate collaboration with important governmental and nongovernmental institutions in this country and abroad.
Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs (CSCMA)
Website: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/index.cfm?secID=83&pageID=4&type=section
The mission of the Center is to serve as a national focal point and resource center for multidisciplinary research and analytic exchanges on the national goals and strategic posture of the People’s Republic of China and the ability of that nation to develop, field, and deploy an effective military instrument in support of its national strategic objectives. The Center keeps officials in the Department of Defense, other government agencies, and the Congress apprised of the results of these efforts. The Center also engages the faculty and students of the National Defense University and other components of the Department of Defense Professional Military Education (PME) system in aspects of its work and thereby assists their respective programs of teaching, training, and research. The Center also has an active outreach program designed to promote exchanges among American and international analysts of Chinese military affairs.
Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP)
Website: http://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp
CTNSP investigates the implications of technological innovation on U.S. national security policy and military plans. The Center works closely with the science and technology community and takes on projects that bridge the gap between technology and policy. Its vision is to enable national security decisionmakers and their staffs to understand emerging impacts of technology and integrate them effectively into policies.
CTNSP combines scientific and technical assessments with analyses of current strategic and defense policy issues. The Center supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Services, and Congress. CTNSP has produced studies on proliferation and homeland security, military transformation, international science and technology, information technology, life sciences, and social science modeling. The Center offers a seminar series on Transforming National Security, sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as a key element of interagency education.
Center for Transatlantic Security Studies (CTSS)
As of October 1, 2012, The Center for Transatlantic Security Studies at National Defense University will be dissolved.
For more information on European, NATO, and other transatlantic-related security matters, please contact the following individuals:
Stefano Santamato, Senior Research Fellow, ctr
Email: s.santamato.ctr@ndu.edu Phone: 202-433-9661
Mark Ducasse, Research Fellow, ctr
Email: mark.ducasse.ctr@ndu.edu Phone: 202-685-0820
Leo Michel, Distinguished Research Fellow, CSR
Email: michelLG@ndu.edu Phone: 202-685-2358
The Conflict Records Research Center (CRRC)
Website: http://crrconline.org
CRRC was established at the direction of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) to fulfill the Secretary of Defense’s intent to enable research into captured records with “complete openness and rigid adherence to academic freedom and integrity.”
The Center’s mission is to facilitate the use of captured records to support research, both within and outside the government. Electronic copies reside in a database maintained by the U.S. Government. The Center’s purpose is to make a significant portion of these records available to researchers as quickly and responsibly as possible while taking into account legitimate national security concerns, the integrity of the academic process, and risks to innocents or third parties.