Class of 2006 War Studies Conference

Blurred Lines: Civil-Military Relations and Modern War

The Modern War Institute hosted its second annual Class of 2006 War Studies Conference in March 2018. Over three days at the United States Military Academy at West Point, the conference brought together distinguished representatives from the private sector, government, academia, the think-tank community, and the joint military services to debate and discuss issues related to modern war and warfare. This year’s conference explored the issue of civil-military relations and how modern war and warfare are challenging previous interpretations of the “unequal dialogue.” On this page, you can find videos of keynote speakers and panel discussions, links to the conference program and post-conference report, detailed descriptions of each of the conference’s five panel discussions, and a list of conference participants.

Official Conference Report

Conference Videos

Keynote Addresses

Maintaining the Professionalization of the Modern Soldier

Speaker
Gen. (ret) Wesley Clark

Moderator
Ms. Indira Lakshmanan, Poynter Institute

The Military’s Role in the Application of National Interest

Speakers
Gen. (ret) David Petraeus
Ambassador Ryan Crocker

Moderator
Col. Suzanne Nielsen, United States Military Academy Department of Social Sciences

Interagency Challenges to Healthy Civil-Military Relations

Speaker
Mr. David Rothkopf, The Rothkopf Group

Panel Discussions

Panel 1 — Divided We Stand: Pathologies, Politics, and the Profession of Arms

Dr. Marybeth Ulrich, US Army War College
Lt. Gen. (ret) James Dubik, Institute for the Study of War
Mr. Phillip Carter, Center for a New American Security
Maj. Gen. (ret) Charles Dunlap, Jr., Duke University
Dr. Elizabeth Stanley, Georgetown University

Moderator: Dr. Dominic Tierney, Atlantic Monthly

Panel 2 — Isolation or Integration? Debating Huntington’s “The Soldier and the State”

Dr. Risa Brooks, Marquette University
Col. (ret) Isaiah “Ike” Wilson, New America Foundation
Lt. Col. James Golby, US Mission to NATO
Dr. Peter Feaver, Duke University
Dr. Richard Kohn, University of North Carolina

Moderator: Dr. Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs

Panel 3 — A Hammer in Search of a Nail: A Discussion of the US Military’s Overextension

Ms. Rosa Brooks, Georgetown University
Maj. Gen. (ret) Robert Scales, NBC Universal
Dr. Jessica Blankshain, Naval War College
Dr. Antulio Echevarria, Army War College

Moderator: Dr. Nina Kollars, Franklin & Marshall College

Panel 4 — Is There Too Little Civilian Oversight of the Military?

Dr. Mara Karlin, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Jason Dempsey, Center for a New American Security
Lt. Gen. (ret) Mark Hertling, Florida Hospital
Col. Heidi Urben, Joint Staff
Dr. Lindsay Cohn, Naval War College

Moderator: Mr. James Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans and The Obamians

Panel 5 — The Great Untethering: Sharing the Costs of Today’s Wars

Mr. Benjamin Friedman, George Washington University
Dr. Sarah Sewall, Johns Hopkins University/SAIS
Dr. Jon Caverley, Naval War College
Ms. Alice Hunt Friend, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Moderator: Mr. Peter Beinart, City University of New York

Conference Participant List

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