Student Research

On this page, CCC will be providing information to assist with student research efforts in the coming months. We currently present information below on DTRA Travel Grants and INSS Fellowships. (Stay tuned: more information on funding and research opportunities will be added to this section in the coming months.)

Funding for Thesis Research

Travel Grants Supported by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
(Managed Jointly by DTRA and the Center for Contemporary Conflict within the NSA Department)

For NS thesis topics related to WMD broadly defined, there is a modest pool of domestic and international travel money available. These funds have been provided by DTRA to support thesis research by NS students on topics related to DTRA's mandate. For more information on thesis topics eligible for DTRA travel grants, as well as the application process, please click here. Application deadlines are as follows: 

Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) Fellowships, Air Force Academy

CCC has long had a good working relationship with INSS and many students have received travel fellowships from the institute in the past.  The application procedure is described on their web page, but is not managed internally by CCC faculty.  (A downloadable PDF copy is available here.) Additionally, keep your eye out for roughly annual visits to NPS by Dr. James Smith, Director of INSS when he will brief the program.

Student Theses

Naval Postgraduate School students completing master's theses in National Security Affairs conduct in-depth research into key regions or security issues. Listed below are some of the best recent theses.

Homeland Security and the War on Terrorism

• Possible Correlations of Multinational Military Operations and State Stability, and Application to State Building in Iraq by Nicholas J. Buls (March 2009)
• Determining Communication Shortfalls for Homeland Defense by Kevin P. Wilson (December 2007)
• How Terrorism Works: Terrorism as a Disequalizing Input to the Social System by James P. Damato (December 2007)
• Collaboration or Control? The Struggle for Power in Catastrophic Disaster Response by Tony S. Lombardo (December 2007)
• Multiculturalism and England’s Muslim Minority: Solution or Problem? by Todd D. Fleming (December 2007)
• Counterinsurgency in the 21st Century: The Foundation and Implications of the New U.S. Doctrine by Raymond M. Mattox and Peter S. Rodgers (December 2007)
• Biological Weapons Attribution: A Primer by Elizabeth L. Stone Bahr (June 2007)
• Mobile Sensor Networks: A Discrete Event Simulation of WMD Threat Detection in Urban Traffic Schemes by Jeffrey F. Hyink (March 2007)
• The Constraining Dynamics of Public Opinion by Christopher A. Wyckoff (December 2006)
• U.S. Biodefense and Homeland Security: Toward Detection and Attribution by Brian C. Bernett (December 2006)
• The Bioterrorism Threat by Non-State Actors: Hype or Horror? by Christopher M. Thompson (December 2006)
• A Balancing Act: Anti-Terror Financing Guidelines and their Effects on Islamic Charities by Patricia Rodriguez-Rey (December 2006)
• Constituency Constraints on Violence: al-Qaeda and WMD by William W. Browne III (December 2006)
• Terrorism Awareness and Education as a Prevention Strategy for First Responders by Alicia L. Welch (March 2006)
• "Dirty Bomb" Attack: Assessing New York City’s Level of Preparedness from a First Responder’s Perspective by John Sudnik (March 2006)
• An Alternate Military Strategy for the War on Terrorism by Peter J. Canonico (December 2004)
• Online Islamic Organizations and Measuring Web Effectiveness by Minji Daniels (December 2004)
• Overcoming Challenges to the PSI, by Herbert N. Warden (September 2004)
• Counterproliferation Strategy: The Role of Preventive War, Preventive Strikes, and Interdiction, by Claire E. Rak (November 2003)
• Exposing the Seams: The Impetus for Reforming U.S. Counterintelligence, by Todd E. Gleghorn (September 2003)
• Bureaucracies, Communities and Networks: Interagency Cooperation for Homeland Security in Monterey County, by Gerald R. Scott (June 2003)
• Assessing Russian Reactions to U.S. Missile Defense, by Michael Wayne Baze (September 2001)
• Russian Decision-Making and Options Regarding U.S. National Missile Defense, by Eric K. Wright (March 2000)

Africa

• From Rogue to Vogue: Why Did Libya Give Up its Weapons of Mass Destruction? by Joseph D. McFall (September 2005)
• African Sub-Regional Organizations in Peacekeeping and Peacemaking: The Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) by Mohamed Belmakki (March 2005)
• Intervention in Africa: Assessing the Rationale behind Sub-Regional Peacemaking Military Interventions by Alfred K. Mashishi (March 2003)

Middle East

• Possible Correlations of Multinational Military Operations and State Stability, and Application to State Building in Iraq by Nicholas J. Buls (March 2009)
• The Effects of National Policy on Refugee Welfare and Related Security Issues: A Comparative Case Study of Lebanon, Egypt and Syria by Jessica E. Cleary (December 2008)
• Cognitive Biases and Structural Failures in United States Foreign Policy: Explaining Decision-Making Dissonance in Phase IV Policy and Plans for Iraq by Ferdinand Hafner (December 2007)
• Influence through Airpower Security Cooperation in Egypt and Pakistan: Lessons for Iraq by Douglas G. Thies (December 2007)
• Better Lucky Than Good: Operation Earnest Will as Gunboat Diplomacy by Stephen Andrew Kelley (June 2007)
• Nasser and Pan-Arabism: Explaining Egypt's Rise in Power by Robert Eugene Danielson (June 2007)
• Al Qaeda in Iraq: Demobilizing the Threat by Timothy A. Kraner (December 2005)
• Third Generation Gangs Revisited: The Iraq Insurgency by Nicholas I. Haussler (September 2005)
• Why They Hate Us: Disaggregating The Iraqi Insurgency by Mark A. Steliga (March 2005)
• Online Islamic Organizations and Measuring Web Effectiveness by Minji Daniels (December 2004)
• Israeli Foreign and Palestinian Policy: Politics, Military, Society by Jamie Bartz (December 2004)
• Political Exclusion and Violence: The Islamist Movement in Egypt by Paul Gallaher (September 2004)
• Israel's Attack on Osiraq: A Model for Future Preventive Strikes? by Peter Scott Ford (September 2004)
• Saudi Security: Challenges for the Post-Saddam Era by David M. Burke (September 2004)
• National Security to Nationalist Myth: Why Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons, by Charles C. Mayer (September 2004)
• The Future of the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf by Austin C. Johnson (March 2004)
• National Security to Nationalist Myth: Why Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons, by Charles C. Mayer (September 2004)
• Demographics: The Downfall of Saudi Arabia, by Adam N. Goetz (December 2003)
• Is Saudi Arabia A Nuclear Threat?, by Steven R. McDowell (November 2003)
• The Three Possible Solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Their Impact on the Achievement of U.S. Interests, by Scot F. Stine (June 2002)

Europe

• Multiculturalism and England’s Muslim Minority: Solution or Problem? by Todd D. Fleming (December 2007)
• The Intelligence Phenomenon in a New Democratic Milieu: Romania—a Case Study by Valentin Fernand Filip (December 2006)
• Races at War: Nationalism and Genocide in Twentieth Century Europe by Michael Alan Adelberg (March 2005)
• NATO’s Prague Capabilities Commitment: Origins and Prospects, by Joseph P. Kugel (December 2003)
• Oceans Apart: The United States, the European Union, and the International Criminal Court, by Jason Monaco (September 2003)
• NATO’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Initiative: Achievements and Challenges, by Iliana P. Bravo (September 2003)
• The U.S. Navy and European Security: From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, by Michael J. Rak (September 2003)
• Turkey's Response to Threats of Weapons of Mass Destruction, by Guray Al (December 2001)
• U.S. Participation in Balkan Peacekeeping: The Rice Proposal, by Benjamin A. Shupp (December 2001)
• European Union: U.S. Hegemonic Competitor, by Ronald Leslie Kellar (December 2001)
• The Importance of United States Naval Forward Presence in Mediterranean Affairs, by Timothy E. Kalley (June 2001)
• NATO and the European Union's Emerging Security Role, by Suzanne Helene Himes (March 2001)
• The Greek-Turkish Dispute in the Aegean Sea: Its Ramifications for NATO and the Prospects for Resolution, by Stephen Mann (March 2001)
• The European Union's Barcelona Process and Mediterranean Security, by Richard E. Myrick (December 2000)
• Implications of Germany's Declining Defense Spending, by Jürgen Merrath (June 2000)

Russia and Eurasia

• U.S. Policy Options Toward Stopping North Korea's Illicit Activities by Meridee Jean Trimble (December 2007)
• Coercion and Governance in China: Analyzing Civil-Military Relations in the Post-Deng Era Using Multiah Alagappa’s Analytical Framework by Andrew H. Tam (March 2006)
• Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Paper Tiger or Regional Powerhouse? by Jefferson E. Turner (September 2005)
• Making the Connection: Transnational Civilian-to-Civilian Partnerships by Albert Gorman, December 2002
• The Russian Navy and the Future of Russian Power in the Western Pacific, by Brian T. Mutty (December 2001)
• Assessing Russian Reactions to U.S. Missile Defense, by Michael Wayne Baze (September 2001)
• Russia's Submarine Force: Determinants and Prospects, by John M. Tully (June 2001)
• Dismantling Russia's Northern Fleet Nuclear Submarines: Environmental and Proliferation Risks, by Benjamin Aaron Snell (June 2000)
• Grozny and the Third Block (Lessons Learned from Grozny and Their Application to Marine Corps' MOUT Training), by M. W. Kelly (December 2000)
• Russian Decision-Making and Options Regarding U.S. National Missile Defense, by Eric K. Wright (March 2000)

South Asia

• Coercion, Cash-Crops and Culture: From Insurgency to Proto-State in Asia’s Opium Belt by Andrew A. Merz (June 2008)
• Awakening Tiger: India's Quest for Expanded Influence in the World by Robin J. Walker (June 2008)
• Indian Nuclear Command and Control Dilemma by Rakesh Kumar (September 2006)
• Crisis in Baluchistan: A Historical Analysis of the Baluch Nationalist Movement in Pakistan by Justin S. Dunne (June 2006)
• Pakistan's Gwadar Port: Prospects of Economic Revival by Ammad Hassan (August 2005)
• Pakistan's Afghanistan Policy by Khawar Hussain (August 2005)
• The Durand Line: South Asia's Next Trouble Spot by Tariq Mahmood (August 2005)
• National Security to Nationalist Myth: Why Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons, by Charles C. Mayer (September 2004)
• What Can the United States Learn from India to Counter Terrorism? by William Scott Latimer (March 2004)
• High Altitude Warfare: The Kargil Conflict and the Future, by Marcus P. Acosta (June 2003)
• Assessing the Risk of Inadvertent Nuclear War Between India and Pakistan, by Stephen A. Smith (December 2002)

East Asia

• Coercion, Cash-Crops and Culture: From Insurgency to Proto-State in Asia’s Opium Belt by Andrew A. Merz (June 2008)
• North Korea’s Juche Ideology and the German Re-Unification Experience by Stephan A. Juetten (June 2008)
• Transnational Pipelines and Naval Expansion: Examining China's Oil Insecurities in the Indian Ocean by Corey S. Johnston (June 2008)
• Contemporary Radical Islam as a Consequence of Traditional Legacies and Globalization? A Case Study of the Southern Philippines by Tonya M. Klempp (March 2006)
• Coercion and Governance in China: Analyzing Civil-Military Relations in the Post-Deng Era Using Multiah Alagappa’s Analytical Framework by Andrew H. Tam (March 2006)
• Negotiating Peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Southern Philippines by Ariel R. Caculitan (December 2005)
• Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Paper Tiger or Regional Powerhouse? by Jefferson E. Turner (September 2005)
• Intelligence Reform and Implications for North Korea’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs by Arnold W. Nash III (September 2005)
• The Art of Peace: Dissuading China from Developing Counter Space Weapons by David O. Meteyer (June 2005)
• United States-People's Republic of China Military-to-Military Relations: Prospects for Progress by Michael Todd Bolen (March 2005)
• Lessons Not Learned: The Rekindling of Thailand’s Pattani Problem by Daniel J. Pojar, Jr. (March 2005)
• Strategic Interactions Between the United States and North Korea: Deterrence or Security Dilemma?, by Murat Yetgin (December 2003)
• Reconciliation is the Best Solution for Conflict in Aceh, by Supriyanto Basuki (December 2003)
• US Influence on Military Professionalism in the Philippines, by Manuel R. Carlos (December 2003)
• Countering Transnational Terrorism in Southeast Asia with Respect to Terrorism in Indonesia and the Philippines, by Asep Chaerudin (December 2003)
• Potential For Conflict in the Spratly Islands, by Chin Yoon Chin (December 2003)
• Missile Defense For Taiwan: Implications For U.S. Security Interests in East Asia, by Darren E. Rice (September 2003)
• A House Divided: The Decline and Fall of Masyumi (1950–1956), by Robert E. Lucius (September 2003)
• The Impact of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on U.S.-China Relations, by Daren Adam Epstein (March 2003)
• The Potential Role of the Philippines in U.S. Naval Forward Presence, by Thomas J. Garcia (December 2001)
• The Crisis of 2005—The Role of U.S. Naval Forward Presence in the Evolution of Relations Between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, by Robert E. Pauley (December 2001)
• Japan's Constitution, Prospects for Change: Impact on U.S. Presence in Japan, by Stephen E. Duke (June 2001)
• Credible Nuclear Deterrence for Japan, by David C. Rasmussen (March 2000)

Latin America

• The Uruguayan Armed Forces and the Challenge of 21st Century Peacekeeping Operations by Eduardo Ulery (December 2005)
• The Causes and Prospect of the Southern Philippines Secessionist Movement, by Ricardo A. David, Jr. (December 2003)
• An Emerging Security Community in the Americas? A Theoretical Analysis of the Consequences of the Post-Cold War Inter-American Democracy Regime, by David J. Sanchez (March 2003)
• Improving Regional Security in Central America: Military Engagement Options for Nicaragua, by George W. Mason (June 2002)
• Maintaining the Violent Status Quo: The Political Economy of the Colombian Insurgency, by Paul A. Beckley (June 2002)
• The Next Transition in Cuba: An Analysis Based on Institutional Comparisons with Democratic Transitions in Central Europe, by Robert M. Thweatt (September 2001)

WMD Proliferation and Counterproliferation

• Biological Weapons Attribution: A Primer by Elizabeth L. Stone Bahr (June 2007)
• Securing Nuclear and Radiological Material in the Homeland by Kevin D. Eack (March 2007)
• Mobile Sensor Networks: A Discrete Event Simulation of WMD Threat Detection in Urban Traffic Schemes by Jeffrey F. Hyink (March 2007)
• The Constraining Dynamics of Public Opinion by Christopher A. Wyckoff (December 2006)
• U.S. Biodefense and Homeland Security: Toward Detection and Attribution by Brian C. Bernett (December 2006)
• The Bioterrorism Threat by Non-State Actors: Hype or Horror? by Christopher M. Thompson (December 2006)
• Compelled Compliance: WMD Elimination in the New Era of Arms Control by Johnny Hall Jr. (September 2006)
• Israel's Attack on Osiraq: A Model for Future Preventive Strikes? by Peter Scott Ford (September 2004)
• National Security to Nationalist Myth: Why Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons, by Charles C. Mayer (September 2004)
• Overcoming Challenges to the PSI, by Herbert N. Warden (September 2004)
• Deterrence and the National Security Strategy of 2002: A Round Peg for a Round Hole, by George M. Robinson (December 2003)
• NATO’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Initiative: Achievements and Challenges, by Iliana P. Bravo (September 2003)
• Is Saudi Arabia A Nuclear Threat?, by Steven R. McDowell (November 2003)
• Counterproliferation Strategy: The Role of Preventive War, Preventive Strikes, and Interdiction, by Claire E. Rak (November 2003)
• Assessing the Risk of Inadvertent Nuclear War Between India and Pakistan, by Stephen A. Smith (December 2002)
• Can Naval Surface Forces Operate Under Chemical Weapons Conditions?, by Adriane A. Stebbins (June 2002)
• Turkey's Response to Threats of Weapons of Mass Destruction, by Guray Al (December 2001)

Military Affairs

• Possible Correlations of Multinational Military Operations and State Stability, and Application to State Building in Iraq by Nicholas J. Buls (March 2009)
• Falling Out of Formation: A Look at the Navy’s Search for a New Maritime Strategy by Wesley A. Brown (December 2007)
• Counterinsurgency in the 21st Century: The Foundation and Implications of the New U.S. Doctrine by Raymond M. Mattox and Peter S. Rodgers (December 2007)
• Operationalizing Dissuasion by James A. Rushton (June 2006)
• Coercion and Governance in China: Analyzing Civil-Military Relations in the Post-Deng Era Using Multiah Alagappa’s Analytical Framework by Andrew H. Tam (March 2006)
• Conventional Prompt Global Strike: Valuable Military Option or Threat to Global Stability? by Todd C. Shull (September 2005)
• Why Culture Matters: An Empirically-Based Pre-Deployment Training Program by Maj. Jennifer V. Chandler, USAF (September 2005)
• Making the Connection: Transnational Civilian-to-Civilian Partnerships by Albert Gorman, December 2002
• Grozny and the Third Block (Lessons Learned from Grozny and their Application to Marine Corps' MOUT Training),by M. W. Kelly (December 2000)
• Nuclear Weapons and the Revolution in Military Affairs, by James L. Geick (June 2000)

 Contact

For further information about current CCC research projects or to propose a new project, please contact:

Email: ccc@nps.edu