Air University (AU)
Search
Search

HomeJIPA

Published by the Air University Press, the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs (JIPA) is a professional journal of the Department of the Air Force and a forum for worldwide dialogue regarding the Indo-Pacific region, spanning from the west coasts of the Americas to the eastern shores of Africa and covering much of Asia and all of Oceania. The journal fosters intellectual and professional development for members of the Air Force and Space Force and the world’s other English-speaking militaries and informs decision makers and academicians around the globe.

ISSN: 2576-5361 (print) & 2576-537X (digital)

Editor:

Dr. Ernest Gunasekara-Rockwell (PhD, University of Wisconsin) serves as the editor of the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs. Prior to standing up the journal, he was the acting director and managing editor of Air University Press and the acting dean of the Air Force Research Institute. Earlier in his career, he served as a human intelligence collector and Korean linguist for the US Army. Dr. Gunasekara-Rockwell has taught at the collegiate level at institutions of higher education in Missouri, Wisconsin, and New Mexico, and returned to the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center as an assistant professor in the Technology Integration Division for a short stint. In addition to his background in the social sciences and humanities, he has studied several foreign languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Sinhala, and Korean. In addition to his work with JIPA, he previously served as the editor for the Journal of European, Middle Eastern, & African Affairs and the Wild Blue Yonder journal and wrote a number of cultural orientations and country-in-perspective pieces.

 

Articles submitted to the journal must be unclassified, nonsensitive, and releasable to the public. Features represent fully researched, thoroughly documented, and peer-reviewed scholarly articles 5,000 to 6,000 words in length. Views articles are shorter than Features—3,000 to 5,000 words—typically expressing well-thought-out and developed opinions about regional topics. The Commentary section offers a forum about current subjects of interest. These short posts are 1,500 to 2,500 words in length. Submit all manuscripts to JIPA@au.af.edu.  

The views and opinions expressed or implied in JIPA are those of the authors and should not be construed as carrying the official sanction of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, Air Education and Training Command, Air University, or other agencies or departments of the US government.

 JOURNAL OF INDO-PACIFIC AFFAIRS (JIPA)
 600 Chennault Circle, Building 1405, Room 143
 Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6026
 Tel (334) 543-8008

The journal publishes book reviews to inform our readers and enhance the content of its articles. Reviewers are asked to analyze the book and provide an exclusive, original, unpublished, concise evaluation. The first section of the analysis should normally be the shortest and indicate the type of book (biography, anthology, history, monograph, etc.). Include a very short author biographic citation and then describe the context of the book in the literature of the field. Next, thoroughly analyze the thesis and arguments in the work. What are the strong points of the argument? What are the limitations in the work, including author biases? Is the thesis supported? What are the implications of the argument? Are there any profound aspects of the book? This section will be the longest part of the analysis. Finally, the analysis should finish with recommendations for improvement. Clearly state whether this book is worth reading, who may find this book most interesting, and why.

All books are free to reviewers. Each analysis must be submitted electronically within 45 days of book receipt. Limit your text to approximately 1,000 words, carefully edited.

Submit reviews or questions via e-mail to: JIPA@au.af.edu. 

Current Books for Review

Ahmed, Faiz. Afghanistan Rising: Islamic Law and Statecraft between the Ottoman and British Empires. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017.

Brooks, Max, John Amble, ML Cavanaugh, and Jaym Gates, eds. Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2018.

Celeski, Joseph D. Special Air Warfare and the Secret War in Laos: Air Commandos, 1964-1975. Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, 2019.

Chang, Paul Y. Protest Dialectics: State Repression and South Korea’s Democracy Movement, 1970-1979. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015.

Chowdhury, Nusrat Sabina. Paradoxes of the Popular: Crowd Politics in Bangladesh. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019.

Ci, Jiwei. Democracy in China: The Coming Crisis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019.

Doron, Assa, and Robin Jeffrey. Waste of a Nation: Garbage and Growth in India. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018.

Dye, Peter. The Man Who Took the Rap: Sir Robert Brooke-Popham and the Fall of Singapore. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018.

Elrod, Roy H. We Were Going to Win, or Die There: With the Marines at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. Edited by Fred H Allison. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2017.

Fey, Peter. Bloody Sixteen: The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 during the Vietnam War. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2018.

Frampton, Martyn. The Muslim Brotherhood and the West. A History of Enmity and Engagement. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2018.

Glenn, Tom. Last of the Annamese: A Novel. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2017.

Groh, Tyrone L. Proxy War: The Least Bad Option. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 2019.

Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2014.

Lenoir, Timothy, and Luke Caldwell. The Military-Entertainment Complex. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018.

Madsen, Grant. Sovereign Soldiers How the U.S. Military Transformed the Global Economy after World War II. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.

McHugo, John. A Concise History of Sunnis & Shi’is. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2017.

Merlan, Francesca. Dynamics of Difference in Australia: Indigenous Past and Present in a Settler Country. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.

Moore, Stephen L. Uncommon Valor: The Recon Company That Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America’s Most Decorated Green Beret. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018.

Ransmeier, Johanna S. Sold People Traffickers and Family Life in North China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017.

Rizvi, Mubbashir A. The Ethics of Staying: Social Movements and Land Rights Politics in Pakistan. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019.

Shahrani M. Nazif, ed. Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 Years of War. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2018.

Singh, Naunihal. Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.

Swope, Kenneth M. On the Trail of the Yellow Tiger: War, Trauma, and Social Dislocation in Southwest China during the Ming-Qing Transition. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2018.

Trauschweizer, Ingo. Maxwell Taylor's Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019.

Wright, Nicholas D., ed. Artificial Intelligence, China, Russia, and the Global Order. Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, 2019. 

Xu, Yan. The Soldier Image and State-building in Modern China, 1924-1945. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019.

Yablonka, Marc Phillip. Vietnam Bao Chi: Warriors of Word and Film. Philadelphia: Casemate, 2018.

Younger, Stephen M. Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018.

Digital Subscription
To sign up for a digital subscription to the journal or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your contact information below.
 
For a free print subscription to the journal, please email us at JIPA@au.af.edu. Thank you!

You can reach our editorial staff at JIPA@au.af.edu.

Features

  • Aegis Ashore deck

    Japan Cancels Aegis Ashore: Reasons, Consequences, and International Implications

    In June 2020, the Japanese government canceled the planned construction of two Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense sites. This decision was unexpected for many in the security establishment. However, considering the circumstances and warning signs in previous months, the decision should not have been a surprise. In fact, Japan’s reversal on the Aegis Ashore sites may indicate a larger shift in defense priorities for the country and potentially signal a transitional trend with implications beyond Japan and the Indo-Pacific region.
  • A map of the disputed Northern Territories

    All Quiet on the Eastern Front?: Japan and Russia’s Territorial Dispute

    Through a two-level game analysis of Japan and Russia's territorial dispute, this article argues that while the elite circumstances have never been better to resolve this dispute, popular forces remain significantly divisive, such that the status quo over the Northern Territories will remain in place.
  • Confronting China’s Maritime Expansion in the South China Sea

    Confronting China’s Maritime Expansion in the South China Sea: A Collective Action Problem

    This article argues that a collective action problem impedes the United States and its allies and partners from effectively confronting China in the South China Sea. The problem is that the United States, as a great power, can provide appropriate security goods for Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia to block creeping maritime encroachment by China.
  • Balochi insurgents carry their weapons of the region's rugged terrain

    Repression and Revolt in Balochistan: The Uncertainty and Survival of a People’s National Aspirations

    This article highlights the fact that even though the fight for Balochistan is one of international significance, most observers have ignored the situation, leaving the Baloch in a drawn-out insurgency with no support and an increased feeling of uncertainty. Still, recent instances have shown that the tensions in the region are still relatively on the rise. This article highlights and contextualizes such events and happenings in a gradually deteriorating environment.
  • Blue Dot Network logo

    India, the Blue Dot Network, and the “Quad Plus” Calculus

    This article argues that India’s prospective inclusion in the Blue Dot Network is a geostrategic necessity that can pave the way for alternative global supply chain networks and quality infrastructure promotion in Asia and beyond as well as allow New Delhi to enhance its long-desired objective of forming a "continental connect" through a "Quad Plus" network.
  • Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs leadership speak with South Korean leadership at Joint Base Andrews, Md., May 12, 2020. South Korea donated protective masks to the VA in support of COVID-19. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Spencer Slocum)

    The United States and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific after COVID-19

    To illustrate why South Korea should be crucial in US Indo-Pacific policy after the pandemic, this article first outlines the limitations to Seoul’s participation under the current US approach and how South Korea’s contributions toward the same goals as the United States are currently undervalued. It then outlines why the needed changes to the US regional approach after the coronavirus will be most effectively pursued by greater cooperation with South Korea—or at the very least better recognizing Seoul’s positive role in the region.
  • A Sri Lankan security officer stands guard in the aftermath of the 2019 Easter attacks

    Terrorism in the Indo-Pacific: The Year Gone By and the Road Ahead

    Globally, terrorism has been on the decline since peaking in 2014, the year that the Islamic State (ISIS) declared its “caliphate” in the Middle East. Nevertheless, terrorism levels are still approximately double what they were a decade ago and around five times what they were in 2001. The Indo-Pacific region, which encompasses most of Asia, as well as North America, Australasia, Oceania, and parts of South America, consistently experiences some of the highest rates of terrorism in the world, and 2019 was no exception. This article, though by no means an exhaustive account, provides a roughly chronological overview of significant terrorist activities in the Indo-Pacific during the past year, with a particular focus on South and Southeast Asia. This is followed by several important advances in counterterrorism (CT). The article concludes by considering what these, and other developments, may portend for the future.

More Features Articles

Views

  • Foreign officers graduating from Japan's National Defense Academy

    Untapped Potential between India and Japan in the Indo-Pacific: Pursuing International Military Education

    This article argues that there is a need for dialogue regarding the development of more profound international military education programs, particularly cadet-level trainings and exchanges, and also a need for the implementation of potential collaborative exchanges, programs/courses, scholarships, and conferences between Indian and Japanese cadets.
  • PLAAF cadets graduating

    Building the Next Generation of Chinese Military Leaders

    How does the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) People’s Liberation Army (PLA) treat senior military leadership development? This article answers this question by looking at what the PLA views as a good leader, how it develops such leaders, and when the new generation of PLA leaders will emerge.
  • Bagged fresh whole blood

    Fresh Whole Blood for the Near-Peer and Immature Theater Conflict: Closing a Critical Gap

    The concept of operations for blood supply to US forces is urgently needed in the event of a transition to hostilities in Korea. This article provides a framework to enable readily available fresh whole blood to bridge the critical time gap between the first shot being fired and plausible execution of current medical supply plans that rely on functional air and sea supply chains.
  • India’s Deterrence Goldilocks Dilemma in South Asia

    India’s Deterrence Goldilocks Dilemma in South Asia

    This article presents the unique Goldilocks dilemma that balancing China and Pakistan presents to India and examines how closer Indo–American collaboration is the best path to prevent rapid instability and possible nuclear war in the region. The article examines why a closer future US–Indian partnership is needed to finesse India out of its Goldilocks dilemma.
  • The Type 001A aircraft carrier, launched on April 26, 2017 in Dalian, China, is an improved variant of the Soviet designed Kuznetsov class.

    China’s Rising Missile and Naval Capabilities in the Indo-Pacific Region: Security Implications for India and Its Allies

    China’s military rise is a stepping stone toward China’s dream for global power, which inevitably poses a security threat to nations in the Indo-Pacific region. This study uses the theoretical base of structural realism’s component of “offensive realism and defensive realism.” China’s doctrine of “offshore waters defense” with “open seas protection” enhances its comprehensive defense, counterattack, and deterrence capabilities near its territory and overseas maritime domain. However, China’s naval modernization, establishing overseas naval base, and militarization of ports represents security threats to countries in the Indo-Pacific region. China’s military deployments in the South China Sea (SCS) and its missile capabilities pose security threats to India’s mainland and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • Nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act that took place in DEC 2019.

    Kashmir: Beyond Imbroglios

    This article argues that the right to self-determination, which is an integral part of any international covenant, including but not restricted to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); and most importantly United Nations Declaration on Human Rights (UNDHR), should be upheld and the conditions of Kashmiris ought to be bettered as a fundamental human right.
  • China's propaganda apparatus (PRC media such as Xinhua, People’s Daily, Global Times, etc.) broadcasts constant messaging both domestically and internationally framing the Chinese Communist Party's response as a triumph of its disciplined authoritarian system over the chaotic democratic system of the West.

    Chinese Communist Party Information Warfare: US–China Competition during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Geopolitics does not stop during a pandemic. In fact, competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China has accelerated. The Chinese Communist Party is waging an aggressive information warfare campaign to obfuscate its role in propagating the COVID-19 pandemic and to portray its response as a triumph of its authoritarian model of governance. This article will articulate how Beijing is carrying out its information warfare strategy and provide recommendations for how the United States can respond.

More Views Articles

Leader Perspectives

  • Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, chief, Royal Australian Air Force; Gen Philippe Lavigne, chief of staff, French Air Force; Gen Yoshinari Marumo, chief, Japan Air Self-Defense Force; and Gen David L. Goldfein, chief of staff, US Air Force participate in a multi-domain operations panel during the 2019 Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium (PACS) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, 5 December 2019.

    Demystifying the Indo-Pacific Theater

    The Indo-Pacific Theater by-and-large, is a mystery to many. The focus of our nation and our Department of Defense (DOD) has long been oriented toward Europe, and more recently the Middle East, so that few Americans understand and appreciate the significance of the Indo-Pacific.
  • Australian forces

    Australia in an Age of Strategic Competition

    Senator Linda Reynolds is the Australian Minister of Defence. This senior-leader perspective is derived from her 13 June 2019 speech at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Conference: War in 2025. For a full version of the speech, please visit the Australian Department of Defence website: https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/.

More Sr. Leader Perspectives

Commentaries

  • A map depicting the Indian Ocean Region, stretching from Australia to the east coast of Africa and from the underbelly of Asia to the shores of Antarctica.

    India’s Indian Ocean Region Strategy

    The rise of China across the maritime region has compelled nations (including India) to reshape their maritime strategies. This commentary aims at looking at the geostrategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region for India, China’s presence in the region, and counterbalance strategies.

More Commentaries Articles

Cadet Perspectives

  • A Chinese fighter lands on an aircraft carrier

    Avoiding Thucydides’ Trap in the Western Pacific through the Air Domain

    Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States has arguably exercised the most powerful global military imbalance the world has ever seen. This domination; however, is perceived to be fading in the wake of a new possible contender. The tension and likelihood of conflict between the United States and the People’s Republic of China has risen in recent decades. The inevitability of conflict has taken root in many academic and strategic forums. The term “Thucydides’ Trap” has echoed in many discussions among leading strategic, military, intelligence, and political science analysts.

More Cadet Perspectives

Book Reviews

  • Book Cover: Taming Sino–American Rivalry

    Book Review: Taming Sino–American Rivalry

    Book review of Taming Sino–American Rivalry, by Feng Zhang and Richard Ned Lebow. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • Book Cover: The China-India Rivalry

    Book Reviews: India and Nuclear Asia: Forces, Doctrine, and Dangers; and The China India Rivalry in the Globalization Era

    With a burgeoning economy and one-sixth of the global population, India’s nuclear policy will be increasingly significant to its regional and global role. More specifically, India must navigate the strategic complexities of defense policy with two strategic competitors: China and Pakistan. India, which has been fighting Pakistan off and on since 1947, acts as the more sophisticated conventional force. However, Pakistan enjoys the backing of the much larger, much more powerful China. The second nuclear age is Asian-centric, and these three nuclear powers form the core of the debate.

More Book Reviews

JEMEAA Journal cover Q1 2019
 

Download Current Issue

PDF ICON

Archives

Connect with AU Press

Join the Conversation

See what other Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs readers and website visitors have to say. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Visit the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs Facebook pageFacebook Logoand join the conversation.

 

 


Air University Press Logo
600 Chennault Circle, Bldg 1405, Rm. 143
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112

Visit Other Air University Press Journals

Air & Space Power Journal (ASPJ), the US Air Force’s (USAF) professional peer-reviewed journal and the leading forum for airpower thought and dialogue.

Air & Space Power Journal

Strategic Studies Quarterly (SSQ) is the peer reviewed strategic journal of the United States Air Force, fostering intellectual enrichment for national and international security professionals.

Strategic Studies Quarterly

The US Air Force Journal of the Americas (JotA) is a forum for the dissemination of original research articles and review articles in numerous areas, refereed by subject-matter experts, of an academic nature, whose mission seeks to stimulate professional dialogue on Air and Space Power among the members of the Armed Forces of the Americas, historians, professors and the general public.

Journal of the Americas

The Air Force Journal of Indo–Pacific Affairs (JIPA) is a professional journal of the US Air Force and a forum for worldwide dialogue regarding the Indo–Pacific region, spanning from the west coasts of the Americas to the eastern shores of Africa and covering much of Asia and all of Oceania.

Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs

The Air Force Journal of European, Middle Eastern, and African Affairs, published quarterly, is to be the premier multidisciplinary peer-reviewed Journal cutting across both the social sciences and airpower operational art and strategy.

Journal of European, Middle Eastern, & African Affairs