The Diplomat | Author
James R. Holmes
James R. Holmes is a defense analyst for The Diplomat and a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College where he specializes in U.S., Chinese and Indian maritime strategy and U.S. diplomatic and military history.
He is co-author of Red Star over the Pacific, an Atlantic Monthly Best Foreign Affairs Book for 2010 and a former US Navy surface warfare officer.
The views voiced here are his alone.
May 18, 2013
The Insurgent’s Playbook: Start Cumulative, Go Sequential
A weak combatant cuts a stronger adversary down in size, while amassing the wherewithal to prevail.
May 13, 2013
Welcome to the League of Mad Strategists
A meeting of the minds: Carl von Clausewitz, Edward Luttwak, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
May 10, 2013
Top 3 Takeaways from the Pentagon's China Report
“One hopes the Defense Department will take a more textured view of China’s rise than is on display here.”
May 07, 2013
China's Great India Folly
By reopening its territorial quarrel with India, China risks having to redirect resources from sea power back to land defense.
May 06, 2013
In Praise of Pessimism
“Training is about preparing for intrinsically mercurial situations. It’s about preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.”
May 03, 2013
What Modern Militaries Can Learn From Battlestar Galactica
“Sometimes revolutionary innovation delivers; it often doesn’t.”
May 01, 2013
In the Shadow of China's Rise
Japan and India are strong naval powers. Both face China’s growing might from different perspectives.
April 29, 2013
Eeyore Meets American Declinism
America’s national-security establishment in particular is in a funk that makes even Eeyore look upbeat.
April 27, 2013
Strategies of Poverty
The Diplomat in partnership with Tufts University hosted a joint panel on U.S. Foreign Policy. Our Naval Diplomat speaks…
April 25, 2013
Another Twist in the China-Japan Island Dispute
The arrival of Chinese near disputed islands prompts a blunt response from Tokyo.
April 23, 2013
Partner in the Pivot?
Taipei needs to undertake a pivot of its own, aimed at ensuring that its chief protector can, and will, come to its aid in wartime.
April 22, 2013
The Minutemen of Boston
“The heartening public response to last week’s events suggests that the defiant Minutemen ethos lives on in Boston.”