Publications

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

Walter C. Ladwig III, The Forgotten Front: Patron-Client Relations in Counterinsurgency (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017).

“this book is essential reading for specialists of International Relations and of strategy, as it critically examines the patron-client relationship in the context of counterinsurgency and contributes immensely to the scholarship on irregular warfare…” –International Affairs

“Ladwig’s important book … shines a bright light on some of the deficiencies in counterinsurgency literature and the United States’ naiveté about its relationship with its clients.” – War on the Rocks

“This clearly written, well-researched study brings welcome attention to the counterinsurgent government’s interests and the client government’s ability to resist patron pressure…more rigorous in its theoretical and empirical analysis than much other work in this area.” – Parameters

“…Ladwig has done yeoman’s work with this volume. Not only does he contribute to the scholarly literature on counterinsurgency, in many cases he also contributes to the empirical understanding of the historical cases themselves.” –Journal of Strategic Studies

“Walter C. Ladwig III has identified one of the most vexing problems outside powers face in a counterinsurgency campaign: prodding the government afflicted by the insurgency to reform. More importantly, through the effective use of history, he has derived a way to increase the effectiveness of American assistance in counterinsurgency campaigns, with immediate implications for the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan. This work is in the best tradition of applying social science to solve real-world problems..” – John Nagl, author of Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam

“Clausewitz was right that war is an extension of politics, by other means. Ladwig is right that counterinsurgency support for other nations is also an extension of politics. It is not, and cannot be, a purely or even a primarily technical enterprise.” – Michael O’Hanlon – Brookings Institution

“The Forgotten Front marks a valuable contribution to the rapidly growing literature on the causes and consequences of security assistance between states.” – Political Science Quarterly

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Influencing Clients in Counterinsurgency: U.S. Involvement in El Salvador’s Civil War, 1979–92,” International Security, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Summer 2016).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Non-Resident Prime Ministers? Measuring India’s Foreign Policy Orientation via Leadership Travel,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 1 (March 2025). (with Sumitha Narayan Kutty).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “A Cold Start for Hot Wars? The Indian Army’s New Limited War Doctrine,” International Security, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Winter 2007/08).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Indian Military Modernization and Conventional Deterrence in South Asia,” Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 38, No. 4 (2015).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Parliamentary Interest in Foreign Security Policy: Insight from the Indian Lok Sabha,” Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol. 21, No. 1 (January 2025).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Executive Particularism and Ministerial Selection in India,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 3 (July 2020).

EDITED COLLECTIONS

Walter C. Ladwig III and Anit Mukherjee, eds., “On the U.S.-India Partnership,” special issue of Asia Policy, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 2019).

FULL PUBLICATION LIST

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Walter C. Ladwig III, “India and the United States: The Contours of an Asian Partnership,” Asia Policy, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 2019). (with Anit Mukherjee).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Sailing Together or Ships Passing in the Night? India and the U.S. in Southeast Asia,” Asia Policy, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 2019). (with Anit Mukherjee).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “A Neo-Nixon Doctrine for the Indian Ocean: Helping States Help Themselves,” Strategic Analysis, Vol. 36, No. 3 (May 2012).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “India and Military Power Projection: Will the Land of Gandhi Become a Conventional Great Power?” Asian Survey, Vol. 50, No. 6 (November/December 2010).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Diego Garcia and America’s Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy,” Asian Security, Vol. 6, No. 3 (September 2010). (with Andrew Erickson and Justin Mikolay).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Delhi’s Pacific Ambition: Naval Power, ‘Look East,’ and India’s Emerging Role in the Asia-Pacific,” Asian Security, Vol. 5, No. 2 (June 2009).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Supporting Allies in Counterinsurgency: Britain and the Dhofar Rebellion,” Small Wars & Insurgencies, Vol. 19, No. 1 (March 2008).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Training Foreign Police: A Missing Aspect of U.S. Security Assistance to Counterinsurgency,” Comparative Strategy, Vol. 26, No. 4 (July 2007). *The Australian Army identified this article as recommended reading for its senior officers*

BOOK CHAPTERS

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Battlefield Lessons of Operation Sindoor” in Manoj Joshi and Harsh V. Pant, eds., Operation Sindoor: India Defines a “New Normal” (New Delhi: Speaking Tiger, 2026). forthcoming.

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Institutions of Democratic Control and Oversight” in Croissant, A., Kuehn, D. & Pion-Berlin, D. (eds.), Research Handbook on Civil-Military Relations (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2024), pp. 99-116. (with Anit Mukherjee).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Nuclear Coercion: Evaluating Insights from Academic Scholarship” in Prakash Menon and Aditya Ramanathan, eds., The Sheathed Sword: From Nuclear Brink to No First Use (Oxford: Bloomsbury, 2022).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Strengthening Partners to Keep the Peace: A Neo-Nixon Doctrine for the Indian Ocean” in Peter Dombrowski and Andrew C. Winner, eds., The Indian Ocean and US Grand Strategy Ensuring Access and Promoting Security (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2014).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “When the Police are the Problem: The Philippine Constabulary and the Huk Rebellion” in C. Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly, eds., Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

Walter C. Ladwig III “The Military Geography of Diego Garcia: Future Implications for U.S. Power Projection in the Indian Ocean,” in Carnes Lord and Andrew S. Erickson, eds., U.S. Basing and Presence in the Asia-Pacific (Newport, RI: Naval Institute Press, 2014).(with Andrew S. Erickson and Justin D. Mikolay)

Walter C. Ladwig III “Drivers of Indian Naval Expansion,” in Harsh Pant, ed., The Rise of the Indian Navy: Internal Vulnerabilities, External Challenges (Ashgate, 2012).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Looking East 2 (East Asia/Australasia)” in David Scott, ed., A Handbook of India’s International Relations (London: Routledge, 2011).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Insights from the Northeast: Counterinsurgency in Nagaland and Mizoram,” in David P. Fidler and Sumit Ganguly, eds., India and Counterinsurgency: Lessons Learned (London: Routledge, 2009).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Security Assistance and Counterinsurgency: The British Experience in Oman, 1964-1975,” in Kendall Gott, ed., Security Assistance: U.S. and International Historical Perspectives (Leavenworth, KS: CSI Press, 2006).

PUBLICATIONS IN POLICY JOURNALS

Walter C. Ladwig III. “The Indo-Pacific in Indian Foreign Policy,” (London: RUSI, April 2024).

Walter C. Ladwig III. “The Future of UK-India Relations,” in UK-India Relations (London: UK in a Changing Europe, April 2024). (with Anit Mukherjee).

Walter C. Ladwig III. “Assessing India’s Response to the Ukraine Conflict,” in Zeno Leoni, Maeve Ryan and Gesine Weber, eds. War in Ukraine: One Year On (London: Center for Grand Strategy, February 2023). (with Sumitha Narayanan Kutty).

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Friendly Persuasion is Not Enough: The Limits of the Lansdale Approach,” Texas National Security Review (April 2018)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “The Forgotten Force: Police-Building in Iraq and Afghanistan,” World Politics Review (May 2013)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Diego Garcia : Anchoring America’s Future Presence in the Indo-Pacific,” Harvard Asia Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer 2013)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “India and the Balance of Power in the Asia-Pacific,” Joint Force Quarterly, No. 57 (April 2010)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Indian Military Doctrine and Warfighting: The Challenge of Change,” Seminar, No. 596 (June 2009)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “Managing Counterinsurgency: Lessons from Malaya,” Military Review, Vol. 87, No. 3 (May 2007)

Walter C. Ladwig III, “The Future of the British Nuclear Deterrent: An Assessment of Decision Factors,” Strategic Insights, Vol. 6, No. 1 (January 2007).