James Sladden

The authors analyze the prospect that Iran will further invest in Yemen's Houthis and develop them into an enduring proxy group. The authors examine the Houthi movement's history, the Houthis' current relations with Iran, Iran's history of proxy development, and the trajectory of the Houthi-Iran relationship, and then pose scenarios for the future. The report should be of interest to a wide audience in the foreign policy and defense community.

This report defines and describes will to fight and provides a model of unit will to fight that can be applied to ground combat units of any scale. The model provides a research-grounded template for case-by-case adviser assessment of partner or allied military forces and the intelligence analysis of adversary forces. This report also provides a theoretical basis for adding will to fight to military war gaming and simulation.

Russia has historically succeeded in using various hostile measures to sow disorder, weaken democratic institutions, and undermine Western alliances. However, it also has a long track record of strategic shortfalls and even ineptitude. Exploring opportunities to deter, prevent, and counter Russian hostile behavior will benefit NATO and other Western powers in the so-called gray zone short of war, as well as in a conventional warfare scenario.