strategist
The Role of U.S. Diplomacy in Countering Russia’s Nuclear Threats and Misbehavior
With the ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent suspension of the New START treaty, concerns about nuclear escalation have been on the rise. Rose Gottemoeller argues that, because of the existential threat that nuclear weapons pose, the United States has a…
The Paradox of Europe’s Defense Moment
The war in Ukraine has been a wakeup call for European countries, alerting them to the reality that defense matters. But do some recent promising steps in the right direction actually signal a revival of the European Union’s drive for strategic autonomy and…
China’s Brute Force Economics: Waking Up from the Dream of a Level Playing Field
Liza Tobin argues that the time has come for the United States and its allies to abandon the notion that competing on a level playing field with China’s state-led economy is possible and confront the reality of what she calls the country’s “brute force…
The Human Factor: The Enduring Relevance of Protecting Civilians in Future Wars
The U.S. military has shifted from a counterinsurgency “population-centric” approach to an enemy-centric one, focused on destroying an enemy through decisive victory. And yet it should be careful not to cast aside measures to protect civilians as a vestige…
Why Cyber Dogs Have Yet to Bark Loudly in Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pundits agreed that the ongoing crisis was likely to involve extensive cyber conflict. Some argued that cyber war would accompany traditional forms of warfare. Others claimed that cyber conflict would substitute for a…
Not a Suicide Pact: Urgent Strategic Recommendations for Reducing Domestic Terrorism in the United States
Barbara McQuade reviews the Biden administration's National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, discusses the constitutional challenges of combating domestic terrorism, and proposes some additional steps that are necessary for addressing this growing…
The Growing Rivalry Between America and China and the Future of Globalization
In this article, Aaron Friedberg considers the ways in which the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China may influence, and be influenced by, the evolving structure of the international economy. After reviewing the evolution of the…
A Large Number of Small Things: A Porcupine Strategy for Taiwan
As China’s rhetoric about “reunification” with Taiwan and the military’s gray-zone activities intensify, Taiwan should adopt a strategy that includes a large number of small things in order to leverage Taiwan’s geographic and technological…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Dilemma of a Conflicted Civil Servant
In December 2019, Alexandra Hall Hall resigned from her post as Brexit counselor at the British Embassy in Washington, DC. In this article, she writes about how she came to that decision and situates it in a broader discussion of principled resignation, giving…
The Standstill Conundrum: The Advent of Second-Strike Vulnerability and Options to Address It
Emerging and disruptive technologies spell an uncertain future for second-strike retaliatory forces. New sensors and big data analysis may render mobile missiles and submarines vulnerable to detection. I call this development the “standstill conundrum”:…
Nuclear Operations and Counter-Homeland Conventional Warfare: Navigating Between Nuclear Restraint and Escalation Risk
Bruce Sugden explores the dynamics that could lead the nuclear great powers to conduct counter-homeland conventional strikes, risking nuclear escalation. He explores how competitors view one another's conventional-nuclear firebreaks and their nuclear…
Debunking the AI Arms Race Theory
There is no AI arms race. However, military competition in AI does still pose certain risks. These include losing human control and the acceleration of warfare, as well as the risk that perceptions of an arms race will cause competitors to cut corners on…