Policy
Should Killing a Satellite Provoke War on Earth?
A Space Force official says the service is considering how to respond to attacks in orbit.
Ideas
Don’t Assume the US Will Fight China and Russia One at a Time
Beijing and Moscow are boosting their strategic coordination along with their militaries.
Threats
Taiwan Emerges as a ‘Pre-eminent Issue’ For CIA’s New China Directorate
A takeover might look like Russia’s takeover of Crimea and might be coordinated with the Kremlin.
Ideas
It’s Not About Submarines. It’s about Software
Important as AUKUS submarines are in the military balance, the new way of deterrence will be about the strength, speed, and resilience of software.
Ideas
How China Is Planning For a Tech Decoupling
PLA strategists are already working on counters to anticipated U.S. moves.
Ideas
AUKUS Is the Death Knell of Australia's Strategic Ambiguity
At what cost is Australia attempting to strengthen its deterrence of China?
Ideas
How Chinese Strategists Think AI Will Power a Military Leap Ahead
The U.S. military should ready itself for a warfighting environment in which the PLA’s realizes its vision of "intelligenization."
Ideas
The Defense Budget Process Is Broken
What the U.S. needs isn’t more money for the Pentagon, but an honest and tough debate about strategy.
Ideas
Calculating the Costs of the Afghanistan War
The war in Afghanistan, like many other wars before it, began with optimistic assessments of a quick victory and the promise to rebuild at war’s end.
Ideas
The Curious Omission in Russia’s New Security Strategy
It doesn’t mention “cyber”—and that tells us a few things.
Ideas
What Comes Next? A Lesson from Saigon
Rather than marking the eclipse of American power, withdrawal from Vietnam coincided with its spectacular increase.
Ideas
Taiwan Wants Paladins. Congress Should Say No
Taipei’s only hope for an effective defense is not armor but asymmetry.
Ideas
The 2018 Strategy Is Unworkable. We Need a Fundamental Defense Rethink
We can model our efforts to link long-term defense priorities and resourcing on a post-Cold War review.
Ideas
Don’t Divide the World Between Democracies and Autocracies
There are better ways to face our challenges than pushing for ideological blocs.
Ideas
Let’s Get Real About US Military ‘Dominance’
American strategists need to drop the assumption that the U.S. military will be the superior force in any given situation.
Ideas
The US Talks A Lot About Strategic Complexity. Too Bad It’s Mostly Just Talk.
The pandemic sidelined a national security community that gives only lip service to a vital concept.
Ideas
Biden’s Interim National Security Guidance Is a Good, If Small, First Step
Next come the big questions: what is America’s current status, and where do we want to go?
Ideas
Building a China Strategy Starts by Answering These Questions
To begin, we must question our perceptions and eliminate our biases.
Ideas
‘Great Power Competition’ Is a Dangerously Simple Frame
To correctly set force posture, the Pentagon needs to look more deeply at the world’s actors, their preferences, and relationships.
Policy