Ideas
The US Is Trying to Restore Deterrence in the Gulf. That Won’t be Enough
Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a security dilemma. Here are some potential ways out.
Ideas
Ep. 56: 10 trips to Afghanistan, with Kevin Maurer
North Carolina-based author Kevin Maurer talks about his latest trip in January, and how some U.S. soldiers derive meaning from the longest conflict in the nation's history.
Ideas
The White House’s Impossible Job
The problem is not that Trump failed to get along with John Bolton—it’s that he doesn’t want a national security adviser in the first place.
Ideas
‘One Belt One Road’ Is Just a Marketing Campaign. And Yet...
China’s giant project is a poorly coordinated branding effort posing as an infrastructure initiative. But it is also a new kind of strategic challenge for the United States.
Ideas
At Guadalcanal, the US Won Through Cost Imposition. Our Adversaries Do Much the Same Today
The WWII battle has plenty to teach us about 21st-century conflict.
Ideas
How 'Great-Power Competition' Became Washington's Favorite Frame
In just a few years, GPC went from being an arcane term to approaching a cliché.
Ideas
The US Wants to Sell Taiwan the Wrong Weapons
The proposal to send tanks, and not A2/AD weapons, exposes a flawed American strategy.
Ideas
Two Decades of War Have Eroded the Morale of America’s Troops
After nearly 17 years of war, service members have seen plenty of patriotic displays but little public debate about why they’re fighting.
Threats
Shanahan Heads to Asia as White House Beats Drums on Iran
The acting defense secretary is expected to detail how the Pentagon is implementing a strategic shift away from counterterrorism.
Ideas
The Brain of the Pentagon
Andrew Marshall leaves behind an American tradition of strategic thinking that will live well beyond him.
Ideas
Protecting Civilians Still Matters in Great-Power Conflict
It’s easy to see why counterinsurgency campaigns tread carefully around local bystanders. It’s no less important in larger-scale war.
Ideas
Watch: Future Security Forum
Defense One partners with New America to bring you the Future Security Forum in Washington, D.C.
Ideas
Ep. 41: Climate Change vs. the US Military
In this episode, we investigate matters of resilience and base design as part of a broader look at how climate change will likely affect the U.S. military in the years ahead.
Ideas
A Technological Path Out of the Missile-Defense Security Dilemma
As boost-phase defenses become viable, they could reduce the destabilizing effects of longer-ranged defenses on great-power relationships.
Ideas
Is the Pentagon Truly Committed to the National Defense Strategy?
Various warning signs say "no." The 2020 budget will tell. Congress must scrutinize it carefully.
Ideas
Ep. 38: Beyond South China Sea tensions, part two: The CCP vision and the future of Chinese history
How the world's greatest 15th-century navy is linked to the game-playing robot that put Beijing's AI visions into overdrive.
Ideas
Ep. 37: Beyond South China Sea tensions, part one: The Tinderbox
The episode is broken up into three parts: how did it all begin?; what's in it for Beijing?; and where to go and what to know from here.
Ideas
What Other Countries' Experience Tells America About Its Decline
In Twilight of the Titans, two scholars provide a warning to a rising China, and a road map for the United States to regain its standing.
Ideas
How the Joint Staff Calculated a Defense Program’s Return on Investment
As our office computed the utility of its wargaming grants and library, we learned some things that others in DoD may want to copy.
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