Policy
Esper Plays Nuclear War: Russia Nukes Europe, US Fires Back
The defense secretary took part in a classified drill at U.S. Strategic Command this week.
Ideas
The US Doesn’t Need a New New START
There is no reason to believe that withdrawing from the current one would improve U.S. security.
Ideas
The US Should Accept Russia’s Proposed Moratorium on Post-INF Missiles
The temporary measure has no near-term downside — and may jumpstart important arms-control talks.
Ideas
Overspending on the Pentagon Won’t Make Us Safer
We spend far more on the military than the countries we most fear, while shorting the things that would actually help us compete.
Ideas
How to Get the National Defense Strategy Out of Its Mideast Rut
We need less talk about why we need to leave, and more about why we need to compete elsewhere.
Ideas
Trump’s Bid to Go Big on Nuclear Arms Looks Like a Fizzle
Russia has no interest in negotiating from scratch. China has no interest in negotiating at all.
Ideas
Today’s Arctic Diplomacy Can’t Handle Tomorrow’s Problems
A new forum is needed to address military and security issues in the region.
Ideas
Great Powers Must Talk to Each Other About AI
Even as they compete, major militaries have reason to cooperate: to avoid misunderstanding and to establish best practices and pragmatic parameters.
Policy
Here’s what Ukraine’s New Ambassador Is Asking from the US
Yelchenko intends to stress Crimea in meeting with Pompeo, who reportedly said Americans don’t care about Ukraine.
Ideas
2020 Dems Need To Get Up To Speed on Nuclear Weapons. Fast.
Front-runners have displayed key misunderstandings, while other candidates have shied away from the topic.
Ideas
While ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’ Melts Away, the US Isn't Sure What It Wants Next
Global competition is coming to the northern polar region. U.S. policymakers are not clear on a fundamental question about its future.
Science & Tech
Putin Seeks to Plug Gaps in Russia's State-Driven Tech Efforts
His Wednesday speech acknowledged difficulties Russian researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs face, particularly in the realm of finance.
Ideas
Sending Troops Back to the Middle East Won’t Stop Iran
Knee-jerk deployments only distract from the president’s bigger priorities: China and Russia.
Science & Tech
As Putin Schemes to Extend His Reign, Expect New Forms of Internet Repression
Russia under a president-for-life will likely grow more insular and less open to Western influence.
Ideas
Ep. 62: Wagner and Russian private military contractors
How much do we understand about what these groups are up to? And how much should the U.S. and its allies be concerned?
Ideas
The Global Race for Big National-Security Ideas Is On
The United States faces genuinely new challenges—but tries to understand them using outmoded theories from a bygone era.
Ideas
Russia’s ‘Data Localization’ Efforts May Guide Other Governments
Moscow’s efforts to keep data on home soil are of interest to other authoritarian states — and even some liberal democracies.
Ideas
Building Post-INF Missiles Would Be a Waste, or Worse
New U.S. intermediate-range ground-launched missiles would deliver more undesirable effects than tactical utility.
Ideas
What US Intelligence Thought 2020 Would Look Like
A 2004 National Intelligence Council report was eerily prescient in some ways, and totally off in others.
Ideas