Ideas
The Miner’s Canary: COVID-19 and the Rise of Non-Traditional Security Threats
To face them, we need new definitions of security and a global approach.
Ideas
National Security in the Age of Pandemics
We cannot reduce the danger and damage of the next pandemic by merely adding it to the ever-expanding laundry list of missions we expect the military to handle.
Ideas
The Damage That ‘America First’ Has Done
A self-interested strategy will not help the U.S. fight the coronavirus outbreak.
Ideas
The Foreign Policy of 2021 Democrats
Joe Biden represents the so-called establishment’s last chance to reform U.S. foreign policy so it is better aligned with how Americans see the world.
Ideas
It’s Time to Talk About Taiwan
Washington’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity is increasingly likely to inflame the kind of crisis it was meant to deter.
Ideas
How a Stock Bubble Could Unwind America’s National Security
Tesla’s astronomic rise portends a crash that will add heft to the forces of deglobalization.
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
Why Does the US Spend So Much on Defense?
It is well to remember that the real bill includes not just DOD spending but VA, intelligence, and more. But those who would cut spending must also propose a new strategy.
Ideas
Donald Trump Stumbles Into a Foreign-Policy Triumph
The president, however inadvertently, may be reminding the world of the reality of international relations.
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.
Ideas
Esper Is Attempting the Biggest Defense Reform in a Generation
In two recent memos, the SecDef reveals his intention to change how the Pentagon uses its money, people, and time.
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
Iran’s Smart Strategy
The Iranians chose neither to fold nor to fight. It is not clear at this point who was more deterred by whom.
Ideas
The US, Iran, and the Consequences of Breaking International Law
Some in the U.S. act as if only naked might matters in foreign policy. Yet American policy in Iran and Iraq illustrates something different.
Ideas
Why US Officials Are Revealing More about Cyber Ops
It’s part of a “costly signaling” gambit. Will it deter America’s enemies?
Ideas
Don’t Use the Iran Crisis As An Excuse To Boost Pentagon Spending
Use it to reconsider the American approach to national security.
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Add Economic Policy to Deterrence Planning
As crisis brews overseas, U.S. leaders often turn first to sanctions and the like. But the Pentagon acts as if economic coercion doesn’t matter.
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America's Rivalry With China Is Nothing Like the Cold War
In today’s circumstances, Cold War–era policies are not only unnecessary, but likely to catalyze a destructive spiral of heightening tensions that would make the world a more dangerous place.
Ideas