INSS hosts Disruptive Technology for Future Warfare Conference
INSS was pleased to host the Disruptive Technology for Future Warfare Conference at NDU on 4 Sept 2025.
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INSS WMD Center hosts annual WMD Symposium
The INSS Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction successfully hosted its annual Annual Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Symposium, "Deter, Counter, and Defeat: WMD Challenges for the Joint Warfighter" from 16-17 July 2025.
INSS hosts École de Guerre students at NDU
On 8 May, INSS and faculty from CIC, CISA and NWC hosted the annual academic exchange between Ecole de Guerre students and NDU faculty.
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INSS hosts President of Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)
INSS hosted Mr. Manabu Imakyurei, President of Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) on 19 March 2025 for a discussion on regional issues.
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Cover of China Strategic Perspectives 20

NDU Press | Sept. 15, 2025

Taming the Hegemon: Chinese Thinking on Countering U.S. Military Intervention in Asia

Joel Wuthnow

This report assesses recent Chinese thinking on countering U.S. intervention in Asia, specifically in a Taiwan contingency.
First page of Cover of Strategic Forum 313, "Drone Delivery of Bioweapons: Responsibilities for Force Readiness" by Dr. James Giordano and Dr. Diane DiEuliis

NDU Press | July 22, 2025

Drone Delivery of Bioweapons: Responsibilities for Force Readiness

James Giordano and Diane DiEuliis

The U.S. National Drone Association recently sponsored the inaugural international U.S. Military Drone Crucible Championship to provide a venue for American and allied military drone training, advanced piloting, operational utility, and countermeasure capability.
Soldier moves across rope during Wolf Blitz 25 at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.

Joint Force Quarterly | July 15, 2025

Joint Force Quarterly 118 (3rd Quarter 2025)

NDU Press

This issue of Joint Force Quarterly addresses key strategic, operational, and doctrinal questions shaping the future of the joint force.
"The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications for Transatlantic Security" by Brett Swaney, part of the Strategic Perspectives series (number 44) from the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS). The top section features the INSS logo and publication details. Below, a dramatic image shows industrial workers in heat-resistant suits working near a large foundry furnace with molten metal and sparks flying. The bottom includes the seal of the National Defense University and credits the INSS Center for Strategy and Military Power.

NDU Press | June 30, 2025

The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications for Transatlantic Security

Brett Swaney

The Zeitenwende, or “watershed moment”—announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—outlined a set of policy shifts, including the development of Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy, that appeared to signal a greater role for Germany in the defense and security of Europe.

Highlighted Articles

Soldiers loading sea mines during a military exercise in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, July 2025

The Greatest Danger in the Taiwan Strait

Dr. Joel Wuthnow

Dr. Joel Wuthnow writes a piece for Foreign Affairs on how a war between China and Taiwan could result from an accident or miscalculation that spirals out of control.

Photo of drones depciting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Expendable Drones: Appreciating the Evolving Technology – and Character – of War

John Bitterman, Elise Annett, Dr. James Giordano

This publication address the expanding weaponized capabilities – and threats – of unmanned vehicular systems when coupled to iterative forms of artificial intelligence.

Cover of EC Neurology

Evaluating Anomalous Health Incidents of the Havana Syndrome: The Case for a Structured Qualitative and Quantitative Symptom Assessment Instrument

Dr. James Giordano

Dr. Giordano writes his latest publication for EC Neurology that explicates the need, and calls for the development of a systematic questionnaire to assess the symptoms of patients with anomalous health incidents (AHI) of the Havana Syndrome.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan join hands during a signing ceremony at the White House in Washington on Aug. 8

With the Armenia-Azerbaijan Deal, It’s a New Era in the Caucasus

Jeffrey Mankoff

A peace treaty would settle a long and bloody conflict—and create new geopolitical options in the region.
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Featured Experts

Photo of James Giordano, Director of The Center of Disruptive Technology and Future Warfare.
James Giordano
Director, CDTFW

Areas of Expertise: Emerging Science and Technology; Neurocognitive Technology; Bioweapons, Biowarfare, and Biosecurity; Ethics

Distinguished Research Fellow, CSR / Director, CSCMA
Phillip C. Saunders
Director, CSCMA
Dr. Phillip C. Saunders is the Director of the INSS Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs
Distinguished Research Fellow, CSR
Thomas F. Lynch III
Distinguished Research Fellow, CSMP

Areas of Expertise:  Asia and the Indo-Pacific (South and Central Asia); Great Power Competition (GPC); Middle East and North Africa (Gulf Arab States); Counter-terrorism

T.X. Hammes, Distinguished Research Fellow, CSR
T.X. Hammes
Distinguished Research Fellow, CSMP

Areas of Expertise: Future conflict; Changing Character of Warfare; Military Strategy; Insurgency/Irregular Warfare; Operational Concepts

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Research & Analysis

"The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications for Transatlantic Security" by Brett Swaney, part of the Strategic Perspectives series (number 44) from the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS). The top section features the INSS logo and publication details. Below, a dramatic image shows industrial workers in heat-resistant suits working near a large foundry furnace with molten metal and sparks flying. The bottom includes the seal of the National Defense University and credits the INSS Center for Strategy and Military Power.

The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications for Transatlantic Security

Brett Swaney
Cover page of the publication titled "China's Military Diplomacy" by Phillip C. Saunders and Melodie Ha, part of China Strategic Perspectives 19. The cover features a photograph of a formal meeting between Chinese military officials and foreign military representatives seated around a long conference table, with Chinese flags and a traditional landscape painting in the background. The bottom of the cover credits the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, part of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University.

China's Military Diplomacy

Phillip C. Saunders and Melodie Ha
Cover of Strategic Forum 312: China's Forever War: What If a Taiwan Invasion Fails?

China’s Forever War: What If a Taiwan Invasion Fails?

Joel Wuthnow
Marine yells orders to squad members during Integrated Training Exercise.

Joint Force Quarterly 117 (2nd Quarter 2025)

NDU Press
Cover page of CSWMD 30 Years Anniversary PDF. "The World's Most Destructive Weapons" is overlayed on the cover with an image of Earth in the background.

Thirty Years of the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

CSWMD
Crossing the Strait: China’s Military Prepares for War with Taiwan

Crossing the Strait: China’s Military Prepares for War with Taiwan

Joel Wuthnow, Derek Grossman, Phillip C. Saunders, Andrew Scobell, Andrew N.D. Yang

Institute for National Strategic Studies

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