Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS)

Institute for National Strategic Studies

The premier institute of strategic research at National Defense University
Institute for National Strategic Studies

The premier institute of strategic research at National Defense University
Institute for National Strategic Studies

The premier institute of strategic research at National Defense University
Institute for National Strategic Studies

The premier institute of strategic research at National Defense University
Institute for National Strategic Studies

The premier institute of strategic research at National Defense University

Atlantic Council | June 14, 2021

Three Priorities for NATO Partnerships in a Contested World

Lisa Aronsson and Brett Swaney

Over the next twelve months, the allies will negotiate a new Strategic Concept that adapts NATO’s core tasks—collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security—to this contested environment. It will be informed by the NATO 2030 Report, which characterized China as a full-spectrum rival and offered recommendations to strengthen NATO’s political dimensions and extend its global reach. The next Strategic Concept presents an opportunity to breathe new life into cooperative security by steering cooperation with non-member states toward these challenges. NATO should double down on what works—capacity-building—while expanding political consultations with partners and forging new frontiers in science and technology cooperation.

A Russian Su-27 Flanker intercepts a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, while participating in Baltic Operations over the Baltic Sea, June 9, 2017. The exercise is designed to enhance flexibility and interoperability, to strengthen combined response capabilities, as well as demonstrate resolve among allied and partner nations forces to ensure stability in, and defend, the Baltic Sea region. Flight intercepts are regular occurrences, and the vast majority are conducted in a safe and professional manner. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)

World Politics Review | June 7, 2021

Back from the Brink? Prospects for U.S.-Russia Relations

Jeffrey Mankoff

As the current American and Russian leaders, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, prepare for their first summit on June 16 in Geneva, prospects are slim for the kind of breakthrough achieved by Reagan and Gorbachev. Tensions remain high due to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and subsequent invasion of Ukraine; its interference in U.S. elections; its aggressive behavior in cyberspace—including the recent SolarWinds hack, which compromised a range of public and private sector entities across the West—and the sanctions that Washington imposed in response to all those activities. ...

Inkstick | May 25, 2021

Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)Information Environment Part II

Justin Anderson

Dr. Justin Anderson's recent article is the second in a series of papers by Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Fellows examining Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)information Environment. The goal of the series is to contribute to a discussion about how disinformation could play a role in future arms control treaties and agreements.

WOTR | May 19, 2021

Managed Risks, Managed Expectations: How Far Will Targeted Killing Get the United States in Afghanistan?

Bryce Loidolt

The United States may be withdrawing from Afghanistan, but thus far al-Qaeda certainly hasn’t. The central instrument in the U.S. arsenal to prevent al-Qaeda from reemerging will inevitably be the monitoring and targeted killing of al-Qaeda operatives residing in or near Afghanistan.