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

A U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender lands at Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota carrying evacuees from Afghanistan, Sept. 1, 2021.

WPR | Sept. 7, 2021

Afghanistan Will Put Russia's Regional Ambitions to the Test

Jeff Mankoff

While the failure of the United States’ two-decade campaign to reshape Afghanistan was a source of no little schadenfreude in Moscow, the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s U.S.-backed government has thrust Russia into a challenging position. Even as President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia has no intention of deploying troops to Afghanistan itself, the potential for radicalization and violence around Russia’s borders is foisting greater responsibility for regional security on Moscow at a time of mounting domestic difficulties.

WOTR | Sept. 2, 2021

The Return of Great Power Proxy Wars

Frank G. Hoffman and Andrew Orner

If the United States fights with China or Russia, what type of war will it be? Will it look like the high-tech conflict envisaged in The Kill Chain or will it be closer to the plot of Ghost Fleet? Much of the U.S. strategic debate has been dominated by the perceived need to deter and prepare for large-scale, conventional conflicts — what some in these pages have called a Napoleonic conception of war. But great-power competition does not always manifest itself by direct, protracted, and high-intensity wars.

SPMAGTF-AE: Marines conduct machine gun range in Alaska

FPRI | Sept. 1, 2021

Dueling Dyads: Conceptualizing Proxy Wars in Strategic Competition

Frank G. Hoffman and Andrew Orner

The purpose of this article is to explore the character of proxy wars in the context of the emerging strategic environment. It offers insights into the array of forms that proxy wars can take, identifies shortfalls in how such conflicts are currently conceptualized, and offers recommendations to update U.S. military doctrine to prepare for this more prevalent and likely form of armed conflict in this century.

China Task Force Begins Work; DOD Makes Progress on COVID-19

INSS Strategic Insights | Aug. 18, 2021

Taking Stock of the National Stockpile: Modernizing for a Dynamic Response

Diane DiEuliis & Patrick Terrell

Many have acknowledged that the COVID19 pandemic was not a failure of our imagination – we’ve been preparing for such an event for decades by building biotechnologies for biosurveillance and medicines, conducting exercises, and stockpiling of medical supplies. Response to a spreading illness in many ways is not rocket science: treat the sick, protect the vulnerable, and stop the spread – mainly accomplished via the tools and products of biotechnology. Many are now asking, what could we have done better in the pandemic response?