Center for Strategy and Military Power

Director: Dr. Kim Cragin

The INSS Center for Strategy and Military Power (CSMP) supports the war fighter through research and analysis on defense strategy and policy. Topics are determined annually by Department of War (DoW) stakeholders and address critical threats, defense industrial base, allies and partners, as well as homeland and missile defense.

Focus Areas

Critical Threats. Research and analysis focuses on critical threats arising from strategic competitors, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation, as well as threats posed by regional state and non-state adversaries. Recent studies and strategic support address Russia’s “concert of civilizations,” the future of Iran’s nuclear program, and PRC irregular warfare in the South China Sea, and DoW-sponsored wargames.

Defense Industrial Base. Research and analysis on the defense industrial base (DIB) and ways to improve and reform the United States’ DIB. Recent studies examine iterative acquisition during the Ukraine crisis, fielding weapons of affordable mass, legacy vs autonomous systems, the German defense industrial zeitenwende, and Türkiye’s role in the transatlantic DIB.

Allies and Partners. INSS fellows conduct research and analysis on U.S. allies and strategic partners, including NATO, the U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Alliance, and the U.S.-Japan Alliance. INSS fellows also have continuing studies related to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD). Recent projects address NATO’s eastern flank, the Nordic-Baltic alignment, Indo-Pacific deterrence, and QUAD defense activities within the Indian Ocean region.

Homeland Defense. INSS fellows conduct research and analysis on topics related to homeland and missile defense, including space strategy and policy, border security, and counterterrorism. Recent projects examine space-based missile defense interceptors, the U.S. military’s use of commercial space, novel orbits, U.S. border security and the active-duty force, as well as the evolution and adaptation of foreign terrorist fighters.

Research and Commentary

Turkish President Erdogan says the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is unparalleled in modern history.

Strategic Ambiguity: Erdoğan’s Turkey in a Multipolar World

By Jeffrey Mankoff and Max Bergmann | Dec. 3, 2025

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden made the historic decision to seek membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Gen. Dan Caine visited South Korea for the 50th Military Committee Meeting (MCM) and 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), reaffirming the enduring strength of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.

Can Seoul Take the Lead & The Alliance Expand Its Aperture?

By Dr. Clint Work | Dec. 2, 2025

South Korea taking a lead role in conventional deterrence of North Korea, appears linked with enabling the U.S. conventional posture and the alliance's combined posture on the peninsula to better handle multiple threats to the alliance on, around, and beyond it.

South Korean soldiers assigned to the 7th Infantry Division, ROK Army, pull security on an M3 Bridge Vehicle during a wet gap crossing exercise, Nov. 20, 2025, near Namhan River site, South Korea.

The Variables of OPCON: What ‘Conditions’?

By Dr. Clint Work | Dec. 2, 2025

Language around wartime operational control (OPCON) transition has evolved over the last decade, revealing important patterns and subtle (or not so subtle) shifts in position and policy.