RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Through its publications, INSS provides rigorous, forward‑looking research and analysis on critical national security issues that support the joint warfighter and inform Department of War decision‑makers.

 

Research and Commentary

Results:
Category: Russia

Spanish service members with the Spanish Legion and operating under the NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF) load their luggage into buses after arriving at Alexandroupolis Airport, Greece, during the Strategic Deployment portion of NATO Exercise Steadfast Dart 2025.

July 10, 2026

Managing the Long-Term Russian Threat to Europe

INSS Distinguished Fellow on Russia, Eurasia, and the Arctic Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff published a CSIS report titled "Managing the Long-Term Russian Threat to Europe" on 9 July, 2026 that discusses European security and learning the right lessons from the war in Ukraine.

Jeffrey Mankoff, Distinguished Fellow for Russia, Eurasia, and the Arctic at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), sits behind a panelist table during the conference Evolving Nuclear Dynamics on the Korean Peninsula in Seoul, South Korea, on May 22, 2026.

June 1, 2026

INSS Participates in Seoul Conference on Nuclear Dynamics on the Korean Peninsula

On 22 May, INSS Distinguished Fellow Jeffrey Mankoff participated in the Evolving Nuclear Dynamics on the Korean Peninsula conference in Seoul, South Korea.

NDU President VAMD Peter Garvin and Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense, Policy and Programs

March 19, 2026

A Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence Rollout Event

On 12 March, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the National Defense University (NDU) co-hosted the Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence: Report Rollout event.

Steve Lance (left) sits down with Dr. Tom Lynch (right) to discuss how effectively the U.S. military's Operation Epic Fury is performing, and its implications for the balance of power between the U.S. and its adversaries Russia and China. Both men are in suits, sitting facing one another. A small table separates the men, with two mugs of coffee placed on the table.

March 17, 2026

How China May Proceed in Reaction to U.S. Operation in Iran

Dr. Thomas Lynch III discusses how effectively the U.S. military's Operation Epic Fury is performing, and its implications for the balance of power between the U.S. and its adversaries Russia and China.

Cover of a report titled “A Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence.” The design features blue circular graphics with the word “UNCLASSIFIED” at the top and bottom. The subtitle reads: Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, August 2025. Two photos appear on the cover: one shows emergency responders wearing bright yellow hazmat suits standing near a fire truck; the other shows a U.S. Army soldier in uniform examining a sample through a laboratory microscope. A disclaimer notes that the views expressed are those of the authors and not official U.S. government policy. Logos for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Defense University, and the Institute for National Strategic Studies appear at the bottom.

March 16, 2026

A Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence

The United States and its allies and partners face a rapidly expanding array of biothreats, to include the potential employment of increasingly sophisticated and lethal biological weapons (BW).

The icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20) keeps station while conducting crane operations alongside a multi-year ice floe for a science evolution in the Beaufort Sea, Aug. 9, 2023. Healy is the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker specifically designed for Arctic research, as well as the nation’s sole surface presence routinely operating in the Arctic Ocean.

Jan. 22, 2026

The Arctic is a Strategic Distraction

Over the past five years, numerous articles have called for increased U.S. defense resources focused on the Arctic. This is a strategic mistake, a distraction.

First 6 regiments of the Soviet military contingent withdrawal.

Dec. 16, 2025

The Imperial Trap: Russia’s War in Ukraine and the Lessons of Failed Conquests

Since the release of the U.S. 28-point draft peace plan in late November, many officials and observers have suggested that a ceasefire in Ukraine may be on the horizon.

"The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas" spelled out on the left hand side, with a photo of the cover of "The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas: State and Quasi-State Actors in Great Power Competition" publication on the right. Springer Nature is displayed across the top right.

Dec. 16, 2025

Dr. Tom Lynch Contributes U.S. Chapter to The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas

"Chapter 2: United States" in The Palgrave Geopolitical Atlas: State and Quasi-State Actors in Great Power Competition is part of a comprehensive 54-chapter edited book that examines global state and quasi-state interactions in the new era of Great Power Competition.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands behind a podium wearing a suit, and delivers a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dec. 3, 2025

Strategic Ambiguity: Erdoğan’s Turkey in a Multipolar World

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).

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) walk side by side down a hall to attend a welcoming ceremony ahead of their talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 6.

Nov. 25, 2025

INSS joins NUPI Russia Conference 2025

INSS Distinguished Research Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff participated in the NUPI Russia Conference 2025: Russian power practices and repertoires.