PUBLICATIONS

Through its publications, INSS aims to provide expert insights, cutting-edge research, and innovative solutions that contribute to shaping the national security discourse and preparing the next generation of leaders in the field.

 

Publications

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Category: Russia

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.

Podcast cover art for "Russian Roulette" by CSIS. The design features a black-and-white photo of a historic Russian building overlaid on a red map of Moscow. Three diagonal black lines intersect the top right corner. The podcast title is in bold black letters at the bottom, and "CSIS" appears in the upper left corner.

July 16, 2025

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Geopolitics in the South Caucasus

Jeffrey Mankoff, a Distinguished Research Fellow in the INSS Center for Strategy and Military Power (CSMP), joined The Russian Roulette podcast.

"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.

June 30, 2025

The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications for Transatlantic Security

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.

Diplomatic Immunity podcast logo. Blue backgrund with sketched globe.

March 7, 2024

The Russo-Chinese Alliance and Great Power Competition with Dr. Tom Lynch

Dr. Tom Lynch offers us a Great Power Competition understanding of the evolving Russo-Chinese strategic partnership on the Georgetown University “Diplomatic Immunity” podcast. His 30-minute podcast conversation, posted on March 7, 2024, tells us why China and Russia now appear more strategically aligned than they actually are and why they are not destined to be formal allies into the future.

Russian guards marching in a ceremony marking Defender of the Fatherland Day, Moscow, Russia, February 2024

March 6, 2024

America’s New Twilight Struggle With Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Washington to rethink its fundamental assumptions about Moscow. Every U.S. president from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden had sought some degree of engagement with Russia. As late as 2021, Biden expressed hope that Russia and the United States could arrive at “a stable, predictable relationship.” But Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine has radically altered that assessment. It is now clear that the two countries will remain antagonists for years to come. The Kremlin possesses immense disruptive global power and is willing to take great risks to advance its geopolitical agenda. Coping with Russia will demand a long-term strategy, one that echoes containment, which guided the United States through the Cold War, or what President John F. Kennedy called a “long, twilight struggle” against the Soviet Union.