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.
June 11, 2025
Re-examining National Missile Defense Strategy: Defending Against China
Dr. Kathleen Ellis, CSWMD Senior Policy Fellow, authored a National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP) Occasional Paper, “Re-examining National Missile Defense Strategy: Defending Against China,”
Feb. 16, 2023
China's Theater-Range, Dual-Capable Delivery Systems: Integrated Deterrence and Risk Reduction Approaches to Counter a Growing Threat
China has engaged in a dramatic buildup of its nuclear forces over the past decade. While much of the attention on China’s new nuclear arsenal has focused on its development and expansion of its strategic nuclear triad, this growth has also included significant numbers of theater-range, dual-capable delivery systems. These forces are not capable of reaching the U.S. mainland but can range U.S. and allied forces and bases across strategically significant swathes of the Indo-Pacific.
June 21, 2022
Russia's Cold War Perspective on Missile Defense in Europe
In this article, John P. Caves, Jr. and M. Elaine Bunn look at how Russia's opposition to the U.S. proposal to locate missile defense assets in Central Europe is primarily responsible for the controversy currently surrounding this initiative within Europe. They further look into how should Russia's objections be interpreted and what should be done about them?
Oct. 20, 2021
Future Directions for Great Power Nuclear Arms Control: Policy Options and National Security Implications
With New START expiring in 2026, this Occasional Paper by 2020 National Defense University-U.S. Strategic Command Scholar Lt T. Justin Bronder, USAF, provides an assessment of several possible nuclear arms control/risk reduction approaches for the United States to consider. The author evaluates each approach for its possible impact on U.S.-Russia strategic stability, extended deterrence, budget costs, and other key factors, and recommends that in the near-term the United States engage other major nuclear powers in talks on new risk reduction and confidence-building measures.
Jan. 27, 2021
China’s Hypersonic Weapons
Bernstein and Hancock identify potential strategic and operational issues that will need to be addressed as China's hypersonic capabilities mature.
Dec. 13, 2019
Russia's Hypersonic Weapons
While Russian hypersonic weapons could pose problems for U.S. and NATO defense planning, their introduction in the near-term is not likely to fundamentally alter the existing balance of power or the prospects for strategic stability.
Oct. 1, 2000
China Rising: New Challenges to the U.S. Security Posture
This article describes how the nature, scope and viability of the strategic relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States has emerged as a key security policy issue.