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.
May 5, 2026
Substrate Vulnerability: Neural Factors in Cognitive Security | James Giordano
A realist approach to cognitive security must appreciate the dynamic interaction of biological, psychological and socioenvironmental factors as both (1) constituent to human function and (2) opportune targets of influence, and effect.
April 8, 2026
Controlling Command: Is AI Capturing the Ethics of War?
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with military operations is accelerating across global powers, including the United States, its allies, and competitor states such as China and Russia.
March 17, 2026
Biodeterrence in an Era of Convergent Threats
A recent report reveals that the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) has increasing focus upon and fiscal dedication to biosciences and biotechnology, with an estimated economic commitment of 5-8% of its total national research and development spending, amounting to approximately $32 billion in comparable USD in annual funding.
July 30, 2025
Insect-Sized Microdrones: A Tiny Vector for Big Biothreats
Recent demonstrations by China’s National University of Defense Technology, aired on state broadcast CCTV-7, revealed mosquito-sized robotic micro-unmanned aerial vehicles that are approximately two centimeters long and weigh 0.3 grams.
Feb. 19, 2025
Drones and Biotechnological Weaponry: Emerging Risks, Strategic Threats, and Viable Readiness
The United States National Drone Association (USNDA) recently announced its sponsorship of the inaugural, international U.S. Military Drone Crucible Drone Championship to provide a venue for exercising U.S. and allied military drone training, advanced piloting, operational utility, and counter-measures’ capability.
Dec. 1, 2020
The rise of the futurists: The perils of predicting with futurethink
In this paper, Dr. Alexander H. Montgomery and Dr. Amy J. Nelson explore probabilistic and possibilistic approaches to uncertainty related to AI, outline their potential advantages and disadvantages, and identify common biases that hinder good prediction.
Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition Oct. 26, 2020
Contemporary Great Power Technological Competitive Factors in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
In the latest Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Strategic Assessment, Dr. T.X. Hammes and Dr. Diane DiEuliis explore how the convergence of new technologies is creating a fourth industrial revolution that will transform almost every aspect of 21st-century life.
July 10, 2020
Innovation and Its Discontents: National Models of Military Innovation and the Dual-Use Conundrum
Dr. Amy J. Nelson's Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) Report explores variations in national models of innovation, as well as the pathways or levers those models afford in controlling innovation’s end product with a focus on dual-use technologies. The report uses case studies of both U.S. and German investment in artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing to highlight national approaches to innovation.
Oct. 25, 2018
WMD in the Digital Age: Understanding the Impact of Emerging Technologies
In E&C Research Paper no. 4, Dr. Bajema explores three broad trends associated with emerging technologies that are fundamentally altering the WMD context, changing the threat space, and undermining the traditional tool box for countering WMD: digitization, convergence, and democratization.
July 9, 2018
The Digitization of Biology: Understanding the New Risks and Implications for Governance
In research paper no. 3, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Mr. Charles Lutes and Mr. Yong-Bee Lim explore the implications of the digitization of biology, identify new risks and challenges for governance.