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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
March 11, 2026
Precision in Words, Precision in Warfare: Terminology and Control in Military Discourse on Unmanned Systems
Unmanned vehicular systems (UVS) spanning aerial, maritime, terrestrial, and sub-surface domains have become integral to intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), logistics, strike operations, and electronic warfare. Yet despite the increasing ubiquity and sophistication of these technologies, discourse surrounding their capabilities can be undermined by imprecise terminology that conflates the terms automatic, remote, and autonomous in policy, technical, operational, strategic and policy briefings and planning.
Feb. 25, 2026
Strategic Assessment 2025: Evolving Great Power Competition at Mid-Decade
This mid-decade review of contemporary Great Power competition is most welcome because it presents U.S. political leadership and the national security community with an opportunity to reflect on the inherent challenges in this latest round of geopolitical rivalry. Although the turn toward contestation among the United States, China, and Russia (as well as others) was formally acknowledged by Washington first in its 2017 National Security Strategy, Great Power competition had never disappeared from the international system even during the halcyon days after the Cold War’s ending.
Assessing Xi’s Unprecedented Purges of China’s Military: Key Developments and Potential Implications
On January 24, 2026, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced that the military’s top general, Zhang Youxia, and the chief of the Joint Staff Department, Liu Zhenli, had been placed under investigation for serious disciplinary and legal violations.
The Danger in the Middle: Will Xi’s Purges Increase the Risk of War?
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has purged dozens of senior People’s Liberation Army officers since mid-2023, including two in January, but will this increase the risk of war?
Dec. 11, 2025
The Challenge of a Rising, Nuclear-Armed China
This National Institute for Public Policy article examines several specific developments in China’s nuclear arsenal, which, coupled with Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy, hold sobering implications for U.S. national security interests.
Nov. 17, 2025
China’s "near space" legal warfare
A recurring Chinese narrative about so-called "near space" is an expression of the People's Liberation Army doctrine of Legal Warfare.