The Institute for National Strategic Studies serves as a focal point for analysis of critical national security policy and defense strategy issues.
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May 17, 2023
Selective Engagements - Chinese Naval Diplomacy and U.S.-China Competition
China's navy is the most active People's Liberation Army service in military diplomacy, but how does it choose its partners? In a new Naval War College Review article, Margaret Baughman and Joel Wuthnow address this through new and updated data and multivariate regression analysis.
April 5, 2023
Game-changers: Implications of the Russo-Ukraine War for the Future of Ground Warfare
What does the record of combat in the year since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine herald about the future character of ground war?
March 27, 2023
Dictators, Summits, and War Crimes
Where is the Sino-Russian partnership going? And what does it — and Putin’s indictment for war crimes — mean for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine?
March 1, 2023
For Xi and China, Putin's War is a Geopolitical Minefield
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 upended international politics and scrambled the strategic calculations of many states, few more seriously than China. Beijing is now scrambling to limit the fallout of the conflict on its core strategic and economic interests.
Feb. 16, 2023
Private-Sector Research Could Pose a Pandemic Risk. Here’s What to do About It
In 2018, Canadian academics with pharmaceutical industry funding made a stunning announcement. They
Feb. 2, 2023
The Inhospitable Sea: Toward a New U.S. Strategy for the Black Sea Region
The Black Sea region (BSR) has become a central fault line in the strategic competition between Russia and the West. The war in Ukraine is forcing the United States and NATO to devote more attention to the region, one which NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg recognized has “vital strategic importance” to the alliance.
Jan. 31, 2023
China's Indo-Pacific Folly
Beijing’s ambition to isolate Washington from its Asian allies has been derailed in large part by its desire to redress more immediate grievances—namely, to reclaim what it sees as lost territory and punish countries that offend its sensibilities.
Jan. 25, 2023
The Realist Case for Ukraine
January 25, 2023 — Despite US support and Ukrainian valor, the war is now approaching a second year, and several observers in the United States and in Europe have become increasingly alarmed at the consequence of a longer war. None of these concerns should be dismissed out of hand. Each, however, rests on problematic assumptions. The realist case for aiding Ukraine accepts Mearsheimer’s insight about the tragic structural nature of international politics, particularly the danger of a sustained period of great-power competition with both Russia and China—as well as the continued threat that Vladimir Putin’s Russia poses to peace and stability in Europe. It acknowledges that Ukraine’s resilience and ingenuity provide an opportunity to, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put it “weaken Russia” and reshape the global balance of power in favor of the United States and its allies.
Jan. 17, 2023
The PLA's Strategic Support Force and AI Innovation
If China’s strategic ambitions for AI are clear, how it intends to integrate AI into the PLA remains opaque. The CCP’s goals for militarized AI are still shrouded in mystery, even as the PLA clearly views AI as a technology that will be vital for driving next-generation warfare. Our research into the SSF took a deep dive into open-source information, convened subject matter experts, and looked to scholarly analysis to form a more precise understanding of what role the SSF might be playing in the PLA’s AI innovation—and what role it definitely is not.
Jan. 9, 2023
Let's Make a Deal? Ukraine and the Poor Prospects for Negotiations with Putin
Ukraine has defied expectations and admirably defended its sovereignty. It still has quite a way to go to eject Vladimir Putin’s armed forces and hirelings. A bitter frozen conflict could last for some time despite the tenacious and creative defense of Ukraine’s determined military. But it is time to start thinking about the end game. Sketching out the compromises and hard choices for Russia’s termination of its “Special Military Operation” is not an exercise in optimism or wishful thinking. Understanding what the West desires out of this conflict and what is the objective in terms of relations with a defeated Russia is a clear strategic question for US policymakers at this point in time.