RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Through its publications INSS provides cutting-edge research, analyses, and innovative solutions on critical national security issues in support of the joint warfighter and Department of War stakeholders.

 

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Category: Strategic Deterrence

INSS Center for Strategic Deterrence and WMD Studies employees stand in front of the Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence: Report Rollout event at National Defense University.

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.

Members of Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group, gather in Khalifan, Iraq.

March 18, 2026

Iranian Kurds Can Fight, but How Effectively?

As Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion dismantle the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military infrastructure, Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have expressed their willingness to join the fight—even though U.S. objectives are not premised on supporting or arming a local force.

Biohazard symbol inside a high-containment lab

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.

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).

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security Scott Bray (left) stands next to INSS China's Center Dr. Phillip Saunders (right).

March 10, 2026

INSS briefs NATO Committee on Proliferation about 'China’s Nuclear Weapons Posture and Launch on Warning'

On 6 March, INSS China Center Director Dr. Phillip Saunders briefed the NATO Committee on Proliferation about “China’s Nuclear Weapons Posture and Launch on Warning.”

President of the United States Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping at the Gimhae International Airport terminal, Thursday, October 30, 2025, in Busan, South Korea. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

Feb. 25, 2026

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?

A member of China's People's Liberation Army stands as DF-5C nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3.

Feb. 4, 2026

America risks a nuclear-arms race with China

On 3 February, INSS China Center Director Dr. Phillip Saunders was quoted in The Economist in the story, “America risks a nuclear-arms race with China."

Cover page of CSWMD 30 Years Anniversary PDF. "The World's Most Destructive Weapons" is overlayed on the cover with an image of Earth in the background.

Oct. 7, 2024

Thirty Years of the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

NDU’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD), part of the Institute for National Strategic Studies, has been a trusted resource on WMD challenges to senior Defense and other interagency policy leaders for 30 years.

An image of planet Earth from space.

Sept. 23, 2024

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.

934th Airlift Wing mobilizes to Europe AOR to support NATO Allies in Ukraine

Sept. 29, 2023

Agile and Adaptable: U.S. and NATO Approaches to Russia's Short-Term Military Potential

Russia’s war in Ukraine has triggered the worst security crisis facing Europe since the end of the Cold War. It brought a major conventional war of aggression to the European continent and enormous human suffering, but in doing so it has also unified and reenergized the NATO alliance and accelerated efforts to reconstitute transatlantic defense and deterrence.