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 22, 2019
Honey, I Shrunk the Lab: Emerging Microfluidics Technology and its Implications for Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Weapons
Emerging microfluidics technology has significant extant and potential implications for chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons threats. In E&C Research Paper no. 5, Cyrus Jabbari and Philipp Bleek argue that policymakers concerned about CBRN threats have an opportunity to get ahead of, or at least less behind, some of these developments.
Dec. 3, 2018
The National Defense Strategy Commission Calls Attention to the “Quiet” Cross Functional Team Revolution in the National Security System
Is there a hidden gem in the recently released National Defense Strategy Commission report? Distinguished Research Fellow Dr. Christopher Lamb thinks so. The report recommends cross-functional teams (CFTs), which have the potential to transform the national security system. But few people are aware of what is happening, what is at stake and what it will take to ensure the success of CFTs.
Biotechnology for the Battlefield: In Need of a Strategy
In her article, published on War on the Rocks, CSWMD Senior Research Fellow Dr. Diane DiEuliis discusses the need for a more cohesive strategy to harness the potential uses of biotechnology on the battlefield.
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.
April 4, 2018
Emergence and Convergence: Risk Assessment Survey
Fort Lesley J McNair — In its multi-year study entitled Emergence and Convergence, the WMD Center is exploring the risks, opportunities, and governance challenges for countering WMD introduced by a diverse range of emerging technologies.
Nov. 17, 2017
Nuclear Terrorism - Imminent Threat?
Terrorism experts and analysts have debated this for years, and no consensus exists as to why the world has not seen terrorists succeed at perpetrating a nuclear attack. Despite the seeming inevitability of a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon, terrorists may be substantially less likely to conduct such an attack than most analysts and policymakers expect.
Oct. 3, 2017
Options for Synthetic DNA Order Screening, Revisited
DNA synthesis is a valuable research tool in the design of new biological products for medicine and manufacturing, and the ability to chemically synthesize long tracts of DNA has allowed for the development of influenza vaccines and diagnostic tests.
Aug. 7, 2017
A Short History of Biological Warfare: From Pre-History to the 21st Century
This short monograph reviews the history of biological warfare (BW) from prehistory to the present. It covers what we know about the practice of BW and briefly describes the programs that developed BW weapons based on the best available research.
May 12, 2017
Peril and Promise: Emerging Technologies and WMD
Emerging technologies are transforming life, industry, and the global economy in positive ways, but they also have significant potential for subversion by states and nonstate actors. National security experts, lawmakers, and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the interactions among a number of emerging technologies that could alter and increase the threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
May 2, 2017
Tell-Tale MRAPS
A recent article in the Washington Free Beacon, “Biden Used False Data to Smear Marine Corps over Armored Vehicle Request from Iraq,” accomplishes the rare feat of politicizing a bipartisan issue; blackguarding both parties erroneously; and unnecessarily embarrassing Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. The April 24, 2017 article by Bill Gertz reports on a new unpublished study by retired Marine, Steve Chill. Chill participated in Marine Corps decision making on the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles used to protect servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chill wrote his study to “correct the record” and prove the Marine Corps did not “drag its feet” in deploying MRAPs. Gertz and Chill get the story wrong, and thus obscure the lesson the Pentagon should have learned from the MRAP experience, which is that its decision making processes need reform.