Strategic Insights is a forum for concise analyses of critical policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests. It is maintained by the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) at the National Defense University (NDU). Strategic Insights is intended for the exchange of research-informed analysis. It is not a venue for the dissemination of unofficial information and comments, or as a means to survey visitor opinions. The views, findings, conclusions, and recommendations made by Strategic Insights are solely those of the author. They do not constitute the official position of INSS, NDU or the U.S. Department of War (DoW).

Strategic Insights

Strategic Insights |

Artificial Intelligence and a Reconfiguration of Military Power

Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael has emphasized that the DoW has historically under-deployed artificial intelligence (AI) and that the current moment demands rapid, enterprise-wide integration of AI capabilities across the DoW workforce to better support both efficiency and warfighting functions.

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Strategic Insights |

Fortifying Technologic Innovation in National Defense: Strategic Security Imperatives for Research and Acquisition

Dr. James Giordano and Dr. Diane DiEuliis

The recently announced Fundamental Research Security Initiatives and Implementation Memorandum, intended to strengthen protections for Department of War (DoW)-funded research, represents a crucial evolution in how the United States (U.S.) secures innovation enterprise within the defense industrial base (DIB). This initiative affirms that security and innovation are equal, co-foundational components of national defense and activities of the DIB.

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Strategic Insights |

Cognitive Warfare 2026: NATO’s Chief Scientist Report as Sentinel Call for Operational Readiness

Dr. James Girodano

The recently released NATO Chief Scientist’s 2025 Report on Cognitive Warfare provides a timely acknowledgment of a strategic reality that contemporary conflict is increasingly behavior-centric, and the decisive terrain is often not geographic but how individuals and groups perceive, interpret, decide, and act.

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Strategic Insights |

Cognitive Warfare 2026: NATO’s Chief Scientist Report as Sentinel Call for Operational Readiness

Dr. James Girodano

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Photo by: NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute.
A stylized digital illustration of a glowing DNA double helix suspended in a futuristic blue interface. Surrounding the helix are schematic icons representing molecular structures, chemical formulas, data grids, network nodes, and atomic symbols. The image visually conveys the convergence of biotechnology, data, artificial intelligence, and advanced scientific systems in a highly networked, modern research environment.

Strategic Insights |

Biotechnologies and the Treaty Gap: Why Biological Weapons Governance Is Falling Behind; and Some Thoughts on How to Fix It

Dr. James Giordano

The Scottish ballad Auld Lang Syne, written in 1788 by poet Robert Burns is a tune traditionally played to ring out the passing year and herald in the new. The lyrics offer an invitation to celebrate that which was good, and toast to what may come.

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Strategic Insights |

Biotechnology in the FY 2026 NDAA: Strategic Implications — and Recommendations — for Joint Force Readiness

Dr. James Giordano

The newly released FY 26 NDAA places explicit emphasis upon the increasing involvement of biotechnology in US military missions. As 2025 comes to a close, and we look ahead to the new year, Dr. James Giordano, Director of the CDTFW, offers a view to why biotechnology is — and will be ever more — intrinsic and important to national defense and offers a set of recommendations for fortifying Joint Force engagement in the biotechnological domain.

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Strategic Insights |

Artificial Intelligence: A Double-Edged Sword in Support and Subversion of the Biological Weapons Convention; Part Two: Implications and Recommendations

Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Elise Annett, Dr. James Giordano

As we noted, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into biosurveillance and biodefense architectures to strengthen verification and enforcement mechanisms associated with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) can also enable state and non-state actors to obscure, circumvent, or strategically exploit the very compliance frameworks that AI is intended to enhance.

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Strategic Insights |

Artificial Intelligence: A Double-Edged Sword in Support and Subversion of the Biological Weapons Convention Part One: Framing the Issues

Elise Annett, Diane DiEuliis, Ph.D., James Giordano, Ph.D.

The recent announcement that artificial intelligence (AI) will be employed to surveille and support compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) reflects both the capabilities for data collection, integration and analysis that such systems enable, and the iterative integration of AI within biodefense ecologies and operations.

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A soldier wears virtual reality glasses; a graphic depiction of a chess set sits in the foreground. Illustration created by NIWC Pacific.

Strategic Insights |

Critical Technology Areas Part 2: Implications and Recommendations for the Warfighter and Warfighting

Dr. James Giordano

As noted in last week’s special edition Strategic Insights, the Department of War will focus upon furthering research, testing and use of six key domains of disruptive technology (viz., applied artificial intelligence [AI], biomanufacturing, contested logistics technologies, quantum and battlefield information dominance, scaled directed energy, and scaled hypersonics).

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Strategic Insights |

Convergent Critical Technologies Part 1: The Integrative Transformation of Warfighting

Dr. James Giordano

The Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s designation of six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs; viz., Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics) constitutes a fundamental conceptualization of how power will be projected, contested, and sustained across the conflict spectrum.

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Soldier using virtual tablet hologram army technology

Strategic Insights |

The Agentic Database and Military Command: A Perspective on Autonomous C2 Systems

Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano

The shift from passive databases to “active reasoning engines” in commercial agentic AI signals a fundamental transformation in how decisions are made, authority is exercised, and accountability is maintained.

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A digital 3D illustration of interconnected cubes, representing a blockchain or network system, with blue connecting lines forming a web-like structure.

Strategic Insights |

Beyond Mechanistic Control: Causal Decision Processing in Neuromorphic Military Artificial Intelligence

Dr. James Giordano

As we transition from traditional mechanistic AI architectures to those that are designed and developed to more closely mirror the complex causal dynamics of neural systems, military stake and shareholders (and oversight organizations) must confront new paradigms of autonomous decision-making that can challenge conventional understandings of predictability, command control, and accountability in AI.

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Soldier interacting with futuristic interface

Strategic Insights |

Autonomous Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Toward a Model of Strategic Integration, Ethical Authority, and Operational Constraint

Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano

Artificially intelligent systems are being developed to have iteratively autonomous function, and these systems are increasingly being considered for use in military settings, weapon platforms, and operations.

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Strategic Insights |

Tiny Particles, Big Stakes: The Strategic Implications of Micro‑ and Nanoplastics

Dr. James Giordano and Dr. Ashok Vaseashta

During World War II, plastic production was ramped up to meet demands from the defense industry. In the post-war consumer culture, using technological innovations and advanced synthesis methods to create and manipulate isomers, synthetic polymers became an integral part of our daily existence. Since then, global plastic production has increased exponentially, and current production is over 502.5 million tons (MT) worldwide. At this trajectory and barring any binding treaty to limit plastic production, the number is on track to more than double by 2050.

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Strategic Insights |

Moving at WARP Speed Toward Developing the Cyborg Soldier

Dr. James Giordano and Dr. Diane DiEuliis

There is an adage that the fruits of scientific achievement applicable to real-world settings tend to blossom with the fertilization of time and trends.

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Two figures. Figure 1 (left): All Military Leader Engagements with Africa. Figure 2 (right): CMC Vice Chair travel to Africa.

Strategic Insights |

China’s Military Diplomacy in Africa

Matt Kuhlman, Raina Nelson, and Phillip C. Saunders

This article shows another application for regional researchers, analysts, and policymakers. Specifically, it uses the database to explore some specific aspects of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) evolving engagement in Africa.

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Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan meets with Vietnamese Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich in Beijing, January 13, 2017
(Liu Fang/Xinhua/Alamy Live News)

Strategic Insights |

Visualizing China’s Military Diplomacy

Raina Nelson, Matt Kuhlman, and Phillip Saunders

The National Defense University (NDU) recently released a major update to its comprehensive, publicly available database tracking the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) international military-diplomatic engagements from 2002 to 2024.

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Strategic Insights |

Bold New Bioweapons: Part 2 — Bold Bolstering of Deterrence and Defense

Dr. James Giordano

Last week’s Strategic Insights addressed how biotechnology has emerged as a foundational and formidable element in the evolving character of warfare. The integrative convergence of big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced bioengineering and manufacturing has created rapidly expanding dual-use capabilities that can be leveraged in both non-kinetic and kinetic engagements.

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Strategic Insights |

Bold New Bioweapons: Part 1 — The Burdens of Detection and Attribution

Dr. James Giordano

It has been more than fifty years since the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1972, which sought to provide a formalized venue for international control and prohibition of development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons.

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A circuit board contains multiple examples of important microelectronics innovation. The Defense Department's microelectronics commons aims to close gaps in America's ability to bring new microelectronics technology to market.

Strategic Insights |

Major Concerns About Microelectronics

Elise Annett, Steven Hanson, Dr. James Giordano

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is decisively shaping the future of warfare. It accelerates decision cycles, extends operational reach, and enables exercised control of the informational, and cognitive dimensions of engagement.

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Strategic Insights |

Strategic Innovation in the DoD FY 2026 RDTE Budget: Leveraging Disruptive Technologies for Deterrence, Defense, and Command and Control

Dr. James Giordano

The Department of Defense FY 2026 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE) budget request marks a strategic inflection that reflects a doctrinal shift toward convergent disruptive technologies, and with it, a re-posturing of how deterrence, defense and decisive command will be engaged on the near-future battlefield.

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Strategic Insights |

The Orb’s Eye: Seeing the National Security Implications of Iris Based ‘Proof of Humanity’

Elise Annett, James Keagle, James Giordano

As recently reported in the cover story of Time magazine, the launch of The Orb — a beach‑ball‑sized biometric device developed by Tools for Humanity (co‑founded by Sam Altman) — marks a paradigmatic shift in digital identity and biosecurity technology and its implications.

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Strategic Insights |

Brain Scanning: Assessing Emigration of U.S. Scientific Talent to Surveille Strategic Implications for China’s Dual-Use Technological Capabilities

Dr. Diane DiEuliis and Dr. James Giordano

Intensifying global competition in science and technology (S/T), particularly in fields with considerable disruptive potential - such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, synthetic biology, and neurotechnology—has become a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitical dynamics.

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Illustration of a human head and brain, set against a futuristic blue digital background representing neural activity and data flow.

Strategic Insights |

The “Ins” and “Outs” of Cognitive Warfare: What’s the Next Move?

Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano

INSS has relaunched Strategic Insights. Read the latest post by Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano.

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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.

July 31, 2017

A New Approach to Eliminating North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction is Needed

Preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against the United States and its allies has long been a paramount security objective for Washington with increased urgency since 9/11.

July 26, 2017

Analysis of an Intervention: Lessons from U.S. Advisory Work in Afghanistan's Information and Communications Technology Sector

After decades of war and civil strife, Afghanistan’s infrastructure had largely been destroyed and the country had virtually no telecommunications services. Most Afghans had to travel to neighboring countries to make phone calls, and data services were essentially non-existent. The ouster of the Taliban at the hands of the US-led NATO Coalition in late 2001 ushered in a new era for Afghanistan. In 2002, the Afghan Government laid the groundwork for the reconstruction of the country by adopting a policy framework that encouraged public and private investment in Afghanistan’s rebirth. With the first private company authorized to provide GSM telephone service in April of that year, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector was among the very first post-war sectors to be established. To date, the ICT has attracted over US$2 billion in private investment, is one of the largest contributors to the Afghan treasury, and is one of Afghanistan’s greatest success stories.

July 17, 2017

Chinese Military Diplomacy, 2003–2016: Trends and Implications

China is placing increasing emphasis on military diplomacy to advance its foreign policy objectives and shape its security environment. Military diplomacy is part of broader Chinese foreign policy efforts to create a favorable international image, develop soft power, and shape international discourse. Other objectives include shaping China’s security environment, collecting intelligence, and learning from advanced militaries. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) seeks to forward strategic and operational goals through a variety of interactions with foreign military partners, including senior-level visits, security dialogues, nontraditional security cooperation, military exercises, functional exchanges, and port calls.

July 10, 2017

Innovative Prototyping and Rigorous Experimentation (iP&rE): A One Week Course to Build Culture and a Cadre

This DTP contains all of the course planning and curriculum content provided in the Final Report delivered to the sponsor of a pilot, one week course developed at NDU for the Rapid Reaction Technology Office (RRTO) in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Emerging Capability and Prototyping (DASD[EC&P]). The purpose for publishing this Defense and Technology Paper (DTP) is to make the material readily available to others who may benefit from our experience and wish to utilize the materials developed.

July 10, 2017

The Proliferation Security Initiative in 2017: U.S. Interagency Perspectives

In 2003, President George W. Bush unveiled the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) in a speech in Krakow, Poland.

July 10, 2017

The Proliferation Security Initiative in 2017: U.S. Interagency Perspectives

In 2003, President George W. Bush unveiled the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) in a speech in Krakow, Poland.

July 6, 2017

Putin’s Syrian Gambit: Sharper Elbows, Bigger Footprint, Stickier Wicket

Thanks in large part to Russia’s military intervention, Syrian president Bashar al-Asad’s fortunes have made a remarkable recovery since May/June 2015. Russia, together with the Lebanese Hizballah, Iran, and Iranian-organized Shia militias from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere, has succeeded in averting Asad’s military defeat. What Russian president Vladimir Putin has accomplished in Syria is important for American national security interests and policy in the region because it frames some of the hard choices Washington must now make.

June 22, 2017

Joint Force Quarterly 86 (3rd Quarter 2017)

One of the most important questions we ask students of national and international security is “What is war?” Many will provide a solid response citing one of the great war “thinkers” like Thucydides or Carl von Clausewitz. An equally important set of questions flows from these responses. When should a country like the United States become involved?

June 20, 2017

Leave Mountain People Alone

We have over 4,000 years of recorded history of human conflict. As Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has noted “There is nothing new under the sun.” And from this wealth of experience, a number of rules of thumb for military operations have evolved. Perhaps the most famous is “Don’t get in a land war in Asia.” Interestingly, I have never seen a similarly obvious rule – “Leave mountain people alone.” Yet even a brief historical survey shows that campaigns against mountain people rarely pay off. Afghans, Chechens, Kurds, Montagnards (which literally means “mountain people” in French), Scots, Welsh, Swiss, Druze, Maronite Christians, and West Virginians have all repeatedly seen off outsiders.

STRATEGIC INSIGHTS

Strategic Insights

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