• TERRORISMProtecting Australians from Convicted Terrorists

    By Justin Bassi, John Coyne and Henry Campbell

    From 9/11 and the Bali bombings, to the rise of ISIL and the threat of issue-motivated violence from the likes of white supremacists, a comprehensive approach is needed, including education, prevention, punishment and rehabilitation.

  • GUNSCongress Renews Ban on Undetectable Firearms

    By Brian Freskos and Alain Stephens

    Congress has reauthorized the Undetectable Firearms Act, a decades-old law aimed at preventing people from sneaking guns through security checkpoints at schools, airports, concerts, and other public spaces. Lawmakers had been racing to extend the prohibition before it expired on March 8.

  • GUNSMass Gun Violence Down 48% So Far This Year, Top Criminologist Says

    By David Mastio

    I call it Newton’s Law of Crime Statistics: What goes up, must come down. Just like the homicide rate more generally, spikes in mass shootings tend to be followed by corrective declines,” says James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University.

  • BORDER SECURITYWith Haiti in Turmoil, Florida Braces for Violent Criminals Attempting Illegal Entry

    By Bethany Blankley, The Center Square

    With Haiti in political turmoil and in light of current federal border policies, Florida, which has historically borne the brunt of illegal entry by sea from Cuba and Haiti, is bracing for impact. Chaos in Haiti erupted as a federal judge in Texas ruled that a parole program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could continue. Mayorka’s policy includes releasing an additional 30,000 Haitians into the U.S. a month who would otherwise not be allowed admittance.

  • EXTREMISMGermany's RAF Terrorism — Many Unanswered Questions

    By Christoph Strack

    Even today, talk of the Red Army Faction (RAF) often provokes a heated debate in Germany. More than a quarter of a century has passed since the terrorist organization announced its dissolution. Nonetheless, there are those who are still grieving, victims who are still injured, RAF members who are still on the run — and many unanswered questions.

  • CHINA WATCHDeveloping Effective Deterrence—from the War Fighters’ Perspective

    By Nishank Motwani

    The state of deterrence against China in the Indo-Pacific is constantly adapting to the evolving threat Beijing poses to the United States and its allies on multiple fronts. But  a growing number of US military service members warn that deterrence is unravelling. Perspectives from individuals actively engaged in deterrence operations can help shape effective policy.

  • UKRAINE WARHungary's Orban Says Trump's Plan to End Ukraine War Is to Cut Funding

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after a private meeting in the United States with Donald Trump, said the former president has “quite detailed plans” about how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine and won’t give Kyiv any further funding to hasten an end to the conflict. Orban, whose government has refused to send weapons to Kyiv while maintaining ties with Moscow, said after his meeting with Trump that “it is obvious that Ukraine on its own cannot stand on its feet.”

  • ARMS TRADEEuropean Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply

    States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.

  • DRONESTesting Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology

    Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.

  • ENCRYPTIONEuropean Court of Human Rights Confirms: Weakening Encryption Violates Fundamental Rights

    By Christoph Schmon

    In a milestone judgment—Podchasov v. Russia—the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that weakening of encryption can lead to general and indiscriminate surveillance of the communications of all users and violates the human right to privacy.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSChina Shows How Western Governments Should Stockpile Minerals

    By Gregory D. Wischer

    The US, Australia and partner countries should take a page from China’s stockpiling playbook. They should build up stockpiles of critical minerals, managing inventories to optimize prices for domestic mineral producers and consumers and to guard against decreased supply and increased demand in wartime.

  • IRAN’S NUKESAnalysis of the IAEA’s Iran NPT Safeguards Report - February 2024

    By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, and Andrea Stricker

    For the first time, the latest quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards report on Iran’s compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) draws a direct line between Iran’s non-compliance with its comprehensive safeguards agreement (CSA) and concern about Iran’s current ability to make nuclear weapons.

  • ENERGY WEAPONSHigh-Energy Laser Weapons: How They Work and What They Are Used For

    By Iain Boyd

    Laser weapons have been a staple of science fiction since long before lasers were even invented. More recently, they have also featured prominently in some conspiracy theories. Both types of fiction highlight the need to understand how laser weapons actually work and what they are used for.

  • CLIMATE CHANGE & SECURITYClimate Change Poses Serious National Security Threat

    After years of debate, there is growing awareness within the Department of Defense and the U.S. government more broadly that climate change poses a serious national security threat. Some efforts to cope with this challenge are already underway.

  • IRAQ WARA Careful Rethinking of the Iraq War

    By Peter Dizikes

    A new book details military operations and political dynamics in Iraq, shedding new light on the challenges of state-building. “The United States wanted to build a new Iraqi state, but what we did was create a situation where multiple and large Shia militia make deals with each other,” says the author, Roger Petersen.