• Does the U.S. Economy Benefit from U.S. Alliances and Forward Military Presence?

    To what extent does conflict in other regions affect the U.S. economy, even when the United States remains a nonbelligerent state? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad suppress conflict? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad impact U.S. peacetime trade and investment with other countries? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad increase U.S. economic welfare?

  • The Mysterious Deaths of Russian Oligarchs

    Last week, on 1 September, Ravil Maganov joined a long list of Russian oligarchs and businessmen who died under mysterious circumstances since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

  • Reliance on Dual-Use Technology is a Trap

    The current approach to promoting the use of emerging technology by the Pentagon is for emerging technology companies to work with the Department of Defense is to build commercial applications first and only then move into defense. But the notion of developing “technologies for the commercial market first and only then slap some green paint on them so that they can begin exploring the U.S. defense market” is untenable, Jake Chapman writes. “A better solution would enable entrepreneurs to focus on solving defense challenges by making the Department of Defense a better customer.”

  • Cutting off Europe's Gas Supply Is Putin's Last Throw of the Dice

    Away from the fighting the most important moves are in the economic sphere, especially in the energy markets. These moves are geared to influencing the military situation although their more important consequences may end up over the long-term being away from the war, reflected in the stresses and strains imposed on the global economy. As for influencing the course of the battles in the short-term, which is what is intended, their effects may be limited.

  • Germany — No Exit from the Nuclear Energy Exit

    German Economy Minister Robert Habeck wants to keep two of the three German nuclear power plants on standby for an extra three months as an emergency reserve. That is the right decision.

  • Did Twitter Ignore Basic Security Measures? A Cybersecurity Expert Explains a Whistleblower’s Claims

    Twitter’s former security chief, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2022, accusing the microblogging platform company of serious security failings. Zatko’s most damning accusations center around Twitter’s alleged failure to have a solid cybersecurity plan to protect user data, deploy internal controls to guard against insider threats and ensure the company’s systems were current and properly updated.

  • Tipping the Balance Between Global Rivals

    Seeking to understand how trade policies fueled China’s rise and continue to determine geopolitical winners and losers.

  • Why Outlawing Ghost Guns Didn’t Stop America’s Largest Maker of Ghost Gun Parts

    Unregistered, unserialized weapons produced with Polymer80 parts have turned up at crime scenes across the country, but state-level efforts to close ghost gun loopholes continue to fall short.

  • Forging the Future of U.S. Microelectronics Manufacturing

    U.S. initiatives are necessary to fortify access and restore the supply chains underpinning modern communications, travel, national security, and manufacturing. Foundational new program will fuel domestic microsystem innovations beyond today’s 2D limitations.

  • Computer Chips: While U.S. and EU Invest to Challenge Asia, the U.K. Industry Is in Mortal Danger

    U.S. semiconductor giant Micron, on the back of incentives in the recent U.S. Chips Act, is to invest U.S.$40 billion (£33 billion) during the 2020s in chip manufacturing in America, creating 40,000 jobs. The EU is also making moves to boost computer-chip manufacturing at home. In the U.K., however, successive governments have overlooked the importance of having a home-grown industry for this vital component. There is a clear absence of any strategic plan, and no way of riding on the coattails of the EU following Brexit.

  • ‘Silicon Lifeline’: Report Reveals Western Technology Guiding Russia’s Weapons in Ukraine

    Microelectronics produced in the United States and allied countries are crucial components of Russian weapons systems used in the Ukraine invasion. A new report says more than 450 foreign-made components have been found in Russian weapons recovered in Ukraine. The report’s authors say Moscow acquired critical technology from companies in the United States, Europe and Asia in the years before the invasion.

  • Critical Minerals Competition Uses AI to Accelerate Analytics

    The United States depends on a variety of raw, non-fuel materials dubbed “critical minerals” to manufacture products considered essential to national security. Increasing demand, coupled with limited domestic supply and increasing reliance on foreign companies to import these critical minerals, poses significant risks to the U.S. supply chain. DARPA is offering prizes for automating aspects of USGS critical mineral assessments.

  • Chinese Firms Leaving New York Stock Exchange Could Be First of Many

    A long-running battle between U.S. securities regulators and Chinese companies that sell their shares in the United States is expected to result in five large state-controlled Chinese firms leaving the New York Stock Exchange, with other departures possible in the future.

  • The Economic Weapon: The Growing Use of Sanctions as a Tool of War

    The war in Ukraine has put economic sanctions in the global spotlight. In his book, Nicholas Mulder traces the first use of sanctions back to the Peloponnesian War, but says that it was only in the globalizing world of the 20th century that sanctions moved to center stage. Ironically, as the use of sanctions has surged, their chances of success have plummeted.

  • How the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry Works

    The United States is the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas. The country’s economy runs on these fossil fuels, but producing and burning them releases greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Russia’s war in Ukraine stoked the debate over whether the United States should boost production to strengthen U.S. and European energy independence or reduce production, improve efficiency, and transition to renewables. The U.S. decision to either continue at the current pace of oil and gas production or curb production to achieve its climate goals will have global consequences.