• TikTok Ban Feared, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories Follow

    Soon after the news broke about the House, on 13 March 2024, passing a bill that could potentially lead to a nationwide ban of the popular social media platform TikTok, influencers and extremists from across the political spectrum began framing the bill as an outright ban and speculating that the bill is a product of Jewish or Zionist influence, calling it an effort to infringe on free speech by limiting the reach of pro-Palestinian content.

  • The Curse of Nostalgia: Industrial Policy in the United States

    Strategic competition, creating jobs for the future, fighting climate change—industrial policy is pitched as the cure for both geopolitical and societal ills. It is also being sold as the main tool by which those challenges can be addressed with the urgency they require. What is most surprising about industrial policy today is that the United States has taken the lead in advocating for strategic public investments at home and abroad. This has left many countries on edge, not least because it is a departure from longstanding U.S. skepticism toward government intervention in markets.

  • Larger Lesson About Tariffs in a Move That Helped Trump, but Not the Country

    Researcher details findings on policy that failed to boost U.S. employment even as it scored political points. Promising to reduce a longstanding trade deficit with China, curb theft of U.S. intellectual property, and reclaim manufacturing jobs, then-President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on a wide range of Chinese imports in January 2018. By at least one key set of measures, the move was a failure.

  • Supreme Court Lets Texas’ Immigration Law Stand, Intensifying Fight Between Texas and the U.S. Government Over Securing the Mexico Border

    The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on March 19, 2024, that Texas can – at least for now – have state authorities deport undocumented migrants, which has traditionally been the federal government’s responsibility. Texas’ attempts to control its border with Mexico and intervene on immigration issues – historically both the responsibility of the federal government – derive in part from the fact that many Texans believe that their Lone Star State is unique.

  • New International Biosecurity Organization Launched to Safeguard Bioscience

    Amid rapid advances in bioscience and biotechnology that could  pose significant global security risks without effective guardrails, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) last month launched the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS), a first-of-its-kind organization to strengthen international biosecurity governance. IBBIS, an independent organization to be headquartered in Geneva, provides tools that will allow technological innovation to flourish, safely and responsibly.

  • Hizb Ut Tahrir U.S. Conference Features Antisemitism, Calls for Violent Destruction of Israel

    The U.S. wing of Hizb Ut Tahrir, an international Islamist organization that seeks to establish an Islamic theocracy, held their annual conference in Villa Park, Illinois. The group, which is banned in the United Kingdom, Germany and several other countries, featured speakers who called for an army to invade and destroy Israel, justified the October 7 Hamas terror attack, suggested men should travel to Gaza to fight Israel, implored followers to “resist“ the “LGBT genderism…agenda driven by the UN,” and, in several cases, espoused overt antisemitic rhetoric.

  • Protecting Australians from Convicted Terrorists

    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.

  • Bolsonaro Mulled a Coup: Brazil Military Leaders

    Jair Bolsonaro discussed with the Brazilian military a plan to remain in power after he lost the 2022 presidential election, according to the testimonies of two military officers recorded in federal police documents.

  • Bolsonaro, Trump Election Cases Share Similarities, but Not Rulings

    Donald Trump and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro both posed a serious threat to their countries’ democracies: they both worked hard to diminish voters’ confidence in democracy by routinely denigrating and discrediting their countries’ electoral processes even before a single vote had been cast; each succeeded in persuading many of their supporters to believe in the Big Lie – referring to a fictitious, imaginary “rigged” election as the reason for their loss; and then each tried to stay in power even though both had lost the election. Last June, Brazil’s electoral court blocked Bolsonaro from running for elections for eight years for publicly denying the legitimacy of the 2022 presidential election. The U.S. Supreme Court, sidestepping the question of whether or not Trump engaged in or provided aid and comfort to an insurrection, recently ruled that states cannot bar Trump from running for another term, and that it was a decision for Congress to make. 

  • Congress Renews Ban on Undetectable Firearms

    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.

  • Germany's RAF Terrorism — Many Unanswered Questions

    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.

  • West African Juntas Set Up Joint Anti-Terrorism Force

    Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are planning on a joint force to “overcome the security challenges” facing the Sahel countries. The three West African neighbors are located in the Sahel region and have all seen coups unseat their civilian governments. They have also been mired in a decade-long conflict involving Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the so-called “Islamic State.”

  • Developing Effective Deterrence—from the War Fighters’ Perspective

    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.

  • Russia Steps Up Spy War on West

    Russia has successfully relaunched its spy operations against the West after hundreds of its operatives were ejected following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to analysts. They warn that the Kremlin is using a network of proxies to infiltrate European nations and carry out a range of intelligence operations.

  • Houthi Attacks in Red Sea Threaten Internet Infrastructure

    The recent attack on the cargo ship Rubymar by the Iran-backed Houthis caused the crew to drop anchor, which damaged undersea internet cables, the US has said. Could the vital infrastructure now become a regular target?