• THE RUSSIA CONNECTIONRussia's Arctic Militarization Behind Trump's Focus on Greenland

    By Henry Ridgwell

    The United States has long viewed Greenland as vitally important for its defense. With Russia investing heavily in its Arctic military footprint in recent years, the importance of Greenland to the United States is increasing.

  • SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITYSecuring Supply Chain Resilience Requires a Common Vocabulary and Vision

    By Karl Buschmann and Fabian Villalobos

    Under the Biden administration, progress has been made on strengthening the resilience of supply chains, but other gains are being left on the table. One reason why: The public and private sectors do not use a common vocabulary, leading to incomplete or misaligned incentives, priorities, and perspectives.

  • CHINA WATCHU.S. Fortifying Indo-Pacific Air Bases Against Potential Attacks from China

    By Christy Lee

    The United States has been ramping up its Indo-Pacific region air bases to ensure they are protected against attack, amid concerns over vulnerabilities they face in countries such as Japan, the Philippines and South Korea against potential Chinese strikes.

  • CHINA WATCHCritical Minerals, Waning Western Influence a Focus of Chinese FM’s African Tour, Analysts Say

    By Kate Bartlett

    Critical minerals and oil, a renewed focus on the Atlantic coast, and the West’s loss of influence in the Sahel are some of the reasons analysts believe Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has chosen the Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad and Namibia as the stops on his visit to Africa this week.

  • SYRIAAfter Fall of Assad Dynasty, Syria’s Risky New Moment

    By Steven A. Cook

    The swift collapse of Syria’s regime brings a humiliating end to Russia’s and Iran’s sway and opens the door for greater Turkish influence. But the Islamist movement that seized power has yet to show its full intentions.

  • SYRIALines on a 1916 Map May Not Keep Syria Together

    By David Millar

    The question most observers are now asking is: what if any form of stable central government might emerge from this lightning fast upending of the power dynamics in Syria? A possible lesson from history is that insurgent armies of diverse allegiance, religion and ideology are capable of capturing cities, but their ability to administrate them is less certain.

  • SUPPLY CHAINSSupply Chain Uncertainty

    By Bradley Martin

    Supply chains are extremely complex, to the point that almost no business or organization is likely to know the details of its supply chain below the immediate level. This opacity can result in vulnerabilities developing without the affected parties even being aware of them. There is thus a need to building resilience in the face of impending threats.

  • SYRIAThe Russia-Iran-Assad ‘Axis of the Vulnerable’ Is Cracking in Syria

    By Scott Lucas

    Starting in 2016, Russia and Iran, propping up the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Since 2020, Assad has presided in name over part of a fractured country. Now Assad does not even preside over his share of the partition. And his Russian and Iranian enablers, overstretched and isolated by much of the world, are not in a position to restore his paper rule.

  • NATIONALISMBack to Which Future? Putin and the Nationalist Playbook

    By Lars-Erik Cederman, Yannick I. Pengl, Luc Girardin, and Carl Müller-Crepon

    What explains Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine in 2022? An argument can be made that nationalism – rather than realist geopolitics – lies at the heart of the conflict. Instead of revealing the primacy of security-related grand strategizing and hard national interests over naïve idealism and soft ideas, Russia’s actions pit old-fashioned ethnic nationalism against the norms and institutions devised to contain this quintessentially European ideology.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSChina’s Critical Mineral Strategy Goes Beyond Geopolitics

    By Weihuan Zhou

    China dominates critical mineral refining but faces its own supply vulnerabilities, highlighting the complexity of global dependencies. A national strategy seeks to balance a focus of robust industrial policy on critical minerals while fostering international cooperation. A balanced approach involving China in global frameworks can reduce geopolitical tensions and foster sustainable supply chain solutions.

  • IMMIGRATIONAn Immigration Debate Worth Having

    By Ebenezer Obadare

    The best immigration policy is one that helps developing countries hold on to their best.

  • CHINA WATCHPhilippines Bolsters Maritime Claims Despite China Pressure

    By Tommy Walker

    Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two new maritime laws to protect Manila’s disputed territory: the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.

  • CHINA WATCHThe Effectiveness of U.S. Economic Policies Regarding China Pursued from 2017 to 2024

    Although U.S.-China trade tensions have waxed and waned for decades, they have remained persistently high since 2017. A new report assesses the effectiveness of more-restrictive U.S. economic policies adopted toward China and pursued between 2017 and 2024.

  • SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITYScientists Address Risks to Supply Chain in a Connected World

    In a world where billions of lines of computer code are intertwined with critical physical systems whose electronic components come from suppliers across the globe, there is a new kind of risk. The combination of a connected world and a complex supply chain creates opportunities—and vulnerabilities.

  • ECONOMIC SECURITYGetting Economic Security Right

    By Matthew P. Goodman

    National security policymakers are understandably worried about economic risks, but they shouldn’t lose sight of other national interests.