• Cold War Arms-Control Pioneers Perhaps Weren’t Peacemakers We Thought They Were

    Nuclear-age historian argues scientists who backed arsenals as deterrent aided military-industrial complex, hampered disarmament.

  • Supreme Court Case on IEEPA Tariffs: Facts Should Matter

    The Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs, but the facts contradict the administration “emergency” argument. The goods trade deficit and most of its alleged negative effects are rooted in domestic policy, not trade. The Supreme Court is now considering the case, and rules of evidence may limit the Court to arguments formally presented, but the justices would do the nation an injustice if they did not consider the facts. 

  • Analysis: Trump's Proposed Tariff Rebate Would Costs Twice as Much as Tariffs

    President Donald Trump has again floated the idea of sending Americans $2,000 from tariff revenue, but a new analysis suggests the import taxes won’t bring in enough money to cover the checks. The $2,000 rebate would cost approximately $600 billion, which is about twice as much as tariffs are expected to generate this year.

  • U.S. and Australia Deepen Critical-Minerals Engagement to Counter China

    Engagement between Australia and the United States on critical minerals has matured from technical cooperation into a strategic partnership, aligning resource security with clean energy and defense priorities. 

  • China, the United States, and a Critical Chokepoint on Minerals

    Critical minerals today are “America’s most dangerous dependence,” in the words of CFR’s Heidi Crebo-Rediker. With near total control of the world’s critical minerals production, China maintains significant economic leverage over access to inputs that are necessary for everything from everyday products like smartphones to advanced weapons systems like the F-35.

  • Despite Hiccups, Chinese Military Modernization Still a Threat to Region

    Modernization is at the core of the CCP’s mission to change China, and the world beyond. But while Xi has provided the armed forces with cutting-edge weaponry, key signs point to his lack of confidence so far in the process of modernizing its top personnel.

  • When Global Trade Is About More Than Money

    International trade can yield far more than imports and exports. Economist’s new tool looks at how China is more effective than U.S. in exerting political power through import, export controls

  • Securing South Korea's Critical Minerals Supply Chains Through Trilateral Cooperation

    South Korea, Japan, and the United States’ trilateral partnership has expanded to include collaboration on economic security, including on critical minerals supply chains (CMSCs). A new report offers analysis, tools, and recommendations to strengthen South Korea’s CMSCs and economic security.

  • Guyana’s President Wins Another Term in Election Watched Keenly by Venezuela and U.S.

    Irfaan Ali, the leader of the People’s Progressive party (PPP), has secured a second term as Guyana’s president. Guyanese voters have endorsed Ali’s approach, expressed in his campaign, which was dominated by promises to use oil-related revenue to alleviate chronic poverty and support further social and economic development.

  • U.S.-China Tech Rivalry: The Geopolitics of Semiconductors

    The United States and China are locked in a high‑stakes contest for dominance in computing power. In response to US sanctions and export controls, China has ramped domestic chip design and manufacturing, aiming to create an all‑Chinese semiconductor supply chain that reduces dependence on foreign technologies.

  • How Russia Emerged as the Clear Winner from the Alaska Summit

    The very act of meeting and the nature of the interaction were such that the summit did considerable damage to the U.S. and broader Western position on Ukraine. At the same time, it strengthened Russia’s stance considerably. Russia used the summit to its strategic advantage, coming away with more concessions than it could have hoped for. Trump’s calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine are now gone and the prospect of additional sanctions on Russia have evaporated. Moscow now has the US president advocating for Ukraine to cede additional territory to Russia over and above the amount it has already taken by force.

  • How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?

    In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”

  • Quotes of the Day: Alaska Summit

    By Mr. Trump’s account, Mr. Putin behind closed doors also endorsed the lie that Mr. Trump actually won the 2020 election, only to have it stolen by Democrats.
          — Peter Baker, New York Times, 17 August 2025

    A Ukrainian intelligence officer says the Americans are being “unbelievably aggressive” in pushing Ukraine to forfeit more land. The Russian interest is clear enough, he says. “They want to maximize the package they will get in return—from sanctions relief, to the return of seized assets, to the re-opening of energy markets.” What, he says, is far less clear is why the Trump administration was pushing so forcefully to promote Russia’s interests.
         — The Economist, 17 August 2025

  • Tariffs Can Improve U.S. Economy, but Global Trade Realities, Retaliation, Could Offset Gains

    The United States could achieve modest economic benefits by applying uniform tariffs on all trade partners, but the complicated realities of supply chains, global trade and its downstream effects on people and businesses could offset economic gains and even lead to significant losses. 

  • Incentives for U.S.-China Conflict, Competition, and Cooperation Across Artificial General Intelligence’s Five Hard National Security Problems

    The prospect of either the United States or the People’s Republic of China —or both—achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) is likely to heighten tensions and could even increase the risk of competition spiraling into conflict. But the emergence of AGI could also create incentives for risk reduction and cooperation. We argue that both will not only be possible but essential.