Analysis

Analysis offers a new angle on a contemporary or historical issue. These articles are policy-oriented and cover current developments around the globe that impinge upon American foreign policy and national security priorities.

House of GUGI: A Historical Imagery Analysis of Olenya Guba

Introduction In April, the UK Minister of Defence, John Healey, gave a speech calling out Russian military activities near sensitive underwater cables and pipelines in and around British waters. He said that, in partnership with Norway and other allies,...

Read more »

The War of Endurance: Russia, Ukraine, and the Struggle Behind the Front Lines

Introduction The Russo-Ukrainian War, if dated to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, is the longest running conflict in Europe since the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815). It may come to resemble not just these wars in duration and...

Read more »

How UK Foreign Policy Is Changing Under Andy Burnham

Last week, the Andy Burnham government in the United Kingdom announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in coordination with Canada and 10 European countries. Although Burnham has only been prime minister since July, he broke with...

Read more »

China’s Civil-Military Drone Fusion

Divining the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is never a straightforward task. But when it comes to assessing the future of China’s military technology, data from China’s civilian unmanned air system industries and research institutes is a...

Read more »

The US-Saudi Nuclear Deal: Abandoning the Gold Standard

Donald Trump is famous for his love of gold. His agreement with Saudi Arabia, however, has undermined the so-called “Gold Standard” for nuclear nonproliferation: the American insistence, for more than a decade, that countries that reach agreements with Washington...

Read more »

Reading Germany’s Rearmament: The 2026 Military Strategy Between Ambition and Accountability

  On April 22, 2026, Germany published what has been called the first military strategy in the Bundeswehr’s history. Signed by Chief of Defence Gen. Carsten Breuer, it is part of the broader “overall concept of military defence” (Gesamtkonzeption...

Read more »

Can the US and Europe Cooperate in Africa?

Africa’s global role is constantly evolving. Demographically, Africa is poised to occupy a dominant position in the world over the coming decades. By 2050, Africa’s share of the global population will have grown from its current 19 percent to...

Read more »

Lida Shuffle: Su-25 “Nuclear” Exercises in Belarus

At the end of May, Russia and Belarus conducted a set of what they claimed were nuclear exercises. Some nine or so systems were tested, including the Su-25 attack aircraft, Tu-95 bomber, the Yars and Kinzhal ballistic missiles, the...

Read more »

How France’s Fall Signals China’s Rise in the Sahel

In a disturbing, though predictable, move, Burkina Faso severed diplomatic relations with France on June 26, 2026, accusing its former colonial ruler of pursuing “neo-colonial ambitions,” and maintaining “subversive networks,” and even supporting terrorist groups against the Burkinabè state....

Read more »

A Crown Jewel in Peril: Russia’s Arctic Aggression Masks Nuclear Vulnerability

Russia sees opportunity in the Arctic. For centuries, ever-present sea ice has made the region hostile to trade or military exploitation. But as the ice melts, that reality is changing. Russia plans to capitalize on the economic benefit of...

Read more »