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.

The Domestic Response to Operation “Rising Lion”

 Introduction Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s military campaign against Iran, commenced on June 13, 2025, the 615th day of the ongoing Swords of Iron war against Hamas. The launch was immediately felt on the Israeli home front: Air raid sirens...

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Political Stability Must Top Japan’s Leadership Agenda

Having won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election on October 4, Sanae Takaichi is set to be Japan’s fifth prime minister in as many years. As the first female leader of the party that has dominated Japanese politics...

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The African Growth and Opportunity Act is No More

In addition to a US Government shutdown at midnight on September 30, 2025, due to failure to pass a spending bill, an event largely ignored by America’s mainstream media was the expiration of the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

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AUKUS Still Has a Virginia Problem

In a move that has likely led to sighs of relief in London and Canberra, the Trump administration has reportedly reaffirmed its commitment to the AUKUS submarine pact, preserving a key pillar of the trilateral defense partnership between the...

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China’s Closing Window: Strategic Compression and the Risk of Crisis

When Beijing dispatched a relatively unknown rear admiral from its National Defense University to the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue, bypassing its own defense minister and forfeiting its plenary address, it did more than snub Asia’s premier security forum. It signaled...

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America’s Scale Problem

There is a peculiar irony in watching the world’s most technologically advanced military struggle with something as basic as making enough bullets. Yet this is precisely where America finds itself as it attempts to be able to supply two...

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The Return of Subic Bay

Subic Bay is back in American planning. Although described by the crew of the USS Fulton in 1945 as “a primitive, humid, unhealthy, desolate Siberia far from the pleasant climate, facilities, and girls of Australia,” the Filipino port was...

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Glimmers of Optimism: Evaluating Taiwan’s Evolving Political Landscape

Since President Lai Ching-te was inaugurated in May 2024, Taiwan’s domestic politics have been in relative turmoil. Large-scale protests, the incarceration of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) leader Ko Wen-je on corruption charges, and an unprecedented recall election targeting thirty-one...

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Lessons from Burkina Faso’s Fight Against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State

Introduction Jihadist insurgencies in Burkina Faso began in 2016-2017 and have escalated dramatically since 2019. Between 2018 and 2024, jihadists killed more than 25,000 people. From 2022 to 2023, fatalities attributed to terrorism increased by 68 percent, making Burkina...

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The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: A Regional Destabilizer or a New Model for African Development?

On September 9, 2025, the government of Ethiopia officially inaugurated Africa’s largest dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This massive project was under construction from 2011 to 2023 and was in the process of being filled for the...

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