Publications

Abstract This article examines the manner in which the People’s Republic of China seeks to obtain long-term leverage through multiple channels of influence among elites in politics, business, and society in both Australia and the United States. It does...

Abstract The People’s Republic of China increasingly has turned to political warfare and sharp power to influence U.S. policy toward China and on international issues that it considers important. This turn in part reflects the limited effectiveness of Beijing’s much-increased hard...

Authoritarian regimes use the weapons of political warfare and the tools of sharp power to influence, and sometimes undermine, liberal-democratic polities. As classically defined by George Kennan, political warfare is “the logical application of Clausewitz's doctrine in the time...

The Russian Federation’s defense industry provides the authoritarian regime with military power that is used for maintaining its domestic and foreign legitimacy. The industry’s top-management is a major part of Russia’s governing establishment. Nevertheless, the industry suffers from economic...

We’re entering the month of April and week three of social distancing and quarantine. The country has at least another month of abiding by the national guidelines to flatten the curve. Since April Fool’s Day was yesterday and people...

In 2017, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq held an independence referendum, which triggered severe backlash, including the loss of control over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The backlash from the independence referendum prompted the regional government (Kurdistan Regional Government)...

Welcome to week three of social distancing and quarantine. Due to the increased number of cases in the United States, President Donald Trump has renewed all restrictions on social gatherings until the end of April. As everyone remains in...

The US, with NATO, routinely conducts military exercises all over Europe, especially since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 — exercises Russia inevitably condemns as destabilizing. The Defender Europe-20 exercise had just begun garnering increased attention in Western...

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rips through America’s biggest cities, its effect is being felt far beyond the over 140,000 Americans who are confirmed infected. The quarantines and lockdowns that are needed to fight the virus’s spread are freezing...

Iraq’s Sadrist movement, led by populist Shi’i cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has been at the heart of Iraqi politics since 2003. The movement's political strategies have shifted dramatically during this time, encompassing militant insurgency, sectarian violence, electoral politics, and reform-oriented...