Publications

On the eve of the Second World War, the noted journalist John Gunther could still maintain that: “Great Britain, as everyone knows, is the greatest Asiatic power.” The British Empire in Asia controlled a vast territory and large population,...

Do we ever get what we really want?  Do we ever achieve what our powers have ostensibly equipped us for?  No: everything works by contraries. Nikolai Gogol “Diary of a Madman and Other Stories” What does it think it’s...

In These Pages We kick off the winter issue of Orbis with Robert George’s recent Templeton Lecture on the importance of religious freedom. Religious liberty is something that Americans take for granted but it is a rare commodity worldwide....

James Steinberg and Micael E. O’Hanlon, Stratigic Reassurance and Resolve: U.S.-China Relations in the Twenty-First Century (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014), 272 pp. Geoff A. Dyer, The Contest of the Century: The New Era of Competition with China–and...

Abstract Recent cyber-attacks such as Stuxnet and Anonymous’ increasingly aggressive digital activism have rekindled fears that cyber-terrorism is an imminent threat. However, the concept remains poorly understood. Confusion over cyber-terrorism stems, in part, from recent attempts to stretch the...

Abstract There is widespread interest in how armed drones are used, how targets are chosen, and what frameworks of legality and political accountability exist. Less addressed is how use, targeting, justification, and accountability affect the people and the organizations...

Abstract This article contends that as Japan weakens relative to China it must think creatively about blunting key components of China’s military strategy, particularly in the maritime domain. To advance this argument, this study samples recent Japanese threat perceptions...

Abstract Many experts raise concerns about the “rise of China” and the potential threat it presents to American interests. Indeed, the recent strategic pivot announced by U.S. leaders is designed to address these concerns. Yet what we are likely...

Abstract More than three after the beginning of the Arab Awakening, it appears that the upheavals have, by and large, left the Gulf monarchies intact. While several dictators have fallen— from Ben Ali in Tunisia, Mubarak in Egypt and...

Abstract The history of great power conflicts waged by maritime/island powers clearly shows the criticality of supporting continental allies with a ground force commitment. Now is the time to establish a credible series of alliances in Europe and Asia—even...