Publications

Abstract China has sought to gain regional influence by utilizing a mix of energy investments and military modernization efforts. China’s overall efforts aim to bring about three broad goals. First, China seeks to hedge its economic growth potential against...

Abstract Begun in 2009, the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) is now America’s foremost engagement vehicle on the Indochina peninsula of Southeast Asia. From the outset, its most concrete aim was to facilitate an integrated water management scheme for the...

Abstract There are 54 countries on the African continent, but only one has managed to elect a woman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, as chief executive. While African countries face unique issues, there is a common thread in the...

Abstract The threat is real, deadly and serious—for everyone, not just the United States. The rapid collapse of distinctions between transnational criminal organizations and terrorist organizations has led to a threat convergence the likes of which we have not...

Abstract The opposition Georgian Dream coalition’s upset victory in Georgia’s October 2012 parliamentary elections displaced the then-ruling United National Movement as well as the “competitive authoritarian” model it had instituted. While the future of Georgian democracy remains an open...

Abstract The global financial crisis and its prolonged European aftermath have created a major stress test for democracy in the ten new post-communist members of the European Union. Although a majority of these transitional states have so far withstood...

Abstract National security is not simply a matter of technical skills and university degrees. To maintain power, engineering skills and knowledge of math are undoubtedly indispensable, but so is a solid understanding of, and appreciation for, the state’s civilizational...

In These Pages The spring 2013 edition of Orbis addresses a number of timely issues. Jakub Grygiel begins by discussing the real meaning of educating for national security. He contends that national security requires more than technical skills. Rather...

Introduction   Few observers foresaw the Arab Spring, but it should not have surprised anyone that the Islamist movements – the most organized movements in the Arab world – became the main beneficiaries of the turmoil that ensued. Islamism,...

German unification was one of the most dramatic developments in contemporary history, as well as one of the most unexpected. After decades during which the press and public measured political wisdom according to how well leaders managed the apparently...