National Security

In the spring 1958 issue of Orbis, Robert Strausz-Hupé, Alvin J. Cottrell, James E. Dougherty and Virgil Ney grappled with the question of “protracted conflict” as a way to understand the “complex realities with which the statesman and the...

Abstract This article seeks a debate on the future of the US defense posture in the Great Power Competition. It contains a robust list of defense initiatives to consider in improving the US defense posture. Since the United States...

Abstract An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) may be naturally occurring or can be created from the detonation of a nuclear weapon high above the Earth’s surface. Various presidential administrations have grappled with how to best manage risks around EMP threats....

Abstract As Russia’s invasion in Ukraine enters its second year, how is the global system continuing to evolve and change? How is the balance of power and influence shifting? And what might be some of the unexpected developments? Orbis...

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is confident that the debt ceiling deal, negotiated with the White House, will pass in the House, despite some conservative opposition to deficit reductions and work requirement changes in the agreement. The deal...

Editor’s note: This is the first paper in the “Expanding the Focus” series in the National Security Studies program. In May 2023, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan observed that “the future of the United States is going to be...

As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, several questions remain about what the US government would have, could have, and should have done differently since the war started. Should the United States have funneled more weapons and...

American officials are increasingly concerned about China’s growing power and assertiveness. While spy balloons over the continental United States may be the current crisis, Washington should stay focused on the most likely flashpoint in the bilateral relationship: the possibility...

Over the past year, two understated but dramatic shifts in US strategy have taken place: the United States no longer seeks to prioritize cooperation with Russia and no longer expects to forestall greater Russia-China cooperation. Support for Ukraine becomes...

The most defining feature of international terrorism in 2023 will be its diversity, reflected by the broad array of ideologies and grievances motivating plots and attacks. The Islamic State, the most significant terrorist threat since the global counterterrorism campaign...