National Security

AbstractIs “grand strategy” a useful concept? What is it, and how is it different from “strategy”? Some definitions of grand strategy—as an all-encompassing idea for coordinating the resources of an entire nation to achieve its ultimate goals—are unachievable, overly...

Abstract The next Administration will want to examine the last 15 years of strategic performance to improve sound strategy options and to promote timely re-assessment and adaptation of approved policies and strategies. Building off of two recent studies of...

In These Pages Welcome to the spring 2016 issue of Orbis. We begin with Arthur Waldron’s take on potential threats to global stability. He uses the analogy of heating milk on a gas stove only to have it boil...

The following is a review written by FPRI Senior Fellow Paul Springer on The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat: From 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s Death (Columbia University Press, 2014), edited by Bruce Hoffman and Fernando.  Edited collections that bring...

Recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Istanbul and Brussels should not come as a surprise. The Islamic State’s rise in Europe has been more than four years in the making. By 2012, casual social media monitoring showed a large wave...

Five years ago this week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave a television address about the largely peaceful protests against his rule. “Let us act as quickly as possible to heal our wounds and restore harmony to our larger family and...

Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels were a stark reminder that terrorism is a major issue confronting the US and the global community. The terror group ISIS is bringing their fight to the heart of the Western world. As a result...