U.S. Foreign Policy

Malta, Italy, and Mediterranean Migration: A Long History and an Ongoing Issue

In July 2013, the Sunday Telegraph issued a report on the escalating refugee crisis in Malta. In the previous decade, Malta had seen thousands of Africans make their way to the tiny island nation, which lies just over a...

Read more »

Estonia’s Security Options Eroded by Far-Right Governing Party

Estonia’s relations with neighboring Finland have been unsettled by late July’s announcement that the country’s ambassador in Helsinki, Harri Tiido, resigned. Tiido cited difficulties in maintaining strong cooperation between Estonia and Finland due to a string of controversial statements...

Read more »

U.S.-Latvia Defense Cooperation in Light of Trump’s Troop Withdrawals

Defense cooperation rarely enters the public eye. Although sometimes highlighted by politicians, generals, or major headline-making military exercises, much of it takes place under the radar as fairly mundane military financing and contact. However, it recently has entered the...

Read more »

Sino-Russian Narratives of Cooperation and What It Means for the Baltics

When the topic of possible Sino-Russian convergence comes up, analytical opinions can differ dramatically. Some say the two countries are growing closer — others point to the historical issues sticking out from the carpets under which leaders Vladimir Putin...

Read more »

Maritime Security Issues in the Baltic Sea Region

In June, NATO conducted a scaled down version of its annual BALTOPS naval drills in the Baltic Sea. But with a heavy emphasis on land-based deterrence since re-independence, the Baltic States and NATO alike have been largely plagued by...

Read more »

Still The One: Great Power Competition and Special Operations Forces

With the unveiling of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced that great power competition was now the “primary focus of U.S. national security.” After nearly 20 years of muddling through counterinsurgencies in Iraq...

Read more »

Finding Off Ramps to the Ongoing S-400 Crisis with Turkey

As the United States prepares for the July 4 holiday, Senate Majority Whip John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, proposed a curious amendment for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the omnibus spending bill that...

Read more »

(Re)Discovering the National Interest, Again

Implications of the Argument: It’s been a tough few decades for national security analysts with no shortage of how to fix what is wrong with U.S. foreign policy. The 1990s were largely characterized by redefining grand strategy in a...

Read more »

The Implications of Withdrawing American Troops from Germany

On June 6, the Wall Street Journal set off an avalanche of commentary by reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a drastic reduction in U.S. troops deployed in Germany within a space of only six months. The move...

Read more »

Latvia’s New State Defense Concept

In early June, Latvia published the 2020 iteration of its State Defense Concept (Valsts Aizsardzības Koncepcija) to replace the 2016 version. The Concept is a political planning document which will guide the details of defense policy and planning for...

Read more »