Regional Issues

SRAD | Jan. 5, 2026

How Maduro’s capture went down – a military strategist explains what goe...

The predawn seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026 was a complicated affair. It was also, operationally, a resounding success for the U.S. military.Operation Absolute Resolve achieved its objective of seizing Maduro through a

SRAD | Aug. 26, 2025

Loyal Paraguay: The Peña Government’s Strategic Choice to Stay with Taiwan

From August 11-15, 2025, the author was in Asuncion, Paraguay, in an International Republican Institute (IRI) event hosted by that nation’s President Santiago Peña, bringing together government officials, diplomats, businesspersons, and civil

SRAD | Aug. 15, 2025

The Economic Argument for Keeping US Forces in Europe

NATO’s Hague summit earlier this summer has generally been viewed as a qualified success, despite — or perhaps because of — its unusually short and focused agenda. The new 5 percent defense spending commitment deserves most of the credit for this

SRAD | Aug. 13, 2025

Election, Crisis, and U.S. Opportunity in Bolivia

Bolivia, strategically at the center of South America, faces a critical election that will define its direction in its current profound economic, political and security crisis, its future relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), its

SRAD | July 22, 2025

More Than a Numbers Game: Comparing US and Chinese Landpower in the Paci...

As the US Army organizes, trains, and equips for an unforeseen future, service decisions should create or amplify relative operational advantages over the US military’s rising foe—the People’s Liberation Army. Discerning critical differences between

Category: SRAD

Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics
September 30, 2025 — A conversation between Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Bonnie Glaser on China's Global Security Initiative... MORE

Slide for GMF's China Global Podcast episode Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics

Weaponizing Risk: Recalibrating Western Deterrence
September 30, 2025 — In this episode, Antulio J. Echevarria II discusses how NATO might better leverage risk to strengthen the alliance’s extended deterrence. Can NATO increase the risks and costs of war for an adversary without unduly raising the alliance’s own? Can the alliance strengthen the credibility of NATO’s extended deterrence through a proxy strategy of “waging war without going to war”?... MORE

Slide for Conversations on Strategy Podcast Ep 61: Antulio J. Echevarria II, Weaponizing Risk: Recalibrating Western Deterrence

SSI Live 117 – China-Russia Relations and the Central Asian States
September 30, 2025 — In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Dr. Brian Carlson, a research professor of Indo-Pacific security studies for the China Landpower Studies Center, on Central Asia. The conversation highlights two drastically different engagements Carlson recently had, one in Kazakhstan and the other at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in southern Germany. The discussion explores the nature of China-Russia relations and the significance of the Central Asian states in the context of great-power competition... MORE

Adapting to Future Wars: The Reorganization of the PLA Army’s Special Operations Forces and the Move toward Professionalization
September 26, 2025 — The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) implemented major changes to the organization, accession, and training of its army’s special operations forces (SOF) beginning in 2017, including the creation of a 12-man SOF team and establishment of a probable national-level army-subordinate counterterrorism unit. Beginning in 2025, the PLA introduced several changes to improve officer accession and noncommissioned officer retention in its special operations community. This article assesses observed changes since 2017 designed to improve the PLA’s command and control of its army’s SOF units and to set the foundation for China’s elite forces becoming world-class by 2049... MORE

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The Weaponization of AI: The Next Stage of Terrorism and Warfare
September 23, 2025 — In this episode of Conversations on Strategy, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews select authors of The Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence: The Next Stage of Terrorism and Warfare, a book written in partnership with NATO Centre of Excellence – Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT). The authors discuss their respective chapters, which include topics such as how terrorists use large language models, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a weapon, and the future of AI use in terrorism and counterterrorism... MORE

Slide for Conversations on Strategy Podcast, episode 60: C. Anthony Pfaff, Brennan Deveraux, Sarah Lohmann, Christopher Lowrance, Thomas W. Spahr, and Gábor Nyáry – The Weaponization of AI: The Next Stage of Terrorism and Warfare

Book Review: Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
September 22, 2025 — Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present explores revolutions from the seventeenth century to today. Part I offers historical case studies of revolutions, including socioeconomic, political, and technological examples. Part II discusses current economic, technological, identity, and geopolitical revolutions and their implications—like the ways technology improves life but at the price of depersonalization and digital addiction for some. The reviewer recommends this book for lovers of international relations, history, philosophy, and strategic studies and notes, “Military and intelligence officials and policymakers will benefit from reading the book as they place nation-impacting decisions into context.”... MORE

Cover of Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present

Book Review: America’s Cold Warrior: Paul Nitze and National Security from Roosevelt to Reagan
September 22, 2025 — In America’s Cold Warrior: Paul Nitze and National Security from Roosevelt to Reagan written by James Graham Wilson and reviewed by Rev. Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, readers follow the life of Paul Nitze. As a businessman and government official, Nitze lived a life of service, holding positions as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. He also helped craft America’s Cold War policy. “Nitze’s life is more than an interesting story,” the reviewer notes, “it suggests the way forward for aspiring senior leaders.”... MORE

Cover of America’s Cold Warrior: Paul Nitze and National Security from Roosevelt to Reagan

Book Review: Warfare in the Robotics Age
September 22, 2025 — With real-world examples and clear explanations of how robotics influence air, maritime, land, space, and cyber operations, Warfare in the Robotics Age offers an overview of the history of robotics in war. Covering topics including drafting robots into military service, reimagining robotic warfare, and adapting to a robot way of war, the reviewer recommends the book for policymakers, strategists, practitioners, and senior leaders... MORE

Book Review: Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars
September 22, 2025 — Authors George Galdorisi and Sam J. Tangredi explore the risks and implications of AI on national security in Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars. With Russia and China pursuing weaponized AI systems, America must master the algorithms of war to remain dominant... MORE

Cover of Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars

Book Review: The First Cold War: Anglo-Russian Relations in the 19th Century
September 22, 2025 — An instructive historical case study and strategic diagnostic, The First Cold War: Anglo-Russian Relations in the 19th Century, clearly distills complex dynamics, reminding readers that to deal with Russia, the United States must remember Russia's motives and fears... MORE

Cover of The First Cold War: Anglo-Russian Relations in the 19th Century