Home : Research & Commentary : SSI Worldwide
From the Archives
NATO’s in Denial about Deterrence by Denial
NATO’s in Denial about Deterrence by Denial
John R. Deni
Published by POLITICO 
https://www.politico.eu/article/nato-us-army-chinese-government-defense-war-europe-allies-cold-war-russia-poland/
July 8, 2024 - Taking the necessary steps to fully operationalize deterrence by denial is critical — especially before a possible change in America’s relationship with NATO.Recent revelations that the Chinese government has been...

Paraguay’s Security Challenges and the Government Response
Paraguay’s Security Challenges and the Government Response

R. Evan Ellis

https://gordoninstitute.fiu.edu/news-events/the-policy-spotlight/2024/paraguays-security-challenges-and-the-government-response.html
July 8, 2024 - The land-locked South American country of Paraguay receives little attention in Washington D.C. relative to its strategic importance for the region and the U.S. It is larger than Germany, and like Germany, its impact, and the...

Russian Warships, Venezuelan Elections, and a Fabricated Crisis with Guyana in the Caribbean?
Russian Warships, Venezuelan Elections, and a Fabricated Crisis with Guyana in the Caribbean?

R. Evan Ellis

Published by Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University
https://gordoninstitute.fiu.edu/news-events/the-policy-spotlight/2024/russian-warships-venezuelan-elections-and-a-fabricated-crisis-with-guyana-in-the-caribbean.html

Background photo of Russian warship in the Caribbean from FIU article link, originally sourced from The New York Times, June 6, 2024  (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/12/world/americas/russia-cuba-navy-exercies.html)
June 17, 2024 - The deployment of Russian warships to the Caribbean is Kabuki theater.  For 15 years, a Russia whose international power projection capabilities have deteriorated significantly since the end of the Cold War has periodically...

Playing Both Sides of the U.S.-Chinese Rivalry
On a visit to Budapest in late February, China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, secured a face-to-face meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to establish a new bilateral security arrangement. China and Hungary agreed to cooperate on law enforcement, policing, and counterterrorism, putting security ties at the center of their relationship.
 
In many ways, it was a puzzling agreement, since Hungary is already a member of a security alliance—NATO—that protects it from armed attack. But Budapest’s pursuit of security relationships with both Beijing and Washington is a notable example of a global trend. 
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/playing-both-sides-us-chinese-rivalry
 
Composite images from Unsplash (USA Flag: https://unsplash.com/photos/flag-of-america-E4hWWoTTtxw, China flag: https://unsplash.com/photos/red-national-flag-jL0tMFYOdBM, Storm: https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-white-clouds-during-daytime-qcpAMjzX4BI)
May 29, 2024 - Why Countries Get External Security from Washington—and Internal Security from BeijingOn a visit to Budapest in late February, China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, secured a face-to-face meeting with Hungarian...

The New NATO Force Model: Ready For Launch?
The New NATO Force Model: Ready For Launch? | John R. Deni
Published by NATO
NATO Allies are in the process of a dramatic change to the Alliance’s force structure, which will see the NATO Response Force (NRF) replaced with a three tiered structure of Allied forces, to include an Allied Reaction Force (ARF), all of which is designed to better defend and deter. This new NATO Force Model faces a variety of challenges. To avoid the potential pitfalls and ensure the Alliance fulfils its own vision, NATO and its member nations ought to consider an array of mitigating steps, such as using snap exercises and inspection visits to ensure forces are indeed manned, trained and equipped, and emphasizing mass and capacity in Allied acquisition plans and capability targets.
https://www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.php?icode=1937#
Background image composite of pages from the publication NATO (https://www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.php?icode=1937#)
May 28, 2024 - Allies are in the process of a dramatic change to the Alliance’s force structure, which will see the NATO Response Force (NRF) replaced with a three tiered structure of Allied forces, to include an Allied Reaction Force...

China-Argentina Space Engagement
This work examines China - Argentine Space Collaboration, with a focus on the PRC Operated Deep Space Radar Facility in Neuquén. It argues that in interest of national development, and in the context of hopes for benefit from Argentina’s broader relationship with China, in an era of less pronounced strategic competition between the PRC and the U.S., the prior Peronist government off Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made contractual commitments that provide limited benefits to Argentina, undercut national sovereignty, and create risks of PRC use of Argentine national territory for military purposes against the West in time of war. Argentine governments have worked professionally within significant constraints of a lack of regular access to the facility, to provide technical oversight. The Center-right governments of both Mauricio Macri and Javier Milei have made heightened efforts at control, but have been impeded by the details of the contract signed by the prior Fernández government and the difficulty in making current policy decisions about possible future PRC behavior regarding the military use of PC-operated space facilities in Argentina. The case study also showcases a broader set of risks and dilemmas for other governments in the region tempted to leverage PRC interest in engagement in the space domain to further real and symbolic national technical development. Key Words People´s Republic of China (PRC), Argentina, Space Cooperation, Deep-Space Radar, Neuquén.
Read the article: https://chinayamericalatina.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WP40-May-2024-REDCAEM.pdf
Background photo of China and Argentina’s deep space ground station antennas from Wikimedia, April, 2022 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Estaci%C3%B3n_de_Espacio_Profundo_de_la_CLTC-CONAE-NEUQUEN_en_abril_2022_02.jpg)
May 23, 2024 - This work examines China - Argentine Space Collaboration, with a focus on the PRC Operated Deep Space Radar Facility in Neuquén. It argues that in interest of national development, and in the context of hopes for benefit...

Argentina: Security Challenges and the Government Response
In addition to Argentina’s profound economic crisis, the nation faces serious security challenges. These include use of the country as a drug transit zone, including cocaine from Bolivia and Peru bound for Europe and marijuana from Paraguay.  Such criminal activities have caused violent struggles between groups for transport routes in logistics hubs such as Rosario. 
Keywords: Argentina, defense, security, organized crime, drugs, weapon systems
https://revistas.ceeep.mil.pe/index.php/seguridad-y-poder-terrestre/issue/view/9/12

Background photo of Argentina’s President Milei from Wikimedia, March, 2024 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asamblealegislativamileiquince.jpg)
May 13, 2024 - Summary: In addition to Argentina’s profound economic crisis, the nation faces serious security challenges. These include use of the country as a drug transit zone, including cocaine from Bolivia and Peru bound for Europe and...

Paraguay: A Promising Government Navigating a Perilous Path
Paraguay: A Promising Government Navigating a Perilous Path

The greatest gift that Cartes can give the country and President Peña is to empower Peña to take the real and symbolic steps to frontally tackle corruption.

https://globalamericans.org/paraguay-a-promising-government-navigating-a-perilous-path/

Brazil and the Southern Cone, Economics, Trade & Development, U.S.-Latin America Relations
 
Background image from Agencia de Informacion Paraguaya (AIP) from article (https://globalamericans.org/paraguay-a-promising-government-navigating-a-perilous-path/)
May 1, 2024 - The greatest gift that Cartes can give the country and President Peña is to empower Peña to take the real and symbolic steps to frontally tackle corruption. Paraguay, a land-locked country at the heart of South America, is...

Now It’s Up to Europe to Take the Lead in Ukraine
Continental security can no longer be outsourced to the U.S., which may soon have other wars to fight.
By John R. Deni and Lisa A. Aronsson
 
Ukrainians are breathing a sigh of relief. Within days, desperately needed ammunition and military equipment should begin flowing to Kyiv’s beleaguered forces. But even the $60 billion approved by Congress won’t be enough to enable a Ukrainian victory.
 
If Ukraine loses, the West will be faced with a much more dangerous Russia and a highly unstable security environment, one that could demand far more in Western blood and treasure. With Washington’s latest tranche of funding, Ukraine should survive through 2024. But while Europeans have done a lot, they need to pick up the slack and do more for Ukraine militarily.
 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/now-its-up-to-europe-to-take-the-lead-in-ukraine-russia-war-13a7daff
 
Background image by Mathias Reding from Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-on-protest-against-war-in-ukraine-11421247/)
April 25, 2024 - Continental security can no longer be outsourced to the U.S., which may soon have other wars to fight.By John R. Deni and Lisa A. AronssonUkrainians are breathing a sigh of relief. Within days, desperately needed ammunition...