Recent Publications

NATO’s Defense Demands Eastern Front Improvements
July 20, 2023 — John R. Deni The recent summit largely avoided urgent questions about the mismatch between available forces and the Russian threat. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rather impolitic reaction to the news that his country would not receive a firm timetable for membership in NATO stole the show at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius last week... MORE

NATO Vilnius Summit could have been historic. Instead, it mostly kicked the can down the road.
July 14, 2023 — John R. Deni argues that at the NATO Summit, “there was little significant movement on several key issues, leaving much on the table for the alliance’s 75th birthday summit next year in Washington, DC.” With the Vilnius Summit concluded, NATO observers can take a breath — and take a step back to see what was really accomplished at the meeting,... MORE

NATO Vilnius Summit could have been historic. Instead, it mostly kicked the can down the road.
John R. Deni

We don’t really know which NATO allies are pulling their weight.
July 10, 2023 — Here’s how to fix that. John R. Deni The Defense Investment Pledge agreed to by NATO allies in 2014 is reaching its decade-long finish line. The Alliance’s own data indicate that not all allies will cross that line, as many still spend less than the equivalent of 2 percent of their gross domestic products on defense and several still devote less... MORE

Debate continues over whether to invite Ukraine to join NATO
July 10, 2023 — Podcast appearance. John R. Deni As leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, meet at the annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the conversation continues over whether to invite Ukraine to join the alliance and if so, when.Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee speaks with John Deni, research professor at the U.S. Army War College and a... MORE

Don’t Promise Ukraine NATO Membership Now
May 19, 2023 — Bringing Kyiv into the alliance soon could harden Russia’s resolve, frustrate potential peace efforts, and play into the Kremlin’s propaganda.John R. DeniIn two months, NATO leaders will gather in Vilnius for their annual summit, and leading the agenda will be the West’s ongoing support for Ukraine today and in the years ahead. Prominent experts... MORE

Don’t Promise Ukraine NATO Membership Now
John R. Deni
Bringing Kyiv into the alliance soon could harden Russia’s resolve, frustrate potential peace efforts, and play into the Kremlin’s propaganda.

Stress-Testing Chinese-Russian Relations
May 9, 2023 — Robert E. Hamilton A debate over the nature of the China-Russia relationship has raged for almost two decades. One side believes the two are strategic partners; the other believes their ties are an “axis of convenience” lacking depth.Understanding the true nature of their relationship is of vital importance to U.S. national security. A true... MORE

Stress-Testing Chinese-Russian Relations
Robert E. Hamilton

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield
December 2, 2022 — Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging... MORE

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2 by Sarah J. Lohmann.

Religion and Resistance
November 1, 2022 — The Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churchesin Resistance Efforts in the War Against RussiaHeather S. Gregg, 2022, the Foreign Policy Research InstituteAs the Russian-instigated war in Ukraine nears its first-year anniversary, resistance—population-based efforts to frustrate and repel an occupying force—remains an important piece of the... MORE

Biden’s National Security Strategy: A New Era in Eurasia
October 28, 2022 — Robert E. Hamilton, October 26, 2022, the Foreign Policy Research Institute Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a reorientation of US national security policy toward “constraining” Russia While China remains the long-term US focus, the new National Security Strategy (NSS) sees Russia as a “profoundly dangerous” state that poses an “immediate... MORE

Putin is Mobilizing. Germany and France are Unlikely to Step Up.
September 26, 2022 — Dr. John R. Deni, Sept 26 2022 in PoliticoJohn R. Deni is a research professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He’s the author of “Coalition of the unWilling and unAble.”Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decision to partially mobilize Russian... MORE

Russian President Putin (from Wikipedia)

European Strategies in Post-Pandemic Peer Competition: Implications for America
September 22, 2022 — Dr. John R. Deni, Sept 25 2022 in Taylor & Francis OnlineThe recent reconceptualization of national and/or defense strategies, hangovers from the sovereign debt crisis, and the impact of the pandemic-induced recession in four of the most powerful European countries – France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom – will have profound implications... MORE

Sweden and Finland are on their way to NATO membership. Here’s what needs to happen next.
August 4, 2022 — Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in Atlatic Council Sweden and Finland have just cleared a big hurdle on their path to NATO membership with the US Senate’s overwhelming vote to welcome them into the Alliance. While several other allies still need to ratify the expansion, Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO is now not a question of whether but when.Even... MORE