Recent Publications

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

Russian Gas, Green Technology, and the Great Sacrifice
June 23, 2022 — Dr. Sarah Lohmann, at The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (GJIA), June 2022 This article argues that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the long-term energy dependencies on Moscow that Europe’s fledgling green technology will not be able to fix in the short term. While the crisis does have the power to speed their... MORE

Coalition of the unWilling and unAble
June 9, 2022 — European Realignment and the Future of American GeopoliticsDr. John R. Deni, 2022, forthcoming With the Defense Department weighing whether and how to change the U.S. military footprint overseas, it’s time to make the American military presence in the Baltic states durable. Maintaining merely periodic American boots on the ground, sometimes there... MORE

Coalition of the unWilling and unAble by John R. Deni

Yes, Russia Might Invade a NATO Country. Here’s How the Alliance Should Prepare.
June 1, 2022 — Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in PoliticoRussia’s invasion has been a wake-up call: It’s time for NATO allies to get back to basics.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a careful balancing act on the part of NATO allies, who are eager to see Russia fail but also unwilling to jump into the war directly. This reflects the same challenge that has... MORE

Yes, the United States Should Weaken Russia
May 27, 2022 — The old approach of outreach and inclusion has failed. In the wake of Russia’s latest invasion, Washington must seek to erode Moscow’s power.Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in Foreign Policy Following a recent visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States wanted “to see Russia... MORE

NATO Must Prepare to Defend Its Weakest Point—the Suwalki Corridor
May 27, 2022 — On the Polish-Lithuanian border, the West must respond to Russia’s actual capabilities rather than making assumptions about its intent.Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in Foreign Policy As the Biden administration monitors Moscow’s reaction to dramatic U.S. and allied increases in assistance to Ukraine as well as the punishing Western economic and financial... MORE

Toward a New Normal in Transatlantic Collective Defense
May 25, 2022 — With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in its third month, it is already possible to draw some important lessons from the most serious security crisis in Europe in decades.Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) It has fundamentally altered security on the continent, prompting a reappraisal of where and how NATO allies... MORE

The West Should Not Wish Away the Russian Threat Yet Again
May 25, 2022 — The time to institutionalize a muscular and ready front line force posture is now. Dr. John R. Deni and Christopher Skaluba, 2022 in Defense One The West’s initial response to Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has been remarkably unified and effective. The multifaceted effort to arm Ukraine while reinforcing NATO allies in Eastern Europe has helped to turn the war’s tide and prevent, for now at least,... MORE

A Russian serviceman interacts with a bear at the zoo in Ukraine's port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES / OLGA MALTSEVA

Sourced from Defense One for use in "The West Should Not Wish Away the Russian Threat Yet Again" by John R. Deni https://ssi.army.afpims.mil/SSI-Media/Recent-Publications/ctl/ArticleEdit/mid/63305/Article/3508510/

China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security
May 22, 2022 — Dr. John R. Deni, 2022Given the depth and breadth of the pandemic-induced recession in Europe, private companies in need of capital and governments looking to shed state-owned enterprises may be tempted to sell shares, assets, or outright ownership to investors with liquidity to spare. Of greatest concern is the role that China might play in... MORE

China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security

Dr. John R. Deni, 2022
Given the depth and breadth of the pandemic-induced recession in Europe, private companies in need of capital and governments looking to shed state-owned enterprises may be tempted to sell shares, assets, or outright ownership to investors with liquidity to spare. Of greatest concern is the role that China might play in Europe, building Beijing’s soft power, weakening allied geopolitical solidarity, and potentially reprising the role it played in the 2010s, when its investments in Europe expanded dramatically.
https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/949/

Would a Russian Coup Solve Anything?
May 13, 2022 — Putin’s successor would face the same political and geographic conditions that led him to confrontation. Dr. John R. Deni, 2022 in the Wall Street Journal Some Western observers hope Vladimir Putin will be overthrown in a coup. While the likelihood of such an event is debatable, one thing is certain: If Mr. Putin were removed in a coup, whoever replaces him would face the same domestic political incentives and disincentives, …... MORE

President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the military parade in Red Square, Moscow, to mark the 77th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.