Recent Publications

On “Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield and Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency”
May 10, 2023 — In this episode of Conversations on Strategy, Lucas Cox shares his thoughts on being an intern working on two collaborative studies for NATO. ... MORE

“Medical Resilience and Pandemics” from Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2)
May 9, 2023 — Wuraola Oyewusi Medical resilience is a key critical infrastructure in a nation’s preparedness against vulnerabilities. Pandemics such as COVID-19 are potent disruptors of this infrastructure. Health systems that are considered low-resourced have adapted and deployed seemingly simple but effective methods to survive such disruptions... MORE

On “The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell”: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq
March 29, 2023 — The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into... MORE

“NATO Space Critical Infrastructure” from Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2)
February 27, 2023 — 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 threats. The counterterrorism research produced for this volume is in alignment... MORE

Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 2)
February 23, 2023 — Conversations on Strategy, Conversations on Strategy Podcast, Dr. Sarah J. Lohmann... MORE

“Comparing Policy Frameworks - CISR in the United States and the European Union” from Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
February 3, 2023 — adetail.news .article-body { max-width: 90% !important; }For over a quarter century the United States and the European Union have been diligently planning and implementing policies and procedures to protect the critical infrastructure sectors that are vital to the prosperity and security the majority of their citizens enjoy. Given the evolving... MORE

“Water Sector Resilience in the Metropolitan Washington Case” from Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
January 31, 2023 — In most urbanized societies, water is taken for granted and little thought is given to how fragile the supply of this vital resource can be. A water emergency, however, such as a treatment plant outage, a water source contamination event, or natural disaster has the potential for significant disruption to society and the infrastructure that depends on water to function. Most other sectors of critical infrastructure... MORE

“Communications Resilience” from Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
January 27, 2023 — Communications form the critical backbone of the modern world, connecting more people and more devices more completely than ever before. The benefits of this hyper-connected society drive ever-increasing reliance on secure, reliable, and resilient communications. Potential adversaries to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization certainly understand the importance of communications—those they seek to target and those they use themselves—so it is critical to fully understand the sector, the risks it faces, and the best ways to mitigate those risks. ... MORE

“Understanding Critical Infrastructure” from Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
January 6, 2023 — This podcast based on Chapter 1 in Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resiliency (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1 answers the questions: What is critical infrastructure? Why is it important? What is the difference between critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and critical infrastructure security and resilience (CISR)? What are some of the key terms defined in national CISR policy?... MORE

Enabling NATO’s Collective Defense CISR (NATO COE-DAT Handbook 1)
December 19, 2022 — In 2014 NATO’s Centre of Excellence-Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) launched the inaugural course on “Critical Infrastructure Protection Against Terrorist Attacks.” As this course garnered increased attendance and interest, the core lecturer team felt the need to update the course in critical infrastructure (CI) taking into account the shift from an emphasis on “protection” of CI assets to “security and resiliency.” What was lacking... MORE

Urban Warfare
September 22, 2022 — 21st Century Warfare, Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, collapse, Doha Accord, Grand Strategy, international relations, Military Change and Transformation, Military Strategy and Policy, Pakistan, Security force assistance, Statecraft, strategy, Strategy and Policy, Taliban, Ukraine, War and... MORE

Deconstructing the Collapse of Afghanistan National Security and Defense Forces
September 21, 2022 — The rapid collapse of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August 2021 was widely anticipated and due to its structural constraints and qualitative decline from 2018–21. This article provides a targeted analysis of ANDSF operational liabilities and qualitative limitations, referencing often overlooked statements by US and Afghan political and military officials, data from official US government reports... MORE