The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 marked the bankruptcy of an American strategy towards post-Cold War Europe. But what precisely was that strategy and where did it go wrong? Looking back on the past 30 years of American engagement with Europe shows that, after the Cold War ended, the United States pursued with...
Per the 2022 National Defense Strategy, Russia represents an “acute threat” to the United States and its interests.1 Despite the best efforts of successive post–Cold War U.S. presidents to adjust policy towards Moscow in a more aspirational direction, Russia remains an intractable opponent of the United States, motivated by objectives which can appear frustratingly opaque...
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is competing to win against the United States in the Middle East. This competition, however, is not about land. It is about influence. Over recent decades, the United States established a dominant position in the Middle East through decisive military action and diplomatic influence. The deployment of military force and...
The U.S. Indo-Pacific alliance architecture has undergone a sweeping evolution, away from the legacy U.S.-centric hub-and-spoke model to an interlocking ‘spiderweb’ nodal model spearheaded by key regional players. This shift recontextualizes the United States’ role in the Indo-Pacific from a primary mover to an energetic coordinator, thus enabling a more resilient and agile alliance structure,...
Strategic competition involves more than indices of “hard power” like arms, industries, and allies. To compete effectively, governments must enlist their countries’ intellectual resources to educate citizens, inform policy, and expose rivals’ vulnerabilities. The American university system, with an aggregate endowment larger than the national economies of all but twenty countries, should impressively bolster U.S....
The current pace and scope of U.S. nuclear modernization is risking unprecedented strategic instability over the coming decades in a developing multipolar nuclear competition. The United States must make decisions regarding its nuclear posture to address the new reality of confronting two major nuclear adversaries. If the United States is going to maintain its current...
Geography and resources are often lauded as fundamental advantages enjoyed by the United States in the international sphere. Allies and adversaries alike look jealously at the energy, food, and manufacturing capacity of the United States, nurtured by an internal geographic cohesion and protected on two sides by oceans and on two more by friendly, productive...
The rivalry between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is often characterized as a challenge requiring “a whole-of-society response.”1 Unlike traditional geopolitical and security issues that are considered the exclusive purview of the military and the federal government, competition between the United States and the PRC frequently spills over into news...
In the ever-evolving geopolitical landscape, the relationship between the United States and its enduring adversaries is characterized by strategic rivalry. Since the 1990s, cyber operations have emerged as an additional tool for state competitors. This digital maneuvering, beyond the traditional boundaries of state conflict, is best understood as an infinite game. James P. Carse, a...
