Issue briefs and reports

Staying the course: Opportunities and limitations in U.S.-China relations

This paper discusses US relations with the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. It is based on a report by a delegation of former military and defense policy leaders that were sent to visit Beijing and Taiwan to examine the longer-term issues in relations among the three countries. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for […]

New Capabilities: Transforming NATO Forces

This paper makes suggestions for the process of NATO force transformation and strategy development. The authors explain that in order to achieve successful future force transformation, NATO must focus on integrating information systems, deploying further precision weapons and creating a spearhead force as a catalyst for transformation. The paper states that the alliance must also […]

Elusive Partnership: US and European Policies in the Near East and the Gulf

This report presents the US-Middle East delegation’s assessment of European attitudes and its conclusions and recommendations for the policies of the US government. The authors analyze the history of US–European relations on the topic of the Middle East and discuss the European attitudes toward the problem as well as the directions and dynamics of the […]

Managing Proliferation Issues With Iran

Any government in Tehran will be inclined to seek weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missile delivery options given the realities of its strategic environment. These weapons might help Iran to deter potential external threats, to achieve equality with other major regional powers armed with WMD, and to attain self-reliance in national security, given the […]

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S.-Iranian Relations: Volume II

By Elaine L. Morton

This report examines the full range of US interests in the US-Iran stalemate and suggests measures that could become part of a new strategic approach. It identifies the major issues that will need to be addressed if US-Iranian relations are to improve. In doing so it identifies areas in which cooperative endeavors might serve the […]

The Bulgarian Defense Industry: Strategic Options for Transformation, Reorientation, and NATO Integration

By Jeffrey P. Bialos

This report identifies strategic options available to the Bulgarian government and its defense industry, as well as the United States and its NATO partners, for transforming and repositioning the industry for the 21st century and facilitating its integration into the NATO and European Union industrial base. Since other Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries that are […]

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S.-Iranian Relations: Volume I

By Elaine L. Morton

This publication addresses the stalemate between the US and Iran. It argues that the stalemate satisfies emotionally many Americans but does not serve overall US interests. According to the paper, it hinders the achievement of several key US geopolitical interests, especially over the longer term. Download the PDF

Enforcing the Peace: An American Bird’s Eye View

By David C. Acheson

This paper examines the factors that make peace enforcement politically and operationally complicated and undermine the will, the resources and the parliamentary consensus to undertake missions of peace enforcement. The author outlines two phases of the peace-enforcement process: one is a combat phase, the application of armed force to suppress hostilities. Phase two, presumptively a […]

Changing Terms of Trade: Managing the New Transatlantic Economy

The economic relationship between the United States and the European Union (EU) is in the midst of a significant transition. In the past, the dominant element of that relationship was trade. But in recent years, several new elements have become more prominent in the transatlantic economic relationship, bringing with them both challenges and opportunities. Download […]

Strategic Assesment of Central Eurasia

By Charles Fairbanks, S. Frederick Starr, C. Richard Nelson, and Kenneth Weisbrode

This assessment outlines a basis for U.S. national security planning related to Central Eurasia over the next ten years. The region covered encompasses the five former Soviet states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the three former Soviet states of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). Download the […]