China-Middle East

Missile defense: The end of the interim solution

By Patrick O’Reilly

Forward Defense Nonresident Senior Fellow and former US Missile Defense Agency director Patrick O'Reilly argues that the time is now to invest in directed energy missile defense.

State of the Order: Assessing October 2021

The State of the Order breaks down the month's most important events impacting the democratic world order.

What does Russia get out of Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

By Li-Chen Sim and Nicole Grajewski

Russia and Iran’s acrimonious relationship with the United States has brought the countries closer together.

Global Sanctions Dashboard: Halloween edition

By Julia Friedlander, Michael Albanese and Castellum.AI

US’s evolving approach to cryptocurrencies, Pandora Papers; sanctions against Iran, Myanmar, and Russian authorities in Crimea.

The special role of US nuclear weapons

By Matthew Kroenig

The United States needs to maintain a robust, flexible, and modernized nuclear deterrent. That means that United States needs to continue with nuclear modernization, reject a no first use (NFU) policy, and examine further nuclear capabilities.