Content

Issue Brief

Feb 16, 2021

Russia’s nuclear activity in 2019: Increasing strength and pressure

By Maxim Starchak

Russia's nuclear arsenal is a cornerstone of its political and military influence. 2019 stands out as a year with notable shifts in activity, with key indications that nuclear forces will remain a critical mechanism for Moscow to exert pressure.

Conflict Nuclear Deterrence

Issue Brief

Feb 1, 2021

Pathologies of obfuscation: Nobody understands cyber operations or wargaming

By Nina Kollars and Benjamin Schechter

National security and defense professionals have long utilized wargames to better understand hypothetical conflict scenarios. With conflict in the cyber domain becoming a more prominent piece in wargames in the national security community, this issue brief seeks to identify the common pathologies, or potential pitfalls, of cyber wargaming.

Cybersecurity National Security

Issue Brief

Jan 27, 2021

Biden and Belarus: A strategy for the new administration

By Anders Åslund, Melinda Haring, John E. Herbst, Alexander Vershbow

Joe Biden has an historic opportunity to bring Europe together and reverse the tide of dictatorship by building an international coalition to support democracy in Belarus. This strategy lays out key recommendations for the Biden administration as it prepares its policy toward Belarus.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

Issue Brief

Jan 22, 2021

The United States, Germany, and world order: New priorities for a changing alliance

By Roderick Kefferpütz, Jeremy Stern

Treating each divergence in security policy as an isolated incident may have allowed policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic to ignore the unpleasant fact that the United States and Germany could have increasingly disparate perceptions of threats and strategic cultures.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Jan 19, 2021

How the rest of the world responds to the US-China split

By Hung Tran

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated fragmentation of the postwar world order. Its most poignant manifestation is in an intensifying competition between the United States and China for political and strategic influence. How countries respond to this split, unwelcome by most, depends on whether they see themselves as competitors to China, or as “price takers” in the international economic system.

China Digital Policy

In-Depth Research & Reports

Jan 14, 2021

The hard work ahead in improving US-India agricultural trade

By Mark Linscott and Scott Sindelar

Between the United States and India, challenges on trade, specifically agricultural trade, persist. This analysis concludes that both countries should pursue a multi-pronged approach to expanding bilateral agricultural trade.

India South Asia

Issue Brief

Jan 14, 2021

Rejoining the Iran nuclear deal: Not so easy

By Brian O’Toole

President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2021, facing a litany of daunting foreign policy issues, from another massive cyber hack by Russian intelligence to alienated allies in Europe and beyond to a regime in Pyongyang that continues to proliferate weapons of mass destruction unchecked. But perhaps the stickiest—and most immediate—crisis the Biden administration […]

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

In-Depth Research & Reports

Jan 13, 2021

Relaunching the transatlantic trade agenda: A European perspective

By Emilie Bel

By analyzing the lessons learned from the failure of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations and drawing on interviews with European officials, this paper recommends adopting a step-by-step approach that pays greater attention from the start to the concerns of public opinion—notably, on climate change—the diversity of European sensitivities, and the need to rebuild trust progressively.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Dec 29, 2020

The Future of DHS Project: Key Findings and Recommendations: Congressional Oversight

By Thomas Warrick & Mark J. Massa

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is overseen by more than ninety committees and subcommittees--an oversight burden far greater than any other cabinet department. This issue brief proposes that Congress streamline its oversight of DHS to increase its effectiveness as a department with national security responsibilities.

Defense Policy Infrastructure Protection

Issue Brief

Dec 23, 2020

Countering China’s challenge to the free world: A report for the Free World Commission

By Jeffrey Cimmino, Ash Jain, and Matthew Kroenig

The increasing assertiveness of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses a significant challenge to the interests and values of likeminded allies and partners and a rules-based internationa system.

China Human Rights