Security & Defense

Forging a New Era in US-South African Relations

By Anthony Carroll

As one of the African continent’s largest and most sophisticated economies, South Africa offers a myriad of opportunities for engagement with the United States on diplomatic, commercial, security, and social fronts. It is a self-sufficient, complex, and dynamic country in a struggling, complex, and dynamic region. Yet, the centrality of South Africa to the United […]

Dialogue Seen as Crucial to Defusing North Korea Nuclear Crisis

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As US President Donald J. Trump grapples with the North Korean nuclear crisis, two former US officials have some words of advice: attempt dialogue before pre-emptive military strikes, and broaden the scope of that discussion to include the security needs of the region, including North Korea’s. Ernest Moniz, who served as energy secretary in Barack […]

Long History and Long Border with Russia Make Finland the Perfect ‘Hybrid’ Hub

By Teri Schultz

The new European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (CoE) in Helsinki is, according to US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, an “institution fit for our times.” With membership from eleven European Union (EU) nations and the United States, the CoE is one of the most tangible examples of the pledge by NATO and […]

NATO Takes Another Square on the Cyber Chessboard

By Kenneth Geers

The most effective solutions to persistent threats from cyberspace will come from international alliances such as the European Union (EU) and NATO, both of which have begun to take steps to bolster members’ resistance to cyberattacks from governments and non-state actors, a complex issue with a long history.  Last week, on November 10, NATO defense […]

NATO Cyber Center: Implementing Recognition of Cyberspace as a Domain of Operations

By Klara Jordan

The decision by NATO ministers to set up a cyber operations center is an important step toward implementing recognition of cyberspace as a domain of operations in which the Alliance must defend itself as effectively as it does in the air, on land, and at sea. The announcement, made in Brussels on November 8, signaled […]

Here’s Why NATO’s Cyber Operations Center is a Big Deal

NATO’s newly announced cyber operations center will allow the Alliance to “respond more effectively” to cyber attacks by integrating cyber measures with conventional military capabilities, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. The Alliance has “always had significant conventional capabilities—land, air, and sea—now cyber can be included,” said Franklin D. Kramer, a distinguished fellow in the […]