Security & Defense

I wrote NATO’s lessons from Afghanistan. Now I wonder: What have we learned?

By John Manza

NATO can't afford to expend precious resources in places that don’t matter to its core interests—lest the Alliance risk losing future conflicts in places that really do.

Putin is running out of excuses as Ukraine expands the war to Crimea

By Peter Dickinson

Russian officials have denied that Ukraine was behind an audacious August 9 attack on an airbase in occupied Crimea but Moscow's excuses are beginning to wear thin as Vladimir Putin's invasion continues to unravel.

Expert on the ground: What the NATO ratification process looks like from Finland

By Rasmus Hindrén

Helsinki is watching closely as political momentum builds for Finland and Sweden's NATO accession, with military preparation already under way.

Flawed Amnesty report risks enabling more Russian war crimes in Ukraine

By Lillian Posner

Amnesty International's recent report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilian lives has sparked a wave of international criticism and is being actively used by the Kremlin to justify Russian bombing of civilian targets.

State of the Order: Assessing July 2022

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