Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Combatant Commands Task Force Meeting Focuses on COCOM Restructuring and Future Challenges

Unified Combatant Commands (UCCs or COCOMS) were created after World War II as a way to organize and streamline United States military engagement around the world. Nine COCOMs exist currently—six based on geographic regions while the remaining three are functionally oriented. After the US Department of Defense discussed the possibility of realigning the current COCOMS, the […]

Workshop on Cybersecurity, Space, and the Future of Deterrence in Northeast Asia

As a result of technological progress, the domains of cyber and space have begun to rise in importance, especially in Northeast Asia where the United States has engaged in extended deterrence since the Cold War with the aim of promoting stability in a strategically complex region.

Briefing on the Potential of New Technologies for Enhanced Deterrence

On January 14, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation jointly held a private roundtable briefing with leaders of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the briefing, the participants discussed the potential of new technologies for enhanced deterrence. The session was moderated by Barry Pavel, Atlantic Council […]

North Korea: Expect the Unexpected

By Robert A. Manning

Where is North Korea headed? When we last heard from the Boy General, Kim Jong-un, he was rationalizing the sudden and brutal execution of Pyongyang’s No.2,  Jang Sang Thaek, followed by threats to “strike mercilessly without notice” in response to anti-Kim protests in Seoul.

Strategy Session with H.E. Ine Eriksen Søreide

On January 8, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record strategy session with H.E. Ine Eriksen Søreide to discuss strategic priorities for Norway in relation to their partnership with the United States and their contributions to NATO. With the coming drawdown of NATO’s ISAF mission in Afghanistan and the US pivot to Asia, NATO must find […]

Still Time to Attack Iran

By Matthew Kroenig

The Illusion of a Comprehensive Nuclear Deal Much has changed in the two years since I wrote “Time to Attack Iran,” but one basic fact hasn’t: diplomacy remains unlikely to neutralize the threat from Iran’s nuclear program. A truly comprehensive diplomatic settlement between Iran and the West is still the best possible outcome, but there […]

US Intelligence Failure is Its Focus, Not Its Leaks

By Josh Kerbel

The US intelligence community largely has failed to adapt to the world’s growing complexity and interconnectedness, writes Josh Kerbel, the chief analytic methodologist at the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The intelligence community must leave behind its habit of analyzing complex issues with a narrow focus and instead ‘think big’, taking greater advantage of open-source, unclassified information and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Strategy Session with Ambassador Kasper Høeg-Jensen

The upcoming year will prove to be pivotal for NATO, as the 2014 Summit to be held September 4-5 in Newport, Wales has the potential to usher in a new chapter in the Alliance and as NATO members draw down from the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Against this backdrop, Ambassador Kasper Høeg-Jensen, director of the […]

Strategy Session with Estonian Minister of Defense Urmas Reinsalu

The Baltic nation of Estonia is not only one of NATO’s most active members, it lives on the often tense front line of the Atlantic alliance’s complex relationship with Russia. Estonia’s key role as a US ally, and its critical place in European security affairs are why the Atlantic Council invited Defense Minister Urmas Reinsalu […]

Technology Policy in an Age of Unknowledge

By Peter Haynes

Technology evolves so quickly that government regulations are outdated from the day they are written. Policymakers should consider the thirty-year-old insights of an obscure British economist for a map to the new approach we need to regulating technologies.

The Future Can’t Wait

The future of global development is dependent on connecting people with diverse expertise and making futures analysis at the policy level implementable on the ground, concluded a panel of experts speaking at the Atlantic Council on December 17 for a public event on “Building the Future of Global Development.” The event also marked the official […]

Beyond the Horizon: Understanding the Future for Better Development Today

By Kathleen Mogelgaard

On December 17, 2013 the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, in partnership with the US Agency for International Development and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will host the launch of the highly anticipated book The Future Can’t Wait (PDF). Read on for an a preview […]