Shaping the post-COVID-19 world together
Tue, Jul 7, 2020
What world post-COVID-19? Three scenarios
This paper is a preliminary look at the geopolitical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and sketches three scenarios for the possible direction of the global system post-COVID-19.
In-Depth Research & Reports by Mathew Burrows, Peter Engelke
Taking stock: Where are geopolitics headed in the COVID-19 era?
Taking stock: Where are geopolitics headed in the COVID-19 era? The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed pressure points in the global order and threatens to unravel the rules-based international system. This paper examines the geopolitical implications of the pandemic by identifying key strategic shocks and tensions exacerbated by the virus. It also identifies uncertainties for the global order and provides policy recommendations for how the United States and its allies should address the pandemic.
A global strategy for shaping the post-COVID-19 world
The COVID-19 pandemic is an acute public health and economic crisis that is further destabilizing an already weakened rules-based international system. With cooperation, determination, and resolve, however, the United States and its allies can recover from the crisis and revitalize an adapted rules-based system to bring about decades of future freedom, peace, and prosperity.
Featured commentary and analysis
What World Post-COVID-19
This paper is a preliminary look at the geopolitical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and sketches three scenarios for the possible direction of the global system post-COVID-19.
Defense, survival, and fiction: Implications of COVID-19
Max Brooks joins the Scowcroft Center for a virtual ‘fireside chat’ on the lessons of fiction for disaster preparedness, pandemic prevention, and national defense in the era of COVID-19.
China’s COVID-19 statistics resemble horrific past
The curious spikes in confirmed cases in China following changes in leadership or policy events evokes the terrible statistical manipulation and suffering of the Great Leap Forward.


The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.
Content
Wed, Dec 2, 2020
America’s fleeting second-mover advantage is here
Though Chinese initiative has upset the status quo, their first move clarifies their vulnerabilities and exposes potential effective counterweights. By acting promptly to exploit these opportunities, the United States can take the second-mover advantage.
New Atlanticist by Matthew R. Crouch
Tue, Nov 24, 2020
Six former and acting secretaries of Homeland Security sign open letter on consolidating Congressional oversight of DHS
On November 4, six former and acting secretaries of Homeland Security signed an open letter to Congressional leadership calling for action to consolidate and strengthen oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prior to the convening of the 117th Congress.
Future of DHS by Atlantic Council
Wed, Nov 18, 2020
Ashford quoted in the New York Times: 9 ways Biden could change America in January
Emma Ashford’s commentary on potential action of Biden’s foreign policy is quoted in the New York Times. More about our expert
In the News by Atlantic Council
Tue, Nov 17, 2020
Ashford quoted in Vox: The 3 elements of Trump’s foreign policy Biden should keep
Emma Ashford was quoted in Vox regarding the importance of President-elect Joe Biden questioning foreign policy shibboleths. More about our expert
In the News by Atlantic Council
Mon, Nov 9, 2020
Biden will think globally to solve domestic issues. The post-COVID world will demand it.
The president-elect’s commitment to looking for global solutions to common issues is all the more important as the United States faces a changed and more difficult global landscape.
New Atlanticist by Erica Borghard
Thu, Oct 29, 2020
Five big questions as America votes: China
As China adopts a more assertive diplomatic, economic, and military footing in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the United States has been accelerating efforts to coordinate a global response to China’s rise.
Elections 2020 by Asia Security Initiative
Sat, Oct 24, 2020
Warrick quoted on election security in AP
Thomas Warrick, the former deputy assistant secretary of homeland security for counterterrorism policy and and nonresident senior fellow with Forward Defense, was quoted in an AP article on risks to election security and the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA) within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in countering those threats.
In the News by Atlantic Council
Tue, Oct 20, 2020
Warrick and Future of DHS Report quoted in Washington Post on DHS pandemic response
On October 20, Forward Defense’s Future of DHS report and Non-Resident Senior Fellow Tom Warrick were quoted in a Washington Post article on the absence of DHS in the coronavirus response. The article includes findings from the report, including the economic and health costs of the US response.
In the News by Atlantic Council
Fri, Oct 9, 2020
Future of DHS Project identifies new threats to the homeland
On Wednesday, September 9, the Scowcroft Center’s Forward Defense practice launched the Future of DHS Project Final Report, building on its Key Findings and Recommendations released in August. Following the report release, Forward Defense hosted three panels of distinguished speakers to discuss the future of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a changing threat landscape.
Event Recap by Julia Siegel
Fri, Oct 9, 2020
Effective resilience and national strategy: Lessons from the pandemic and requirements for key critical infrastructures
A US national strategy for "effective resilience," the capacity to prepare for and withstand shocks of the magnitude of a major pandemic or equivalent such as a major cyberattack with any resulting disruption significantly less than that caused by COVID-19.
Report by Franklin D. Kramer