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Deterrence in Contemporary U.S.-Russian Relations Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to the Office of the […]

Multilateral Deterrence:  What’s New and Why it Matters Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to the […]

Russian Use of Nuclear Coercion against NATO and Ukraine Dr. Mark B. Schneider Dr. Mark B. Schneider is a Senior Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy. Before his retirement from the Department of Defense Senior Executive Service, Dr. Schneider served as Principal Director for Forces Policy, Principal Director for Strategic Defense, Space and […]

The Value of Nuclear Crisis Simulations Dr. James H. Anderson Dr. James H. Anderson served from 2018 to 2020 as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities and as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.  Introduction Reports over the past year about China’s growing nuclear capabilities, to include the discovery of new […]

Deterring China:  A Victory Denial Strategy Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to the Office of […]

This Special Issue of National Institute’s Information Series commemorates the 39th anniversary of President Reagan’s March 23, 1983 speech introducing the Strategic Defense Initiative.  Below is the speech given by the Rt Hon the Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS to a conference hosted by the National Institute for Public Policy on December 3, 1998.  In […]

Different Countries, Different Methods, Same Goal: Destroy Democracy Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy.  Influence operations enable the Russian Federation to compensate for disadvantages in other areas of state power.[1] New technologies are making them cheaper and more potent, even if their principles haven’t […]

Pitfalls in Deterring a Taiwan Strait Conflict: “Unpreparable War” Sugio Takahashi Sugio Takahashi is Head of the Defense Policy Division of the Policy Studies Department at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies. The views reflected here are his own. Introduction With the end of the Cold War, the fear of all-out nuclear war drastically declined. […]

This Changes Many Things: Post-Truth and National Security Dr. Gary L. Geipel Dr. Gary L. Geipel is a Senior Associate of the National Institute for Public Policy, a professor and coordinator of the doctoral program in Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, and a corporate-communications and external-affairs consultant to industry. Introduction In the […]

An Introduction to the 2020 Report on the Nuclear Employment Strategy of the United States Dr. Robert Soofer Dr. Robert Soofer is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy.  Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy.  He was formerly Special […]

Deterring Eastern Storms Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of […]

Russia and Missile Defense: Toward An Integrated Approach Dr. Peppino DeBiaso Dr. Peppino DeBiaso served as Director of the Office of Missile Defense Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense from 2000-2021. He is currently Adjunct Professor in Missouri State University’s Defense and Strategic Studies Graduate Program in Washington D.C. and a Senior Associate (non-resident) […]

To Deter China, Think Big Steven Metz Steven Metz is Professor of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. This essay is solely the work of the author and does not represent the official position of the U.S. Army or U.S. Army War College. Under the Communist Party, China has always insisted […]

NNSA’s Role in the Biden Nuclear Posture Review John R. Harvey John R. Harvey is former Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs and former Director, Policy Planning Staff of the National Nuclear Security Administration. His comments below were delivered at a webinar sponsored by the Advanced […]

The Taiwan Question:  How to Think About Deterrence Now Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and former Senior Advisor to […]

Taiwan’s Turn – Deterring and Derailing an Existential Threat Heino Klinck Heino Klinck was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, 2019-2021. He is the most senior U.S. Defense Department official to visit Taiwan since 1979. As an Army Foreign Area Officer, he served as a military attaché in China, 2004-2010. Potential conflict […]

Back to the Future: A Misguided Understanding of China’s Nuclear Intent David J. Trachtenberg David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy.  Previously, he served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2017-2019. The discovery of hundreds of new Chinese missile silos that could house multiple warhead intercontinental […]

Cultivating Intellectual Capital – Linking Deterrence Practitioner to Academician Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus and former Department Head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. I […]

The Folly of Limiting U.S. Missile Defenses for Nuclear Arms Control Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy.  He was formerly Special Assistant in the Office of Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy at the Pentagon. Introduction U.S. military leaders have for years called for a greater […]

Missile Defense and the Space Arena Dr. Steven Lambakis Dr. Steven Lambakis is the Director of Space Studies at the National Institute for Public Policy and Editor-in-Chief of Comparative Strategy.  Interest by political and military leaders in the United States in adopting the view that space, like the land, sea, and air, is a warfighting […]

Clarifying the Issue of Nuclear Weapons Release Authority David J. Trachtenberg David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.  In the United States, the president—and only the president—has the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons.  This exclusive authority is […]

Deterrence Implications of the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan David J. Trachtenberg David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.  The author at the Pentagon days after the September 11, 2001 attacks Twenty years ago, I was sitting in my Capitol Hill […]

The NATO Brussels Communiqué and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW): Stability of Custom and Legality of Deterrence Thomas D. Grant Thomas D. Grant is a former Senior Advisor in the Department of State’s Office of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security and a U.S. designee to the Permanent […]

Chinese Realism: Why Were the Liberal Internationalists Wrong on China? Alexander Vaughan Alexander Vaughan is a 2021 graduate of the Missouri State University Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies program.  Introduction During the post-Cold War era, in which the United States of America enjoyed its “unipolar moment,” relations between the United States and the […]

Space as a Warfighting Domain: Reshaping Defense Space Policy Dr. Steven Lambakis Dr. Steven Lambakis is the Director of Space Studies at the National Institute for Public Policy and Editor-in-Chief of Comparative Strategy.  Over the past decade, there has been a shift in opinion in the nation’s governing and defense-planning circles about inter-state relations in […]

Guam: A Critical Line of Defense—Threats and Means to Deter and Defend Dr. James Bosbotinis Dr. James Bosbotinis is an Associate Member of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, King’s College London, and co-founder of Citadel Analytics. Harris S. Fried, Esq. Harris S. Fried, Esq. is an international lawyer and Chairman of Citadel Air […]

Overselling and Underperforming: The Exaggerated History of Arms Control Achievements David J. Trachtenberg David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy.  Previously, he served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2017-2019. Introduction “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different […]

Part Two of an Interview with General Larry D. Welch (USAF, Ret.), former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and former President and currently Senior Fellow of the Institute for Defense Analyses.  In this installment, Gen. Welch discusses some imperatives of the current international strategic environment. This is one of a series of interviews […]

The Strategic Stability Dialogue:  Think Before You Speak Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge […]

This is a quarterly series of reviews focusing on recently published books dealing with topical and noteworthy national security issues. Authors and publishers interested in submitting their books on national security for review may contact the Editor at informationseries@nipp.org. James M. Smith and Paul J. Bolt, eds., China’s Strategic Arsenal: Worldview, Doctrine, and Systems (Washington, […]

The Problem with Sole Purpose and No First Use Michael Rühle[1] Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division.  This is an adapted version of remarks he delivered at a National Institute for Public Policy symposium on June 21, 2021, addressing the implications of a U.S. “No First Use” […]

Out of Sight Should Not Mean Out of Reach:  Deterrence and the Proliferation of Hard and Deeply Buried Targets Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. It has been almost two decades since the U.S. […]

Part One of an Interview with General Larry D. Welch (USAF, Ret.), former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and former President and currently Senior Fellow of the Institute for Defense Analyses.  In this installment, Gen. Welch discusses sustaining an effective nuclear deterrent, emphasizing the importance of confidence in the face of uncertainty. This […]

Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy.  He was formerly Special Assistant in the Office of Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy at the Pentagon. Critics of current U.S. nuclear policy are pressuring the Biden administration to adopt a nuclear “no first use” (NFU) policy, without precedent […]

Conversations on National Security is a series of interviews with key national security experts conducted by David Trachtenberg, Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy. An Interview with The Honorable William Schneider, Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute; former Chairman of the Defense Science Board; former Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science, […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. The West now faces an unprecedented nuclear threat context and deterrence challenge—well beyond what […]

Conversations on National Security is a series of interviews with key national security experts.  This interview was conducted by National Institute Research Scholar Dr. Michaela Dodge. An Interview with Major General Michael J. Lutton, Commander, Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command. Q.  Why is it necessary to modernize the ICBM leg of the […]

Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy.  He was formerly Special Assistant in the Office of Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy at the Pentagon. The Biden administration recently directed the U.S. Departments of Defense and State, among others, to create U.S. policy that will “…reduce the […]

Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. This article is adapted from the Guide to Nuclear Deterrence in the Age of Great-Power Competition (2020), edited by Adam Lowther, and reprinted here with the permission of […]

Conversations on National Security is a series of interviews with key national security experts conducted by David Trachtenberg, Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy. An Interview with The Honorable Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the George W. Bush Administration. Q. The Trump Administration’s 2017 National Security Strategy […]

Hon. David J. Trachtenberg Editor Dr. Michaela Dodge Assistant Editor Amy Joseph Managing Editor This is a quarterly series of reviews focusing on recently published books dealing with topical and noteworthy national security issues. Authors and publishers interested in submitting their books on national security for review may contact the Editor at informationseries@nipp.org. Jacquelyn K. […]

Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. Introduction Ten years ago this year, the Romanian Parliament approved an agreement with the United States on the deployment of a missile defense system to Romania.  The Aegis […]

Bill Edgar Bill Edgar is Director, Industry Solutions at Janes.  His comments expand upon remarks he gave at a National Institute symposium in October 2020 on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on national security. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a serious health issue that has unquestionably affected millions of lives around the […]

Conversations on National Security is a series of interviews with key national security experts conducted by David Trachtenberg, Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy. An Interview with Dr. Richard L. Wagner, former Deputy Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Atomic Energy, and member of […]

Maintaining Taiwan’s Democracy Dr. Kathleen C. Bailey Dr. Kathleen Bailey is a consultant on defense and arms control issues and is currently a Senior Associate at the National Institute for Public Policy.  Formerly she served as Assistant Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau […]

Deterrence and Disarmament: Pulling Back the Curtain Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. Introduction Should the United States seek the maintenance […]

The remarks below were delivered at a symposium on “U.S.-Czech Missile Defense Cooperation: Alliance Politics in Action” hosted by National Institute for Public Policy on January 21, 2021. The symposium focused on lessons learned for alliance defense cooperation as a result of this case study, which is the subject of a recently published book by […]

This is the first of a series of interviews with key national security experts conducted by David Trachtenberg, Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy. An Interview with Dr. Christopher Ford, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation and Special Assistant to the President Q. I’d like to ask you […]

ICBMs and Their Importance for Allied Assurances and Security Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. Since the development of U.S. intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs), every U.S. administration—both Republican and Democratic—has considered them indispensable to […]

Twenty First Century Deterrence—Moving Beyond the Balance of Terror Jennifer Bradley Jennifer Bradley is an analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy currently providing on-site support to the Deterrence and Assurance Planning Support (DAPS) team at United States Strategic Command.  She is also a doctoral student in Missouri State University’s Defense and Strategic Studies […]

Surveying The Literature:  Recent Books on National Security This is a quarterly series of reviews focusing on recently published books dealing with topical and noteworthy national security issues. Authors and publishers interested in submitting their books on national security for review may contact the Editor at informationseries@nipp.org. Thomas F. Lynch III, editor, Strategic Assessment 2020: […]

Arms Control and the New START Treaty Amb. Marshall S. Billingslea Amb. Marshall S. Billingslea is Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control.  These remarks were delivered at a symposium on “Arms Control and the New START Treaty” hosted by National Institute for Public Policy on November 17, 2020.  The views reflected here are his own. […]

Deterrence in Space:  Requirements for Credibility Christopher M. Stone Christopher Stone is Professor of Space Strategy at Missouri State University’s Graduate Department of Defense and Strategic Studies in Washington DC.  He is the former Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy at the Pentagon.  The views reflected here are his […]

Russian-American Relations:  From Trump to Biden Mark N. Katz Mark N. Katz is a Professor of Government and Politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.  He blogs at https://marknkatz.wordpress.com/.  The incoming Biden Administration will inherit the same concerns about Russia that […]

Russian-American Relations:  From Trump to Biden Mark N. Katz Mark N. Katz is a Professor of Government and Politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.  He blogs at https://marknkatz.wordpress.com/.  The incoming Biden Administration will inherit the same concerns about Russia that […]

Winning the Gray Zone: The Importance of Intermediate Force Capabilities in Implementing the National Defense Strategy Colonel Wendell B. Leimbach, USMC and Ms. Susan D. LeVine Col Wendell B. Leimbach, USMC, is the Director of the Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office (JIFCO).  Ms. Susan D. LeVine is the Principal Deputy Director (Policy & Strategy) of […]

This is a quarterly series of reviews focusing on recently published books dealing with topical and noteworthy national security issues. Authors and publishers interested in submitting their books on national security for review may contact the Editor at informationseries@nipp.org.   Mira Rapp-Hooper, Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America’s Alliances (Cambridge, MA: […]

Michael Rühle Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. The views expressed are the author’s own. For decades, ballistic missile defense and its alleged “stabilizing” or “de-stabilizing” effects have been among the most controversial issues in the international security debate.  Like genetically modified food or homeopathic medicine, […]

Missile Defense Reckoning is Coming.  Will the United States Choose to be Vulnerable to All Long-Range Missiles? Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. Introduction The U.S. homeland missile defense system is not designed to […]

David J. Trachtenberg David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy.  Previously, he served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2017-2019.  In a series of excellent analyses in the 1970s, strategist Albert Wohlstetter challenged the conventional wisdom that the United States was the leading cause of an […]

Bryan Smith Bryan Smith is a Senior Fellow at the George Mason University’s National Security Institute. He served in national security senior civil service positions and as a professional staff member of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. The New START Treaty verification regime is far less effective than that agreed to in the original […]

Dr. Gary L. Geipel Dr. Gary L. Geipel is a Senior Associate of the National Institute of Public Policy.  The views expressed are the author’s own. Introduction The current global pandemic of the disease called COVID-19—caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus—will sharpen several challenges to U.S. national security and influence the country’s ability to meet those […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, professor emeritus of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. Introduction For five decades Professor Colin Gray’s scholarly writings contributed tremendously to our understanding […]

This is the first of a new quarterly series of reviews focusing on recently published books dealing with topical and noteworthy national security issues.  Authors and publishers interested in submitting their books on national security for review may contact the Editor at informationseries@nipp.org.   Matthew Kroenig, The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy versus Autocracy […]

Ilan Berman Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Israel on his first foreign visit since the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic. The whirlwind one-day trip served as an opportunity for America’s chief diplomat to interface […]

Douglas J. Feith and Shaul Chorev Douglas J. Feith is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from July 2001 until August 2005. Admiral Chorev, who heads the Research Center for Maritime Strategy at the University of Haifa, served as Deputy Chief of the Israeli Navy and […]

Michael Rühle Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. The views expressed are the author’s own.   Introduction: The Appeal of Deterrence The concept of deterrence is congenial to Western democracies. As Lawrence Freedman put it, deterrence strategies “appeal to governments because they can be presented as […]

Vladimír Černý & Petr Suchý Vladimír Černý works as an assistant professor at the Department of International Relations and European Studies at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic and is also affiliated with the Faculty of Arts of the same university.  Petr Suchý currently serves as a vice-dean for internationalization and […]

Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. Three years ago, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 strengthened U.S. missile defense policy by highlighting the need to counter a growing range […]

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs Rebeccah L. Heinrichs is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute specializing in nuclear deterrence and missile defense. Distrust between the United States and Russia grows and with it a fear of an arms race. As the February 2021 deadline for the expiration of the New START nuclear arms treaty approaches, a growing […]

Michael Rühle Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. The views expressed are the author’s own. Academics often complain about being ignored by decision-makers. Yet people in power are neither uninterested nor uneducated. It’s the academic way of writing and communicating that’s the problem. In the late […]

Hans Rühle Hans Rühle headed the Policy Planning Staff of the German Ministry of Defense from 1982-1988 and is a frequent commentator on German and international security issue. The nuclear deal with Iran was a charade right from the start. In response to the killing of Iranian General Soleimani by a US airstrike, Iran announced […]

Ilan Berman Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. Quite suddenly, the Islamic Republic finds itself facing serious setbacks in the Middle East. After years of strategic gains fueled by the dividends of its 2015 nuclear deal with the West, Iran’s clerical regime has started to weather […]

Douglas J. Feith and Shaul Chorev Douglas J. Feith is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from July 2001 until August 2005. Admiral Chorev, who heads the Research Center for Maritime Strategy at the University of Haifa, served as Deputy Chief of the Israeli Navy and […]

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs Rebeccah L. Heinrichs is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute specializing in nuclear deterrence and missile defense. This week, heads of state are meeting for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit. Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to NATO Headquarters in Brussels for meetings in preparation of that […]

Michael Rühle Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. The views expressed are the author’s own. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 was the greatest challenge for the post-Cold War European security architecture. After two decades of focusing on crisis operations abroad, NATO was forced to […]

Douglas J. Feith and Shaul Chorev Douglas J. Feith is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from July 2001 until August 2005. Admiral Chorev, who heads the Research Center for Maritime Strategy at the University of Haifa, served as Deputy Chief of the Israeli Navy and […]

Curtis McGiffin Curtis McGiffin is the Associate Dean of the School of Strategic Force Studies at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a retired Air Force Colonel. The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) and 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) have fundamentally reset the strategic direction of the United States military. Most notable is the […]

Dr. Michaela Dodge Dr. Michaela Dodge is a Research Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and received her Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2019. Introduction In 2001, the United States announced its decision to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty). Six months later, the treaty-imposed constraints on U.S. ballistic […]

General C. Robert Kehler, USAF (ret.) General C. Robert Kehler is the former Commander, US Strategic Command The United States relies on nuclear weapons to deter adversaries from attacking us and our allies and to assure allies that we will stand by our security commitments to them.  While 21st Century strategic deterrence and assurance strategies […]

Steve Lambakis Steve Lambakis is the Director of Space Studies at the National Institute for Public Policy and the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Comparative Strategy U.S. space systems are the backbone of the U.S. economy and national security.  Chinese counter-space weapon developments promise to make the satellite protection mission ever more challenging.  There are […]

Steve Lambakis Steve Lambakis is the Director of Space Studies at the National Institute for Public Policy and the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Comparative Strategy U.S. space systems are the backbone of the U.S. economy and national security.  Chinese counter-space weapon developments promise to make the satellite protection mission ever more challenging.  There are […]

Dr. Mark Schneider Mark B. Schneider is a senior analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a former senior official in the Defense Department. Introduction — The Chinese Quest for Hegemony The most serious long-term national security threat to the U.S. comes from The People’s Republic of China. Its military forces are being […]

Michael Rühle Michael Rühle is Head, Hybrid Challenges and Energy Security, in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. The views expressed are the authors own. On April 4, 1949, the foreign ministers of the United States, Canada, and ten Western European states met in Washington to sign a novel defense pact. Barely four years after the […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. David McCullough’s biography of America’s second president, John Adams, tells us that public service was […]

Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is an analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a Ph.D. student in Political Science at George Mason University.  Introduction The Long-Range Standoff missile (LRSO) will be a nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) the U.S. Air Force is scheduled to first deploy in the early 2030s. The […]

Dr. Colin S. Gray Colin S. Gray is the European Director and co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus of Strategic Studies, University of Reading. Introduction  I suspect that most Americans do not really understand just how powerful the United States is in the world. With very few exceptions the United […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, head of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. My assigned task here is to discuss challenges ahead in the nuclear environment.  There are, […]

Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is an analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a Ph.D. student in Political Science at George Mason University.  Introduction It is now fashionable among some in the defense community to question the need for the nuclear triad of submarines, bombers, and silo-based missiles. Critics have focused […]

Dr. Mark Schneider Mark B. Schneider is a senior analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a former senior official in the Defense Department.  Introduction The concept of a conventional deterrent appeared in President Vladimir Putin’s December 2014 version of “The Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation.”[1] The document states, “In the context of […]

Dr. Colin S. Gray Colin S. Gray is the European Director and co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus of Strategic Studies, University of Reading Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is an analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a PhD student in Political Science at George Mason […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, the director of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University, and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense.   Introduction: The NPR and U.S. Political Consensus  The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, the director of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. Introduction: On Deterrence  Carl von Clausewitz writes that the nature of war has enduring […]

Dr. Mark Schneider< Mark B. Schneider is a senior analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a former senior official in the Defense Department.  On March 1, 2018, President Putin delivered to the Russian Duma the most rabid speech we have ever heard from him. Putin started by staking a claim to all […]

Hans Rühle Hans Rühle headed the Policy Planning Staff of the German Ministry of Defense from 1982-1988 and is a frequent commentator on German and international security issues. It has become a tradition that every new Administration wants to make its mark on nuclear policy by writing a “Nuclear Posture Review” (NPR). Rarely, however, has […]

Dr. Keith B. Payne Dr. Keith B. Payne is a co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, the director of the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. Introduction: On Deterrence  Carl von Clausewitz writes that the nature of war has enduring […]

Dr. Colin S. Gray Colin S. Gray is the European Director and co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus of Strategic Studies, University of Reading. The Problem The basic requirements for deterrence have been well understood for millennia, and for nuclear deterrence since the mid-1950s at least—well before the missile age […]

Dr. Mark Schneider Mark B. Schneider is a senior analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a former senior official in the Defense Department. In 2014, the Obama administration determined, “…that the Russian Federation was in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise […]

Matthew R. Costlow Matthew R. Costlow is an analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy and a PhD student in Political Science at George Mason University. Moscow, by its own choices, has decided to destroy nearly every basis for good relations with the United States. One area where this erosion of trust is most […]

Steve Lambakis Steve Lambakis is a senior defense analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy.  He is the author of the National Institute’s forthcoming publication, Foreign Space Capabilities: Implications for U.S. National Security. The Trump Administration on June 30, 2017 resurrected the National Space Council, which, in the words of the president “will be […]