De-Risking, The Lobito Corridor, and the United States’ Approach to African Development
Image Source: Bloomberg YouTube Video Catalyzed by geopolitical competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is approaching issues like the production and use of potentially strategic technologies as key national security issues. This recalibration, known as “de-risking,” has highlighted the vital concern of supply chain…
Burnt Out: Rethinking U.S. Wildfire Fighting Strategy
Image Source: U.S. Fire Administration Wildfire in the United States is reaching a crisis point. As global climate change continues, every fire season is becoming longer and drier. However, despite the growing risk, the United States still relies on old methods of firefighting and inefficient organizations to coordinate responses. To prepare for a fire-filled future,…
Russian Propaganda: Adapting to Russian Channels’ Ban in Lithuania
Image Source: Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats The use of information as a tool to influence foreign audiences is a tale as old as time. The creation and spread of technology may have amplified the process, but the purpose of disseminating information remains the same – shape public opinion, sow discord, undermine trust, and…
The Strategic Rationale for Brazil’s Nuclear Submarine Does Not Hold Water
Image Source: Reuters As the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States continues to make headlines with its nuclear-powered submarines, another non-nuclear weapon state’s pursuit of the same capability went unnoticed. On October 4th, the Brazilian state-owned defense company Itaguaí Construções Navais and the Brazilian Navy cut the first steel…
Precision-Guided Podcast – Book Talk: “Next War” with Colonel (ret.) John Antal
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts It is evident that the nature of warfare has evolved, as demonstrated by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel. Exponential technological acceleration is driving much of this change: multi-domain sensors are making the battlespace transparent, long-range precision munitions can accurately hit any observed target, and autonomous weapons…
Not Made in China: Multilateral Alternatives to the Belt and Road Initiative
Image Source: India Today Preparing for the September 2023 G20 summit in Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi staked his leadership reputation on a successful event, marketing his government as a ‘Voice of the Global South’ and gaining the African Union’s inclusion into the conference. Despite the notable lack of Chinese and Russian heads of…
A Possible Vanguard for Security Cooperation? The Crisis in Cabo Delgado and the Potential for Positive Engagement with the African Continent
Image Source: International Policy Digest Among the multiplicity of security crises that beset the African continent, the rising jihadist insurgency in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado often escapes the global spotlight. However, it stands as a solemn vigil of the complex security dilemmas confronting numerous African nations. This overlooked conflict, rooted in a confluence of historical…
The Burden Women Bear: Israel-Hamas War Sheds Light on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Experienced by Israeli & Palestinian Women
Image Source: Flash90 The war outbreak between Israel and Hamas introduces a grim development in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The October 7th attack heightened existing tensions and brought pertinent conversations to the forefront – namely, the disproportionate impact security crises have on women. As of 2022, over 600 million women and girls reside in conflict…
Israel vs. Hamas: What Should Be the United States’ Role?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hugs President Biden in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, October 18. Image Source: Axios The Israel-Hamas war has dominated headlines and captured the attention of audiences around the world. Since Hamas launched its unwarranted and unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on October 7, the ensuing fighting has claimed thousands of lives…
Precision-Guided Podcast: Rethinking National Security: The Hunter/Gatherer Theory
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts In a world increasingly polarized and facing complex challenges like climate change, distrust in institutions, and great power competition, it is vital to move beyond apathy and fear and rethink how we approach security. Kellsie Herrmann (SSP’ 24) hosts Professor Gina Bennett, a renowned former member of the…
A Network of Possibilities: How the Haqqani Network Changed the Face of Global Terrorism Forever
A Taliban fighter holds a poster of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network. Image Source: The National, US. There is little contention over the fact that Al-Qaeda’s attack on U.S. soil in September 2001 tops the list of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history. However, despite the group’s deadly reputation that spurred decades…
Thinking Like a General: Wargaming with Sebastian Bae
Image Source: AI-generated image On September 30, 2023, Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program (SSP) held a skills-based professional workshop on wargaming led by adjunct professor Sebastian Bae. A game designer on the Gaming and Integration Team at the Center for Naval Analyses, Professor Bae led a workshop to introduce students to the foundational principles of…
Mad Max: Climate Change, the Panama Canal, and U.S. National Security
Image Source: Shutterstock Rodolfo Sabonge served for 27 years as the Vice President for Planning and Development at the Panama Canal Authority. During the keynote remarks for the annual Climate Mobility Summit in September 2022, Mr. Sabonge briefly discussed the scenario design work he and his team undertook in the mid-1990s. Each scenario demonstrated the…
Guest Column: The Future of Palestine Project
Image Source: PRESSCOV By David L. Phillips, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program specializing in conflict resolution. He served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs during the Iraq War. International partners of the Palestinian people must start working now to envision a stable,…
Geopolitics in the Babyhouse: How the Kremlin uses Adopted Orphans to advance its Foreign Policy Agendas
Image Source: RFE/RL “I didn’t want to go, but no one asked me,” remarked a Ukrainian orphan deported to Russia after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These tragic words represent thousands of Ukrainian children severed from their homeland. In 2022, Russian government forces began deporting more Ukrainian orphans to Russia and expedited the process for…
Mobilized, Forgotten, Ignored: Russia’s Control Mechanisms of its Minority Populations Amid the Russo-Ukrainian War
A still image from an April 2023 Russian military ad portrays Russian soldiers with the words translating to, “You are a man. Be him.” Image Source: Russian Ministry of Defense. Listen to the full article and get additional insights from the author: The recruitment ad for the Russian military, released in the spring of 2023,…
The United States’ Semiconductor Export Controls at One Year: Is the PRC Racing Forward?
Image Generated Using DALL-E 3 On October 7, 2022, the United States Department of Commerce announced a series of export controls that signaled a marked shift in U.S. policy and a new era of global technology competition. These restrictions aim to curb two crucial exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The first target…
Precision-Guided Podcast: Going Green or Red? The West’s Reliance on Chinese Renewable Energy
Apple Podcast | Sportify | Google Podcast The global effort to “go green” is creating dependency on Chinese renewable energy due to its market dominance. While transitioning to environmentally friendly energy alternatives is crucial, should the West pursue renewable energy even if it means increasing dependency on China? Can the West protect the environment and…
Precision-Guided Podcast: A New Era For Nuclear Deterrence in Northeast Asia with Dr. Keir Lieber
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts The DPRK’s nuclear missile program is growing every day. The DPRK has recently conducted a number of missile tests to the alarm of the ROK and Japan. Does the growing threat of the DPRK’s missile program destabilize the security balance in Northeast Asia? Does the PRC’s nuclear program…
Precision-Guided Podcast: Connecting Climate, Energy, and Security with Kate Gordon
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts The destabilizing effects of global climate change represent key security challenges for the United States. These challenges manifest at both the strategic level, in how climate impacts global trends like instability and mass migration, and at the tactical level, in how climate can threaten critical national security infrastructure…
GSSR Volume 11, Issue 1 Available for Download
Volume 11, Issue 1 of The Georgetown Security Studies Review is now available. View and download the issue here. Georgetown Security Studies Review Volume 11 Issue 1 If you are interested in publishing with the GSSR in future editions or on our online forum, please view our “Contribute” page or contact the Editor-in-Chief at gssr@georgetown.edu. Uncollated individual…
Book Review | Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in an Age of Endless, Invisible War by Phil Klay
This Book Review was submitted as a guest post by Patrick Jourdan, a student in the Security Studies Program (SSP). In the Summer of 2021, America watched the evacuation of Afghanistan. Terrifying images of Hamid Karzai International Airport filled our screens almost every day. Marines and Paratroopers deployed to the most chaotic of situations, holding…
Ending Gender-based Violence Requires Comprehensive Engagement — A Reminder to men: Finish what you Started
Image Source: Women for Women In principle, the civil war in South Sudan ended after a peace agreement was signed in 2018. In principle, South Sudan’s constitution ensures a 35 percent representation quota for women in government. Again, in principle, initiatives, training, and bills such as the Gender-Based Violence Bill and the Women’s Empowerment Bill…
Precision-Guided Podcast: Bringing National Security Insight into the Private Sector with Mark Freedman
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts There have never been as many security issues facing American business as there are today. Threats from international insecurity, great power competition, and new tools like cyber and AI that allow malign actors to destabilize from a distance face nations and companies alike. This trend is especially concerning…
ARROS: A Universal Framework for Scrutinizing Policy Pros and Cons
Image Generated Using MidJourney AI Policymakers and researchers frequently grapple with complex questions of the form “will taking X action produce Q effect—and how good/bad is Q?” For example, lobbyists or researchers may claim that semiconductor export controls will accelerate China’s indigenization of semiconductor manufacturing, accepting Finland into NATO will increase the likelihood of nuclear…
The Need for Private Investment to Tackle Climate Change in Africa
Image Source: Focal Foto The evidence is clear: within ten years the world is likely to surpass the 1.5°C global warming threshold. Surpassing this threshold will significantly endanger natural systems and will be accompanied by major climate catastrophes. Even if the threshold is avoided, climate change will have a significant – although highly disproportionate –…
China’s Monopoly over Critical Minerals
Image Source: BBC As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken to investing in critical mineral mines globally. One of these investment hotspots is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2020, the DRC was the world’s largest cobalt miner, producing 41 of all cobalt resources. Although not…
Dr. Policymaker or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Question “Market Irrationality”
Image Created by MidJourney AI The passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and economic competition between the United States and China over strategic technologies have reinvigorated the exploration of “industrial policy” as a means to bolster national security. With such attention comes an onslaught of ideological rhetoric, references to the “valley of death”, and…
To Centralize or Not to Centralize? For Defense Budgeting, that is the (Unwritten) Question
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons On March 9, 2023, the Biden administration submitted its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 defense budget request to Congress, totaling $842 billion. This budget represents a $26 billion increase over the FY 2023 budget and largely centers on deterrence and warfighting vis-à-vis China in the Indo-Pacific region. Despite widespread agreement on the…
Zambia: A Beacon of Democracy in Africa
Image Source: Salim Dawood/AFP/ via Getty Images, on PBS. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. President Joe Biden convened the second Summit for Democracy last month. This time, the U.S. government co-hosted the virtual event with regional partners, including the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia. The…
Raids, Rockets, and Riots: The Accelerating Cycle of Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Image Source: BBC On April 5, violence broke out between local Israeli police and Palestinians at al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City of East Jerusalem, resulting in at least 12 Palestinians injured and at least 400 arrested. Every year tensions between Palestinians and Israeli citizens as well as Israeli security forces flare up during the…
Climate Change and Boots on the Ground: A New Frontier for Humanitarian Intervention?
Image source: Department of Defense. U.S. Marines and Nepalese soldiers unload tarps off of a UH-1Y Venom helicopter at Orang, Nepal, during Operation Sahayogi Haat, May 2015. Climate change is now at the forefront of the Pentagon’s priorities. So far, the U.S. military’s mission on climate change mitigation has focused on cleaning up and developing…
PeaceBot: ChatGPT’s Role in Conflict Prevention & Resolution
Image Source: University of Pennsylvania Our ways of waging war have evolved; it is time our ways of waging peace do as well. It’s been over a year since Russia started its war against Ukraine, and it’s not likely to end anytime soon. Despite the odds, Ukraine has managed to hold its ground, thanks in…
The United States Rights a Wrong with Critical Minerals Agreements
Image Source: California Chamber of Commerce The Biden administration’s 2022 National Security Strategy (NSS) says China is “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge” and “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” Two key parts of the U.S. strategy towards…
Can Office Work Destroy the Taliban?
Image Source: World Press Photo In August 2021, the United States and its allies evacuated Kabul after twenty years of what the Department of Defense (DoD) described as waging “a necessary war of self-defense” following the September 11 attacks. In the words of former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in 2002, the United…
GSSR Interview: Under Secretary of the Army Hon. Gabe Camarillo
Image Source: U.S. Army Official Photo The Georgetown Security Studies Review recently had the privilege of conducting an interview with Hon. Gabe Camarillo, the under secretary of the Army. The broad topics covered reflect the most pressing issues facing the U.S. Army, as well as the under secretary’s recent trip to Eastern Europe. In light…
T-minus 6 Seconds: Starship (and Humanity’s) Next Major Step Into Space
Image Source: Screenshot from SpaceX livefeed of April 20 Starship Launch NASA liked to brag when its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launched last fall that its 8.8 million pounds of thrust made it the most powerful rocket to ever take off. That record was broken on April 20 when at T-minus six seconds SpaceX’s…
China, Too, Is Gearing Up for Tech Competition
Xi Jinping takes his oath of office to begin his third term as president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Source: Reuters It is no secret that the United States views the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a near-peer competitor. As the Biden administration describes, China has both the intent and the capability…
Security at the Expense of Human Rights: The Case of El Salvador’s “Megacárcel”
Image Source: CNN At the end of February, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced the transfer of the first 2,000 prisoners to the “biggest prison in the Americas,” the “Terrorism Containment Center” (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo – CECOT). The opening of this “megacárcel” (mega prison) is just one of the measures Bukele has undertaken under…
Analyzing the Entrenchment of Beijing’s Digital Influence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Image Source: Middle East Eye The last several years have seen a steep accumulation of linkages between China and the Arab Gulf monarchies. As China’s energy demands have exploded and oil demand from the West has fallen, the oil-exporting Gulf countries have turned eastwards. China is now Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner and Riyadh has…
Globalized Crises: The War in Ukraine and COVID-19’s Impact on Al-Shabaab Recruitment
Mogadishu, Somalia. Image Source: Reuters via The Guardian East Africa is a terrorist hotbed—surpassing the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa for the most terrorist deaths in 2022. Sixty percent of the global terrorist attacks in this region occur because of the many Salafi-Jihadist terrorist groups. Al-Shabaab, the second deadliest group of 2022, operates…
NATO Needs a Unified Arctic Command
The security landscape of the Arctic is changing. After almost three decades as an afterthought in the eyes of U.S. policymakers, Arctic security is finally catching the attention of American leadership. Rapid climate change and increased military and non-military interest in the region, even from non-Arctic nations, calls for increased coordination between the United States…
Why Russia’s Hypersonics Matter
Image Source: Defense News On Thursday, March 9, Russian MiG-31 fighters employed 6 hypersonic Kh47M2 “Kinzhal” missiles in strikes on population centers and infrastructure across Ukraine. This brought the total instances of hypersonic missile use in Ukraine to five (3/19-20/2022; 8/7/2022; 9/14/2022). The March 9 attack represented the highest-volume use of Kinzhals so far, with…
Data’s Wild West: How Unregulated Access and Advanced Processing Threaten Personal Privacy
Image Source: Anura The 7-day journey of the Chinese spy balloon from Alaska to South Carolina captivated the attention of millions of Americans. While the mission and payload of the airship remain unclear, the low-tech platform likely provided two key advantages over existing satellite capabilities: proximity to targets and persistence for surveillance collection. The public…
Icarus in the Kremlin: The Fading Political Power of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group
Yevgeny Prigozhin posing with Wagner fighters in a salt mine in Soledar, Ukraine in January 2023. Image Source: Kyiv Independent A group of Wagner fighters huddled around their patron, bundled in combat fatigues and balaclavas amidst a backdrop of chalk-colored rock. Russian state media reposted the image with glee, accompanied by an audio message from…
The Dragon, the Elephant, and the Jaguar Both Wanted to Tame
Image Source: Vivekanandia International Foundation. Image modified by the author. Guyana is a kaleidoscope of unresolved mysteries in a continent it barely resembles. The country lies geographically in South America. However, no one with a good knowledge of the region would ascribe it to Latin America. Guyanese speak English as lingua franca, yet they are…
Funding Tomorrow’s Terrorists and Criminals: Cryptocurrency’s Impact on the World Stage
Image Source: SecurityIntelligence In January 2009, Bitcoin became the first cryptocurrency available for public purchase. However, it wasn’t until two years later that the cryptocurrency saw its first real spike in popularity when the value reached (and passed) $1. Since the introduction of Bitcoin, over 21,000 different cryptocurrencies have popped up in the market, and…
Venezuela Sanctions: The U.S. Needs to Change its Goals
Photo credit: FreightWaves Between 2017 and 2019, former U.S. President Donald Trump instituted comprehensive economic sanctions against the Nicolás Maduro-led Venezuelan government, cutting off access to the U.S. financial system and freezing government assets, among others. The Trump administration also sanctioned state-owned oil gas company PDVSA, state-owned gold mining company, Minerven, and the Central Bank…
Blame Governments, Not the Environment: How Political Failures Worsen the Effects of Climate Change in West Africa
With seven coups since 2020, West Africa is drawing global attention as a hotspot for conflict and a critical locus of discourse on climate security. Rising temperatures and scarce rainfall have amplified the dangerous effects of weak governance, ethnic rivalries, lack of economic opportunities, and violent extremism in the region. Government policy failures in the…
Will the EU Show Resolve or Indecision?
Source: Andrezj Rostek/Shutterstock.com The coming year will be critical for Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression. The Ukrainian people have undoubtedly shown their resilience and fortitude to fight for their sovereignty against Russian hostility. The question remains whether their fellow Europeans will continue to support them in this fight. So far, the U.K. has…
From ChatGPT to Chat CCP: The Future of Generative AI Models in China
Only three months into its release, ChatGPT has already created a frenzy among people around the world. Source: Reuters Chinese regulators recently warned tech companies not to release ChatGPT-like products, for fear that chatbots would spread “disinformation” by the U.S. government. With all the hype surrounding OpenAI’s natural language model setting off an “AI Arms…
The Case for a Nuclear South Korea
President Yoon Suk Yeol pays respect to the late president Park Chung-hee, who attempted to build a nuclear weapon during the 1970s but was thwarted by American intervention. Office of the President of the Republic of Korea For the first time, a South Korean president officially mentioned the possibility of his country going nuclear. Although…
What are we doing in Ukraine?
Unrestrained and uncoordinated Western support would go against American and European national interests, undermining Europe’s defense capabilities and escalating the risk of nuclear confrontation with Russia. On Wednesday, 25th of January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz ended weeks of frustration amongst Western states by announcing Germany’s intent to provide Ukraine with an undisclosed number of Leopard…
How Will Automation Change Ground Warfare?
Image Source: Defense News // via Textron Logistics pose the most significant challenge to any military operation. It seems like a simple concept until you factor in the enemy, personnel constraints, maintenance issues, and the operational plan. Fortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) can help solve some of our ground transportation problems. So, where does vehicle automation…
America’s Fading Sense of Reality
Russia has inherited a perception of truth that is malleable and changeable over time, one that can be adapted to current needs. Under the Putin regime, the conspiratorial worldview of ‘Russia perpetually under threat by the West’ has been revived on a broad scale, and it is slowly impacting Americans’ perception of truth and reality.…
Reparations and Realpolitik: Lessons from Italy and Libya
Image Source: Eurosport The renewed interest in the consequences of colonialism worldwide sees former European colonial powers face increasing calls to pay reparations to the territories and people they once exploited and governed. This mounting pressure has also sparked a lively debate over what reparations should be and how European countries can deliver them. However,…
On Russian Disinformation: The Answers Are Already in Front of Us
The United States has an information crisis on its hands When the Muller Report was released, America did not breathe a sigh of relief. It gasped for more air. Special Counsel Robert Muller did not find that members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government when it interfered in the 2016 election, though…
GSSR Volume 10, Issue 2 Available for Download
Volume 10, Issue 2 of The Georgetown Security Studies Review is now available. View and download the issue here. Georgetown Security Studies Review Volume 10 Issue 2 If you are interested in publishing with the GSSR in future editions or on our online forum, please view our “Contribute” page or contact the Editor-in-Chief at gssr@georgetown.edu. Uncollated individual…
Feeding the Hungry with Feminist Theory
Image Source: Food Navigator (Getty Images) Food security, when every person has access to enough food to meet their dietary needs for a healthy lifestyle, is more important now than ever before. It’s estimated that roughly 345 million people worldwide are struggling with food security. Effects of climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the…
The Geopolitics of Nuclear Fusion
Image Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory / Flickr On December 5th, a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved ignition, creating a nuclear reaction which generates more energy than it consumes. The breakthrough was announced by the Biden administration on December 13th, once again sparking conversation surrounding nuclear fusion and its…
The Future of The Indo-Pacific Through the Lens of Demographics
Image Source: NPR The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s ballistic missile launch on November 19 was not a typical launch test. What surprised the world that day was not its latest destructive missile that could reach the continental United States, but the first public appearance of Kim Jong-un’s little-known daughter. The young girl with…
The Office of Strategic Capital and the DoD Acquisition System Should Embrace the Principles of ‘Lean Startup’ to Maintain the US Military’s Technological Edge
Image source: B-21 Raider, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs On December 1, 2022, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin published a memo establishing the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), meant to provide necessary capital to help aspiring defense companies bridge the so called “valley of death,” the significant time gap between the development…
All Eyes on Qatar: The Ethical Dilemma of Holding International Events in Countries with Poor Human Rights Records
A protester invaded the pitch during the Portugal-Uruguay game, carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a shirt that had two messages; “Save Ukraine” and “Respect for Iranian Women. Image Source: The Herald Sun Two weeks ago, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicked off — a decision that has drawn immense criticism since the Middle…
PRC’s Renewed Soft Power Strategy and U.S. Global Health Security Efforts in Latin America
Image Source: Observer Research Foundation, Diplomacy Gone Amiss. When Joseph Nye coined the term “soft power” in 1990, he could not have known how strongly the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would buy into the concept; China’s leader Hu Jintao declared in 2007 that the PRC needed to invest more into soft power. Since that…
The Return of Great-Power Hubris
Image Source: Ukrainian Government Over the course of twenty years, three lead actors, and two reboots, one thing has remained consistent for the immensely popular Spider-Man film franchise: the iconic maxim that, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Both for the titular hero and his real-world audience, this quote is a sage testament to the…
No, Taiwan’s “Blue Wave” Is Not an Endorsement of Reunification
Image Source: CNBC The Kuomintang (KMT) party had much to celebrate on November 26. Not only did its candidates win 13 of the 21 cities and counties in Taiwan’s 2022 midterm elections, but the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) captured only five seats, the fewest since its founding in 1986. President Tsai Ing-wen, who has achieved…
Balancing Peace and Justice in the Colombian “Total Peace”
Image Source: Caracol Radio A Note from the Editor: This article was finalized earlier this month, before talks with the ELN began. As these conversations continue and information is released, there may be some changes relative to what is written below. Only six years after the historic peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of…
The Empress of ISIS
Image Source: The New York Post Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are all prominent international terrorists who have plotted and executed attacks against the United States. While each espoused slightly different ideologies, they all had one common goal, and all eventually met their day of reckoning. These four…
Complexity Demands Adaptation: Two Proposals for Facilitating Better Debate in International Relations and Conflict Research
Introduction Why do democratic states rarely fight one another? Does the use of mechanization/armor generally make counterinsurgents less effective? When (if ever) does the threat of Western sanctions deter foreign aggression? Will economic decoupling with China significantly increase the likelihood of great power war? Many natural and applied scientists can rely on rigorous empirical methods…
Merci Beaucoup: How Terrorist Organizations Will Benefit from the Recent Military Coup in Burkina Faso
Image Source: Institute for Security Studies The recent military coup in Burkina Faso indicates a deepening governance and security crisis in the Sahel that threatens to impede regional and international counterterrorism efforts and destabilize an ever-widening geographic area as jihadists exploit instability to expand their spheres of influence. The insecurity and violence associated with Salafi-jihadi…
Economic Crisis Threatens European Union Solidarity
Photo credit: European Parliament Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 galvanized Europe, creating solidarity at a time when many questioned the strength of the European Union (EU). However, eight months since the invasion, cracks are starting to show. Consumers are feeling the pain of record-high levels of inflation that shows no signs of…
Managing Crises in the Information Age: Escalation Dynamics in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Image: Herman Kahn (1922-1983) Over the course of the now eight-month war in Ukraine, Russia has made vague and indirect threats of nuclear escalation. Those threats become more frequent and overt as Ukrainian counteroffensives gain momentum and the Russian military cedes territory. As President Biden stated on October 11, 2022 in response to some of…
Expert Panel Report: Taiwan and the Future of U.S. Defense Strategy in Asia
Image Source: The Hill On Friday, October 28th, the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues and The Walsh School of Foreign Service’s Asian Studies Program jointly hosted a panel entitled “Taiwan and the Future of U.S. Defense Strategy in Asia.” The event featured Georgetown Professor Caitlin Talmadge,who recently wrote an article with Brendan Rittenhouse…
The U.S. Approach to African Food Security Needs a New Look
Image Source: US State Department Food insecurity in Africa – and around the globe – has long been recognized as a key, upstream contributor to manifold crises: from political instability, to unrest, to violent extremism, to mass migration. The relationship is also cyclical; war and political instability tend to worsen food insecurity. When it comes…
The Road to Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Re-examining Russia’s Theory of Victory and Prospects for Deterrence
Photo credit: Scientific American Just as many dismissed the possibility of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, academics continue to assert a low probability that Russia will employ nuclear weapons in Ukraine. To be sure, there are many disincentives: the risk of escalation with the US and NATO; the likelihood of being isolated from…
What Russia’s Weaponization of Hunger Can Tell Us About the Power of Shame
The Black Sea Grain Initiative is a UN-brokered agreement between Russia and Ukraine signed in July 2022 (Public Domain Pictures). The global humanitarian community had whiplash last week. This stems from Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement facilitating the exportation of wheat from the region, and then promptly re-entered…
Why We Should Pay More Attention to LGBTQ+ Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa
Image Source: Emily Leshner, AP // on NBC News Security interests in Africa also exist outside of the strategic competition paradigm. Policymakers should be more involved in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the promotion of minority rights and democratic processes should be our primary motivation, not strategic competition. In the past two years concerns about “democratic backsliding”…
Maritime piracy is on the decline… Can it stay that way?
Photo Credit: Dryad Global: Maritime Security and Risk Intelligence; London, England. Published in The Guardian. While many associate modern day maritime piracy with the Academy Award nominated film Captain Phillips, this transnational threat is a persistent reality for many ships across the globe. There are typically two overarching goals of maritime piracy: robbery to then…
Combating the Gray Zone: Enhancing America’s Arctic Force Posture
Image Source: The Army Times After almost a decade, the White House has released an updated 2022 version of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The document establishes four pillars for advancing America’s interests: security, climate change and environmental protection, sustainable economic development, and international cooperation and governance. Though the strategy focuses on transnational…
Colombia’s New President Is Right: The U.S. Can End The War On Drugs By Changing The Focus Of Its Counternarcotics Strategy
Image Source: CNN This article is a guest submission from Ivan Thirion Romo. Recently, Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Gustavo Petro delivered a powerful speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in which he criticized the dysfunctional policies of the United States’ “War on Drugs.” Petro criticized the U.S. counternarcotics strategy that has primarily focused…
Anti-Asian Racism: A Hurdle for American Tech Innovation
Image Source: The Miami Foundation Left ignored, anti-Asian racism in the U.S. may dampen new talents’ enthusiasm to immigrate, hurting American strength in technological innovation. According to numbers reported by top-tier universities, more than 1,400 US-trained Chinese scientists and engineers abandoned their tenured positions, turning to China or elsewhere in 2021, up by 22% from…
Space Force & The Limits of “Semper Supra”
Source: Image Designed by Aidan Poling (author) using Stable Diffusion AI On September 20, 2022, the United States Space Force released its fight song “SemperSupra” (Always Above). It flopped. The song was widely mocked across social media and late-night television. Much of the criticism understandably focused on the melody and lyrics. However, these critiques miss…
Is Europe Ready for the Next Wave of Climate Migration?
Image Source: United Nations While the war in Ukraine rightfully has the attention of Europe’s policymakers right now, there is a brewing crisis to the south that warrants preparation. The Lake Chad Basin (LCB) area’s climate change is increasingly connected to regional migration. Already, LCB countries are experiencing rapid population growth which is straining resources…
Diminishing Returns: Russia’s Waning Sphere of Influence Amid the Russo-Ukrainian War
Image Source: Russian Ministry of Defense On the evening of September 12, 2022, artillery barrages rang out across the sky. Gunfire and mortar shells pounded small towns while Bayraktar TB2 drones whirred overhead. One could be forgiven for thinking that these events were taken from the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv, launched days earlier, but it…
War in Ukraine Leaves U.S. Scrambling to Replenish Arsenal, and European Allies May Offer No Solution
Image Source: The Military Times Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the United States and its NATO allies have stepped up to provide military support to bolster Ukraine’s arsenal in its fights to repel Russian advances. However, the Allies are unevenly sharing the burden of supporting the Ukrainian defense, with the U.S.…
A Lie will Travel Faster: Election Disinformation and the Threat to Democracies
Photo Credit: WBUR Former U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull once stated that “[A] lie will gallop halfway round the world before the truth has time to pull its breeches on.” In many ways, his statement rings even more true today. Lies spread even faster with the availability of the internet. Not only do they…
The Problem with America’s Africa Strategy: What is Wrong and How to Fix It
Image Source: BBC It’s been two months since the Biden administration unveiled its “Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa” and two months remain until the administration hosts the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. It is, thus, an opportune time to review America’s Africa strategy and make revisions if needed. The strategy outlines four key objectives aligned with…
Health on the (Red) Line: Refocusing on Malaria in the Discourse of Climate Change
(Image source: Gerald Yuvallos – flickr/Yuvallos/2005) Malaria: The Silent Killer The second most deadly animal in the world is the human; the first is the mosquito. Different species of mosquitoes transmit parasitic infections, such as Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria. The Anopheles mosquito carries malaria and in the 20th and…
Reversing strategic neglect: The US-Pacific Islands Country Summit
Photo credit: US State Department On September 28-29, the United States hosted the historic US-Pacific Islands Country Summit in Washington, DC. The event marked the first summit between the U.S. and the Pacific Islands and was the first time in forty years that the U.S. President met with a congregation of leaders from the Pacific.…
Advancing a Feminist Approach to National Security
Image source: United States Institute of Peace Over the first two years of the Biden administration, multiple geopolitical flashpoints—including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the protests of “Russian mothers” against the invasion of Ukraine, and the recent women-led demonstrations in Iran—have continued to reinforce the agency of women as a catalyst for geopolitical change. However,…
China’s Dismissal of #MeToo as a Tool of Western Influence Harms Women
Image source: Weibo via ABC News Australia The #MeToo movement empowered women all across the globe to speak out against sexual harassment, including in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Yet progress in China has stifled, as social media censorship reframed the public conversation online and those in power wielded their influence to penalize victims…
The Use of Drones in the Russia-Ukraine War
A Bayraktar TB2 drone, photo credit: The New York Times While Russia’s military capabilities were overestimated, analysts failed to predict just how effective Ukraine’s adoption of asymmetric capabilities would be. Drones are making an impact on the defense of Ukraine given their ability to track targets, shoot missiles, and provide a better visual of battlefields.…
Preserving Legitimacy Through Transition: Lessons from the Republic of Yemen
Photo credit: Reuters On April 7, 2022, the leader of the internationally recognized government of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, announced his abdication and transferred his powers to a presidential council, led by his former advisor, Rashad al-Alimi. Hadi also dismissed his vice president, Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who publicly stated his support for the formation…
The State of Russia’s Influence in the Western Hemisphere Post-Ukraine
Photo credit: CSIS On March 2, 2022, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to reprimand Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Of the 181 member states that took part in the vote, 141 supported the resolution, while Russia and four of their closest allies (Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria) voted “no.” On…
Fractured Authorities Equal Shattered Satellites: Reforming Space Traffic Management
Photo: European Space Agency Satellite Break-Up We don’t need the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The U.S. military has the radar to track aircraft and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the spectrum to communicate with and direct them. Nothing else is required for air traffic management. Sound ridiculous? It is! Unfortunately, such a scenario is…
Empowering the Early Commission Program
On a clear summer’s day in August 2021, a singular Blackhawk helicopter landed on Fort Knox’s Brooks Field. Volleys of cannon fire rang out, campaign streamers rose, and the band played their rhythmic battle calls. As the smoke lifted and the Blackhawk’s rotors ceased movement, the well-rehearsed Change of Command Ceremony began. Speeches from the…
GSSR Volume 10, Issue 1 Available for Download
Volume 10, Issue 1 of the Georgetown Security Studies Review is now available. Click here to view or download the issue. If you are interested in publishing with the GSSR in future editions or on our online forum, please view our “Contribute” page or contact the Editor-in-Chief at gssr@georgetown.edu.
The Correlation Between Terrorism and U.S. Embassy Security Funding
The State Department’s Annual Congressional Budget for Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance, 1998-2023. Data from the U.S. State Department’s Annual Congressional Budget Justification for its Foreign Operations and Related Programs. The U.S. is not immune to the threat of acts of terrorism in retaliation for American actions abroad. The case for secure facilities from these…
Is it time for the UN to help Malians talk to JNIM?
MINUSMA Transport Company Delivers Water to Airport Guards. Photo Credit: United Nations In late January 2022, France announced it would “reevaluate” the future of its counterterrorism operations in Mali. This came after France had already downsized Operation Barkhane, and closed bases in Timbuktu, Kidal, and Tessalit. Operation Barkhane led by the French since 2014 aimed…
What Does Bongbong Marcos’ Win Mean for the United States in Southeast Asia?
Credit: RPSantos / Flickr Few countries are more vital to the United States’ strategy in Asia than the Philippines. Once a U.S. colony, the Southeast Asian archipelago remains a key ally to the United States and an important bulwark against China’s territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. But in recent years, the Philippine government…