Senior military officers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other international partners attend the closing session of the AMISOM Sector Commanders Conference in Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 15, 2019. Photo Credit: O. Abdisalan/AMISOM. By: Iakovos Balassi, Columnist While the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has made progress towards weakening al-Shabaab, the force … Continue reading Assessing Challenges to AMISOM’s Exit
Category: Topics
Deconstructing Deradicalization: Why the UK Needs a New Approach to Assess CT and PCVE Programs
As ISIS loses territory, and foreign fighters seek to return home, effective deradicalization programs are more important than ever. Photo Credit: Reuters/Kieran Doherty. By: Antonia Ward, Columnist As ISIS faces the loss of the final territory it holds in Syria, there has been considerable focus on the issue of foreign fighters returning to the UK.[i] This … Continue reading Deconstructing Deradicalization: Why the UK Needs a New Approach to Assess CT and PCVE Programs
Saudi Arabia’s Sudanese Mercenaries in Yemen
Sudanese soldiers are seen as the second part of the Sudan Army forces arrive in the city to support Saudi-led coalition forces in Aden, Yemen on November 09, 2015. Photo Credit: Getty Images By: Yuri Neves, Columnist A December 2018 report by the New York Times has revealed that Saudi Arabia is utilizing Sudanese child … Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s Sudanese Mercenaries in Yemen
Between a Rock and a Hardline Place: The Conundrum of Providing Humanitarian Aid to HTS-Controlled Idlib
UN aid convoy heads to Idlib province in October, 2018. Photo Credit: Andolu Agency By: Jodi Brignola, Columnist Humanitarian action is grounded in the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.[i] In theory, these principles seek to protect all civilians outside of a political framework. In practice, however, divorcing humanitarian aid from the geopolitical and … Continue reading Between a Rock and a Hardline Place: The Conundrum of Providing Humanitarian Aid to HTS-Controlled Idlib
The Transatlantic Partnership Is Damaged To An Unprecedented Degree
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and US President Donald Trump at the plenary session of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, 7 July 2017. Photo Credit: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images By: Simon Machalek, Columnist The transatlantic relationship, from which both the United States and the European Union (EU) have benefitted tremendously over the last … Continue reading The Transatlantic Partnership Is Damaged To An Unprecedented Degree
How Cryptography Could Enable Privacy-Preserving Surveillance
An Enigma machine. Photo Credit: Wikimedia By: Roxanne Heston, Columnist Imagine a clunky metal typewriter with a bizarre keyboard. In the 1940s, this machine was highly sophisticated — the linchpin, and ultimate downfall, of its dependents’ plan. They are called Enigma machines, and they were used by Nazi Germany during World War II for secret … Continue reading How Cryptography Could Enable Privacy-Preserving Surveillance
Iran’s Security Strategy, Forty Years after the Islamic Revolution
Students wave Iranian national flags during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square, Iran, February 10, 2009. Photo Credit: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi By: Emily Burchfield, Columnist This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, which witnessed the overthrow of pro-Western Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s … Continue reading Iran’s Security Strategy, Forty Years after the Islamic Revolution
REPORT: Technology and the Future of National Security
SFS Dean Joel Hellman, Professor Toni Gidwani (SFS’04, SSP’08) with Palmer Luckey, Founder of Anduril and Oculus VR, and Trae Stephens (SFS’06), Chairman of Anduril. Photo credit: Dakota Cary By: Dakota Cary, Reporter “Do you have an extra billionaire lying around?” asked one student at the Technology and the Future of National Security event on … Continue reading REPORT: Technology and the Future of National Security
Reframe the U.S.-China AI Arms Race
Photo Credit: Financial Times By: Daniel Zhang, Columnist In the past five years, there has been an explosive increase in the use and research of artificial intelligence in emerging military technologies. A faceoff between the United States and China is almost guaranteed and some even suggest a forthcoming “AI arms race” between two great powers.[i] … Continue reading Reframe the U.S.-China AI Arms Race
The Nonpolar Order; Lessons from Syria
A man stands atop a building looking at the destroyed Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, 2015. Photo Credit: Bulent Kilic/APF/Getty Images. By: Krystel Von Kumberg, Columnist Richard Haass’ theorem of nonpolarity can critically explain the complex dynamics that have brought-about the dozens of actors exercising different levels of power in Syria, … Continue reading The Nonpolar Order; Lessons from Syria