Miniaturization as a Grail in the Third Nuclear Age
Authors: James Giordano, PhD (Georgetown University) & Bob Williams (Georgetown University) Report Preview Instability of the international system and order is arising from competition among great powers, who possess large, thermonuclear arsenals, and from greater multipolarity of both established and aspirational nuclear weapons states to exercise their own aims for possessing “tactical-size” yields. The capacity […]
Continue Reading
Beyond the Wire: US Military Deployments and Host Country Public Opinion
Speaker: Dr. Carla Martinez Machain (University at Buffalo, SUNY) Date: 27 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary The presence of a US military base in a host country naturally increases interactions between that host country’s citizens and US military personnel. These interactions occur in many countries, partly because the US has maintained a 25% deployment rate […]
Continue Reading
China’s Emergence as a Second Nuclear Peer: Implications for US Nuclear Deterrence
Speaker: Dr. Brad Roberts (LLNL) Date: 21 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Brad Roberts (Center for Global Security, LLNL) as part of its SMA STRATCOM Speaker Series. The deterrence landscape has changed drastically and quickly during the decades since the Cold War. In response to these changes, USSTRATCOM is reforming its nuclear deterrence […]
Continue Reading
Alternative Ukrainian Future Trajectories: Implications for Russia and the West
Speaker: Dr. Graeme Herd (George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies) Date: 22 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Graeme Herd (George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies) as part of its SMA EUCOM Speaker Series. Dr. Graeme Herd at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is […]
Continue Reading
Building a Strategic Framework for Tailored Deterrence of China in Space
Speaker: Dr. Krista Langeland (RAND) Date: 13 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary The US Armed Forces must bolster their warfighting capabilities in space to better deter aggressive Chinese activities in the domain. US-China competition in space can be expected to increase because China views US space activities and capabilities as a roadblock for achieving its […]
Continue Reading
Using a Nuclear Security & Nonproliferation Approach to Reduce US-PRC Escalation Risks in a DPRK Collapse Scenario
Speaker: Dr. Justin Anderson (NDU) Date: 8 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary Despite the deep freeze in US-China relations, the US and China have mutual interests that could reduce risk in a future DPRK regime collapse scenario. The US and China have prior experience successfully collaborating on nonproliferation initiatives, including standards for nuclear facilities and […]
Continue Reading
The Ukrainian Army is Leveraging Online Influencers. Can the U.S. Military?
Speaker: Dr. Todd Helmus (RAND) Date: 6 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how cooperation between a country’s military and prominent social media influencers can be a useful tool for harnessing narrative control relating to conflicts. Dr. Helmus argued that Ukraine has been out-performing Russia in its ability to create […]
Continue Reading
A Restraint Approach to U.S. China Policy
Speaker: Michael Swaine (Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft) Date: 1 June 2023 Speaker Session Summary Although the US-China competition has global economic and political implications, it is still primarily focused on the Asia-Pacific region. If this strategic competition escalates to armed conflict, then it will become incredibly costly to both the US and China. Dr. […]
Continue Reading
Cold Peace: Avoiding the New Cold War
Speaker: Dr. Michael Doyle (Columbia University) Date: 31 May 2023 Speaker Session Summary US and China are considered by many analysts and scholars to be in a second Cold War. Dr. Doyle specified that there are four types of political relationships—hot war, cold war, cold peace, and warm peace. If countries are in a hot […]
Continue Reading
Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy: Religion, Coercion and the Russian Way of War
Speaker: Prof. Dmitry Adamsky (Reichman University) Date: 19 July 2023 Speaker Session Summary The Kremlin is blending its nuclear discourse, politics, and theological beliefs, changing the domestic perception in Russia regarding just nuclear war and nuclear escalation with the West. Prof. Adamsky stated that the Kremlin has been integrating the Russian Orthodox Church in its […]
Continue Reading