A Climate of Insecurity? Exploring the Nexus of Climate Change and National Security
Speaker: Dr. Samuel Henkin (NSI, Inc.) Date: 4 April 2024 Speaker Session Summary The rapidly evolving global climate system is undergoing changes at an unprecedented rate, placing significant strains on governments and communities worldwide. Dr. Henkin underscored that climate change functions as a threat multiplier, intensifying existing social, political, and economic tensions. The concept of […]
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China and the Global South: Big Ambitions, Big Challenges
Speaker: Michael Schuman (Atlantic Council) Date: 27 February 2024 Speaker Session Summary China’s economic slowdown coupled with its ambition to continuously compete with the US both economically and politically is compelling Beijing to intensify its efforts to increase political influence in the Global South. Mr. Schuman, who authored an article on why China will struggle […]
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Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) and its Ties to Hamas
Speaker: Dr. Zana Gul (University of Stirling) Date: 7 December 2023 Speaker Session Summary Wilayat Sinai (WS), formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM), is an Egyptian-based extremist group that is active in the Sinai Peninsula. The group seeks to influence the region’s politics and establish a state of the Islamic State of Iraq and […]
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Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy
Speaker: Yana Gorokhovskaia (Freedom House) Date: 20 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary For fifty years, Freedom House has published its assessment of the state of democracy around the world. Freedom House categorizes countries and territories in to three groups based off a point system: 1) free, 2) partly free, and 3) not free. Dr. Gorokhovskaia […]
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A New Asian Order is Emerging
Speaker: Mr. Mohammed Soliman (Middle East Institute) Date: 26 July 2023 Speaker Session Summary India’s expanding political influence is altering the current geopolitical order in Asia, with India positioned at its center. India’s growing role in geopolitics will over time take away some of the geopolitical focus on the Asia-Pacific region and place it on […]
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Quick Look: Food Security in USAFRICOM
Authors: Bragg, B. (NSI, Inc.) & Astorino-Courtois, A. (NSI, Inc.) This report was produced as part of SMA’s 2022-2023 “Anticipating the Future Operational Environment” (AFOE) Effort. Report Preview This report provides a concise, highly visual overview of the food security subsystem of the AECM (AFRICOM Exploitable Conditions Model). In addition to enabling analysis of causes […]
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AFRICOM Exploitable Conditions Model (AECM) Network Analysis Report
Author: Kuznar, L. (NSI, Inc.) Report Preview The physical, social, political, economic, and cultural systems that comprise the operational environmentinteract in complex ways. The Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) Anticipating the Future OperationalEnvironment (AFOE) project models this complexity with special relevance to US national securityconcerns. The AFOE team constructed a generic Global Exploitable Conditions Model (GECM) […]
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Anticipating the Future Operational Environment (AFOE) Sahelian Computational Models
Author: Kuznar , L. (NSI, Inc.) Report Preview The physical, social, political, economic, and cultural systems comprise the operational environment andinteract in complex ways. The Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) Anticipating the Future OperationalEnvironment (AFOE) project models this complexity with special relevance to US national securityconcerns. The AFOE team constructed a generic Global Exploitable Conditions Model […]
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Assessing U.S.-China Technology Competition in Africa
Speaker: Howell, S. (Center for a New American Security (CNAS)) Date: 4 April 2023 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Ms. Sam Howell (Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security) as part of its SMA “Anticipating the Future Operational Environment” (AFOE) Speaker Series. China is using technology exports to […]
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The Dilemmas Posed by the Great Power Competition on Political Transitions and the Security Landscape in the Sahel
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Sany (US Institute of Peace) Date: 30 March 2023 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Joseph Sany (United States Institute for Peace [USIP]) as part of its SMA “Anticipating the Future Operational Environment” (AFOE) Speaker Series. The US, China, and Russia are locked in a global struggle for geopolitical […]
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