Avoiding Self-Deterrence in the Context of Nuclear Ambiguity

April 2025 No Comments

Volume V in the SMA Perspectives Series “Emergent Issues for U.S. National Security” Editors: Dr. Lawrence Kuznar (NSI, Inc.), Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI, Inc.), Dr. Hriar “Doc” Cabayan (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Nathan Heath (NSI, Inc) Publication Preview The context of this Report has to do with Russia’s use of nuclear ambiguity and implied nuclear […]

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Quick Look: Food Security in USAFRICOM

May 2023 No Comments

Authors: Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI, Inc.) & Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI, Inc.) This publication was released as part of a formal SMA effort, Anticipating the Future Operational Environment (AFOE) project. For more information regarding this project, please click here. Report Preview This report provides a concise, highly visual overview of the food security subsystem of […]

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SMA SEEK Results: Expanding US Nuclear Capability & Pessimism About Nuclear Use in the Next 15 Years

January 2022 No Comments

Author: Popp, G. (NSI); Astorino-Courtois, A. (NSI); Bragg, B. (NSI) Publication Preview In August 2021, many of you participated in SMA’s inaugural Survey for Eliciting Expert Knowledge (SEEK) outreach. SEEK is SMA’s new, online capability for tapping into the collective knowledge, experience, and wisdom of our 5000+ person community of interest to generate crowdsourced insights […]

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Challenges to 21st Century Deterrence (Part III)

January 2022 No Comments

Speakers: Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI) and Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI) Date: 7 January 2022 Speaker Session Summary SMA hosted a panel discussion with Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI) and Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI) as as part of its SMA STRATCOM Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure Speaker Series.  As US adversaries reach nuclear parity—or near nuclear parity—with the US, […]

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The Shape of the Future Operating Environment: How Our Adversaries Have Learned to Stop Worrying and Ignore the Bomb

December 2021 No Comments

Author: Bragg, B. (NSI) Video Preview In July of this year, at the request of USSTRATCOM, SMA initiated an effort to address eight questions regarding the implications of the increasing numbers, and expanding capabilities, of US nuclear adversaries. This report addresses two of those questions: [Q2] What are US competitors (Russia, China, Iran, DPRK) doing […]

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Guide to Analytic Techniques for Nuclear Strategy Analysis

December 2021 No Comments

Authors | Editors: Belinda Bragg (NSI, Inc.); George Popp (NSI, Inc.); and Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI, Inc.) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Question of Focus [Q8] What are key analytic approaches that USSTRATCOM planners might use to assess […]

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US versus China: Promoting ‘Constructive Competition’ to Avoid ‘Destructive Competition’ (Volume II)

September 2021 No Comments

Volume II in the SMA Perspectives Series “Emergent Issues for U.S. National Security” Editors: Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Elder (George Mason University), Nicole (Peterson) Omundson (NSI, Inc.), Belinda Bragg, PhD (NSI, Inc.) Contributing Authors: Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI, Inc.), Mr. Alex Campbell (LLNL), Dr. Zachary S. Davis (LLNL), Mr. Abraham M. Denmark (The Wilson Center), […]

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Measuring Information Effects

August 2021 No Comments

Author: Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI, Inc.) Publication Preview This report supported SMA’s Integrating Information in Joint Operations (IIJO) project. For additional speaker sessions and project publications, please visit the IIJO project page. The objective of the Integrating Information into Joint Operations (IIJO) project is to assess the ways in which the Joint Force can most effectively […]

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The Shape of the Future Operating Environment

August 2021 No Comments

Author: Dr. Belinda Bragg (NSI) This publication was released as part of the SMA project “Risk of Strategic Deterrence Failure.” For more information regarding this project, please click here. Video Summary In 2021, at the request of USSTRATCOM, SMA initiated an effort to address eight questions regarding the implications of the increasing numbers, and expanding […]

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Regime Stability in Iran: The COVID-19 Effect

February 2021 No Comments

Author | Editor: Bragg, B. (NSI, Inc.) Questions of Focus [Q4] What, if any, effect will COVID-19 have on regime stability in Iran, both over the short and medium term? Report Preview Iran appears to have been hit hard by the COVID-19 virus, and there has been criticism both within and outside the country over the Iranian […]

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