Press | Intelligence

On March 4, 2026, the Clements Center for National Security, in partnership with the Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the Intelligence Studies Project, hosted a panel discussion at the LBJ School of Public Affairs titled “Striking the Ayatollah: War Powers, Political Order, and Consequences.” The event examined the legal, strategic, and political…

The Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law at The University of Texas at Austin are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Alexandra Sukalo to lead the University’s Intelligence Studies Project (ISP). ISP was established in 2013 as a joint venture of the Clements and Strauss Centers out of a conviction that the…

As the United States has shifted from combat operations to stabilization and reconstruction missions, it has struggled to translate battlefield success into lasting political outcomes. In Forgetting How to Win, Clements Center former Army PhD student Jeremy Kasper examines how the U.S. Army, State Department, and USAID have approached post-combat operations—and why institutional disconnects have…

As economic integration and shared supply chains bind the United States and Mexico closer than ever, a worsening cartel-driven security crisis threatens both nations. In Engelsberg Ideas, Clements Center alumnus Joseph Ledford traces the evolution of U.S.–Mexican interdependence—from trade and energy to counter-narcotics cooperation—and examines how Presidents Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum are navigating a…

China is expanding its global security engagement, providing training to police, paramilitary, and security forces in countries around the world. APP’s Sheena Chestnut Greitens documents the scale of this work through her research, mapping nearly 900 Chinese security-training programs conducted across 138 countries.

On September 11, 2025, the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Intelligence Studies Project hosted a panel discussion entitled “9/11: What Happened, and What It Means Today.” Held in the William C. Powers Student Activity Center Ballroom, the event brought together some of UT’s most distinguished…

Former Clements War College Fellow Colonel Neil Hollenbeck writes in Military Review “Why the Army Needs Units Driving Drone Development and How to Do It.” “Instead of the modernization enterprise developing small-drone warfare capabilities with input from the operational Army, it should enable the operational Army to develop its own. The enterprise can do this…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project is pleased to congratulate the winners of the 11th annual Inman Award competition that recognizes outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security.   The recipient of this year’s Inman Award is Dr. Jennifer Smith-Heys (Colonel, USA), who recently earned her PhD in Public Policy from George Mason…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project hosted the sixth Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA) from May 11 to 20, 2025 in the National Capital Area. The TIA 2025 cohort comprised 15 UT-Austin undergraduate students. Students participated in lectures, exercises, and discussions with current and former professionals on intelligence collection, analysis, espionage, geospatial intelligence, measurement and signature intelligence, signals intelligence, covert…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 11th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is…

“The last several years of ponderous deliberation over a crewed sixth-generation fighter has left the U.S. Air Force to face the real possibility that it will see China field an operational crewed sixth-generation fighter before it fields its own” writes McNally.

UT-Austin’s Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project is now accepting applications from UT undergraduate students of all academic disciplines to participate in its 2025 Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA). The TIA is a competitive, all-expenses paid, intensive academic program focused on intelligence and national security. TIA 2025 will run from May 11 to 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. The submission…

Ryan Evans talks with Philip Zelikow about his recent article for TNSR, “Confronting Another Axis? History, Humility, and Wishful Thinking.”

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project hosted the fifth Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA) from May 12 to 21, 2024 in the National Capital Area. The TIA 2024 cohort comprised 15 UT-Austin undergraduate students.

In this new article, graduate fellow Sam Rosenberg and Jacob Ware delve into the intelligence and deception strategies that shaped the Normandy invasion: “The D-Day deception operation stands as a powerful example of the essential blend of irregular warfare methods with conventional tactics.”

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 10th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is open to unpublished…

Carter Burwell, a Public Interest Declassification Board board member, moderated a discussion with Erin Mahan, Chief Historian at the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Adam Howard, the director of the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State; and John Fox, a historian at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The conversation discussed…

Dr. Will Inboden sat down with Sen. John Cornyn to discuss the issues of declassification and transparency, along with the ongoing debate about the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The two also discussed the role of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Congressional oversight, and how Section 702’s renewal is important for…

Adam Klein moderated a panel with Jared Abrams, a research associate at Applied Research Laboratories; Ivan Lee, the founder & CEO of Datasaur.ai; Alex Joel, a senior project director and adjunct professor at Washington College of Law, American University; and Ezra Cohen, the former chair of Public Interest Declassification Board and Undersecretary of Defense for…

Aaron O’Connell, the director of research at the Clements Center for National Security, moderated a panel with Jim Goldgeier, a visiting scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation; Deborah Pearlstein, co-director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy; Jeremi Suri, the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at UT Austin;…

Christy Abizaid, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, spoke about the duties of the center, terrorist threats to the United States and the role of counter-terrorism during an era of strategic competition. She also participated in a moderated question and answer session with Paul Pope, discussing U.S. foreign policy, the counter-terrorism mission, and what…

Sheena Greitens moderated a panel discussion about the Russo-Ukrainian war and broader challenges to European security. The conversation featured Gen. Vince Brooks, U.S. Army ( Ret.), former Commander, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea; Susan Colbourn, associate director of the Program in American Grand Strategy, Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University;…

Slick noted that given the scale and variety of the Hamas attacks, “it is highly unlikely that the planning, training and positioning of this number of fighters would have escaped Israel’s collection systems. It’s more likely that relevant information was not processed or evaluated correctly or recognized as an indicator of hostilities.”

On September 13th, the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project, hosted “The War in Ukraine: On the Battlefield, in the Kremlin, and in the Courtroom.” The event kicked off with keynote remarks on “Investigating Russian War Crimes: Ukraine’s Quest for Justice” by…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project is now accepting applications to participate in the 2024 Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA). TIA is a competitive, all-expenses paid, intensive academic program for UT undergraduate students focused on intelligence and national security in Washington, D.C. The 2024 program will run from May 12 to 21, 2024. INFO SESSION: October 24,…

ISP-Sponsored Surveys During the Biden Presidency Affirm Continued Strong Public Support for the Intelligence Community But Also Signal Growing Partisanship The Chicago Council on Global Affairs recently published the results of two annual polls sponsored by UT-Austin’s Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project. The surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 confirm that most Americans believe US intelligence…

The Intelligence Studies Project of the University of Texas at Austin is pleased to announce the winner and two semifinalists in the ninth-annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security.   The recipient of the “Inman Award” is A.J. Dilts, a 2023 graduate of Harvard University in History and Government. His…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project hosted the fourth running of the Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA) from May 16 to 25, 2023 in the National Capital Area. The TIA 2023 cohort comprised 15 undergraduate students from UT-Austin, UT-El Paso, and UT-San Antonio. Students participated in classroom lectures and exercises with current and former senior intelligence professionals…

On this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Mission Integration Beth Sanner delivers a candid and enriching lecture about being an intelligence professional at the highest level in the White House.

The Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 8th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is open to unpublished work by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in degree programs at accredited U.S. higher education institutions during the 2022-23 academic year. The deadline for submitting papers is June 30, 2023. 

Former Clements Center Undergraduate Fellow Nicholas Romanow, now an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, has a new piece on Proceedings, in which he considers the current push to declassify more information using the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example of some of the possible pros and cons.

A report by the Global Disinformation Lab at UT Austin and NGA Tearline was recently featured on intel.gov. The report analyzes resource reallocation by Russia in Ukraine, countering a senior Russian official’s denial of the existence of filtration sites at a United Nations Security Council Meeting. Great work! 

A report by the Global Disinformation Lab at UT Austin and NGA Tearline was recently featured on intel.gov. The report analyzes resource reallocation by Russia in Ukraine, countering a senior Russian official’s denial of the existence of filtration sites at a United Nations Security Council Meeting. Great work! 

The Clements and Strauss Center’s Intelligence Studies Project is pleased to announce the winner and two semifinalists in the eighth-annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security.  

The University of Texas at Austin’s Intelligence Studies Project recently hosted its third Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA) in Washington, D.C. From the end of May through early June, fourteen undergraduate students from UT-Austin, UT-El Paso and UT-San Antonio participated in an intensive academic program focused on intelligence and national security. The cohort attended classroom lectures and exercises with former senior intelligence professionals, including former Clements Center Graduate Fellow and current Lecturer and Graduate Director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies Master of Science program at UT-El Paso, Diana Bolsinger and Clements Center Senior National Security Fellow Nick Rasmussen. The lectures covered a variety of intelligence-related topics, including analysis, human intelligence, technical intelligence, covert action, counterterrorism, intelligence reform, and intelligence-policymaker relationships. 

The Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 8th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is open to unpublished work by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in degree programs at accredited U.S. higher education institutions during the 2021-22 academic year. The deadline for submitting papers is June 30, 2022.