Press | National Security

Jeremi and Zachary Suri have a discussion with Dr. Emily Whelan about Lebanon’s complex history and its current conflict. Dr. Emily Whalen is a non-resident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her first book, The Lebanese Wars, which examines the history of U.S. interventions in the Lebanese Civil War, is forthcoming from Columbia…

On Sept. 19, Dr. Olivia Cheung, Research Fellow at the China Institute at SOAS University of London, spoke about her book, “The Political Thought of Xi Jinping“, co-authored with Steve Tsang.

On Sept. 17, the Clements Center and LBJ School of Public Affairs hosted General (Ret.) Kenneth F. “Frank” McKenzie Jr. to speak about his book, “The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century.” This discussion, moderated by Clements Center Executive Director Joseph Maguire, covers Gen. McKenzie’s military career, with a particular focus on his…

In new article for Lawfare, Benjamin Allison, Clements Graduate Fellow and Ph.D. student in history at the University of Texas discusses the complexities of extremist ideology in his piece titled Extremist Ideology Is Hard to Pin Down.

The Clements Center offers predoctoral fellowships to advanced PhD students to live and work in Austin, Texas. Fellows will spend the substantial portion of their time working on their own research and writing projects, while taking advantage of the many academic resources available here at the University of Texas-Austin. The fellowship offers a competitive stipend, full use of…

TNSR Managing Editor Rick Landgraf talks with Charles Ziegler about his latest article, Filling the Void Left by Great-Power Retrenchment: Russia, Central Asia, and the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan. Charles and Rick discuss how the Central Asian countries have reacted to the withdrawal, how Russia has tried to reassert itself in the region, and why China might…

The Clements Center and Strauss Center hosted Robert D. Kaplan at the University of Texas at Austin, where he discussed how our leaders can come to grips with a world seemingly in disarray.

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…

TNSR Production Editor Kerry Anderson talks with historian Daniel Chardell about his article The Origins of the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait Reconsidered. Daniel and Kerry discuss Saddam Hussein’s understanding of the shifts in power that followed the Soviet Union’s collapse, how U.S. and Iraqi leaders perceived each other, Saddam’s concerns about Israel, and historians’ use of Iraqi…

Take a look back at our summer programming and see what we have in store for this fall semester.

On a new episode, Marshall Kosloff talks with journalist Martin Pengelly about his book, “Brotherhood: When West Point Rugby Went to War.” They discuss rugby and Pengelly’s story about members of a West Point rugby team in the aftermath of 9/11.

Check out McCombs Professor Kishore Gawande’s recent publication, “Bringing Dead Capital to Life: Property Rights Security in China” which explores the impact of China granting nationwide protection to private property rights in 2007.  For further insights into Professor Gawande’s research, please visit here.

In this episode, TNSR Production Editor Kerry Anderson sits down with Joseph Stieb to discuss his article from TNSR: “Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? The Debate at 20 Years.”

The Central Texas American Society of Public Administration (CENTEX ASPA) has awarded the James McGrew Award for a Policy Research Project led by Professor Paul Pope to a group of LBJ School students for their Policy Research Project that focused domestic terrorism in the United States. Read more

Earlier this month, the Clements Center hosted 20 Undergraduate Fellows in Washington, D.C. to kick off the new academic year. Over three days, our fellows formed connections with their peers, engaged with our D.C. community, and visited significant historical sites.   During their time in the nation’s capital, they had the opportunity to tour Arlington…

Jim Goldgeier and Marshall Kosloff discuss the post-Cold War era, NATO expansion, great-power expectations, and the future of the U.S. role in Europe.

In this episode, Jeremi Siri is joined by Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.

China’s defense spending is difficult to quantify because some assessments make methodological errors that result in inflated figures. Rick Landgraf talks with Taylor, George, and Eric, who explain these flaws and offer a novel method for a more accurate assessment. Their article appears in the summer 2024 issue of TNSR.

In this episode, TNSR publisher Ryan Evans spoke with the journal’s new editor-in-chief, Prof. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an award-winning scholar and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs

The Texas National Security Review, a joint partnership between War on the Rocks and the University of Texas, is pleased to announce that Sheena Chestnut Greitens, PhD, will become its new editor-in-chief, succeeding Will Inboden, PhD. Greitens, an award-winning scholar and associate professor at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to the Texas National Security…

Today, we join the family, friends and many supporters of Vladimir Kara-Murza in celebrating his release from detention in Russia. Vladimir was charged, convicted and imprisoned in an illegitimate process contrived to silence his public calls for an end to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, respect for basic human rights and the restoration of…

At the Clements Center for National Security’s Summer Seminar in History and Statecraft, Susan Colbourn and Simon Miles discussed how different concepts of history have shaped the war in Ukraine and how students of international affairs should challenge their assumptions and embrace uncertainty.

For the past ten years, the Clements Center has proudly hosted its annual Summer Seminar in History and Statecraft, selecting advanced doctoral students for a week of learning, discussion and networking.   This year’s highly selective program brought together twenty-one students from premier universities in the U.S. and abroad including Yale, John Hopkins, Georgetown, Princeton, Purdue,…

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

Rick Landgraf talks with TNSR author Joshua Byun about how American attempts to leave Europe during the first decade of the Cold War were thwarted by European concerns that German rearmament would trigger a Soviet attack.

TNSR Managing editor Rick Landgraf sits down with Richard Maass, the author of “Salami Tactics: Faits Accomplis and International Expansion in the Shadow of Major War.”

This year marked the Clements Center’s second iteration of Summer Beyond Borders: Case-Studies in Difficult Diplomacy and our first iteration of the program in South Korea, focusing on the historical challenges and successes of our important allies in the Republic of Korea and US interests in the Pacific. In June, thirteen undergraduate students from UT-Austin…

In partnership with The University of Texas System, the Clements Center for National Security invites applications for The University of Texas Chancellor’s Fellowship. The Chancellor’s Fellow works closely with the Chancellor and his staff to conduct research, prepare briefing materials, and help draft speeches and articles on topics of importance to the Chancellor, both in…

Frank Gavin, chair of TNSR’s editorial board, talks with Joseph Nye about his new memoir, “A Life in the American Century.” This fascinating conversation covers a range of issues, including lessons from Nye’s extensive experience as an influential analyst, policymaker, and scholar. Listen here.

Marshall Kosloff sits down with Luke Schumacher to talk about his recent article in TNSR titled, “Franklin D. Roosevelt, World War II, and the Reality of Constitutional Statesmanship.”

Marshall Kosloff talks with Ambassador Robert Blackwill and Richard Fontaine about their new book, Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power.

This year marked our ninth annual London May Term “The U.S., U.K., and Global Order” program. Nineteen undergraduate students from UT-Austin traveled to the United Kingdom, France and Belgium to study the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom with the world-renowned War Studies Department at King’s College London.  Throughout the month,…

Ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington in July, TNSR Managing editor Rick Landgraf sits down with Katherine Elgin and Alexander Lanoszka to discuss what alliance membership means for Sweden and Finland.

Take a look back at the last semester in our Spring 2024 Newsletter

Gavin Wilde joins TNSR managing editor Rick Landgraf to talk about Gavin’s recent article about the effects of foreign propaganda on U.S. domestic politics. They discuss how the fear that hostile foreign powers could subvert democracy by spreading misinformation may be exaggerated, as the relationship between people’s beliefs and attitudes and their media consumption remains…

On this week’s episode of “This is Democracy,” Suri interviews Greitens about Chinese foreign and domestic policy and how it relates to U.S. policy.