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In his article for Military Review, the professional journal of the U.S. Army, Lt. Col. D. Max Ferguson explains the concept of a catalyst paper as a way to recalibrate Army writing norms. “Catalyst papers jump-start conversations, and they help others chew on ideas and learn from current efforts. They can help us transform,” says…

“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.

In his new commentary for CSIS, Calculating the Cost-Effectiveness of Russia’s Drone Strikes, Lieutenant Colonel Neil Hollenbeck argues “The United States should learn from the operational lessons emerging from the skies over Ukraine to adapt its own formations for future war.” Read it here.

Former Clements Center Postdoctoral Fellow, William Chou, co-authors piece for Hudson Institute on the recent summit between Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump. Read it here.

In a recent publication for Foreign Policy, Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Dr. Issac B. Kardon write that “Vietnam Wants U.S. Help at Sea and Chinese Help at Home”. The article explains why Washington shouldn’t overestimate its influence in Hanoi. The co-authors also argue that strategic competition between the United States and China does not mean…

In “Exorbitant Privilege Gained and Lost: Fiscal Implications” Xiaolan explores three centuries of U.K., U.S. and Dutch fiscal history.

In “Emerging technologies and challenges to nuclear stability” Sankaran explores the impact of small satellites, hypersonic weapons, machine learning, cyber weapons, and quantum sensing on nuclear operations, strategic nuclear stability, and international security.

Yoon may have damaged the U.S.-South Korea alliance & undermined his foreign policy’s “emphasis on democratic defense of shared values,” writes Sheena Chestnut Greitens.

Tommy Jamison reviews two recent books documenting the fractious cooperation between the United States, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Nationalists during the 1940s.

Check out Clements Center alumnus Joseph Ledford’s piece for the Hoover Institution Press, highlighting the dangers of the United States neglecting Latin America and the Caribbean. From drug cartels to China and its anti-American allies, threats in the Americas have a direct impact on U.S. national security.

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.

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.

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

Former Clements Center Graduate Fellow and Lt. Col. D. Max Ferguson (Ph.D.) was recently quoted in Task & Purpose for successfully climbing all 46 of the highest peaks in the Adirondack Mountain Range in a single day as part of a WWII tribute with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Read the article here.

In a new piece for the Carnegie Endowment’s Emissary Blog, Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens offers commentary on South Korea’s new holiday: North Korean Defectors’ Day. 

In a new article for Atlantic Council, former Clements Predoctoral Fellow Zoltán Fehér outlines the implications of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Europe and its impact on EU-China relations. Read the full article here.

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.”

In “The Failures of Russian Aerospace Forces in the Russia-Ukraine War and the Future of Air Power,” Jaganath investigates the reasons behind the failures of the Russian Aerospace Forces to acquire air superiority over Ukraine in the early stages of the 2022 war. 

“The material repetitively calls for the absolute elimination of Israel and Israelis through violence, and that’s about as extreme as it gets…It is very intentional about identifying and supporting other extremists and terrorist groups: Lions’ Den, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the PLO,” the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

“While a hypothetical future cyber force would surely assume this responsibility, the current health of the military cyber workforce remains a clear and present issue for the services to manage,” writes Romanow.

In a new article for the National Review, former Postdoctoral Fellow Kyle Balzer explains why America’s nuclear rhetoric is insufficient for a new era of great-power competition. He references rhetoric used by Trump and Biden, as well as within American public discourse.

In a new article for Parameters, the US Army War College Journal, Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens writes on “China’s Use of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower in Asia”. She argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its policy and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia….

In “Japan’s Revolutionary Military Change: Explaining Why It Happened Under Kishida”, Ayumi Teraoka and Ryo Sahashi write about Japan’s rapidly changing security policy. The article evaluates why recent changes occurred under PM Kishida Fumio and what policy implications might exist.

In his article, “Written in Black and Red: Asymmetric Threats and Affordable Unmanned Surface Vessels”, Knickerbocker compares the use of unmanned systems in the Red and Black Seas, analyzes the cost and benefit of these systems, and offers projections for the future.

In “An Old Idea Ready to Resurface: The U.S. Needs A Logistics Element To Its Submarine Force”, Clements Alum Michael Knickerbocker examines the current state of and future possibilities for the U.S. submarine force.

In his article “The U.S.-Japanese-Philippine Trilateral is Off-Balance”, Ashley provides commentary on the state of the security trilateral, including concerns, progress, and opportunities for more cooperation. The article includes references to field research supported by Clements Center grant funding.

“These holdups would disrupt any government agency, but they are especially pernicious at the Pentagon. A growing reliance on acting officials erodes civilian control of the military, and delays in the confirmation process put the futures of uniformed officers at the mercy of partisan agendas” writes Milonopoulos.

“It contests democracy… not by arguing that this focus is misplaced, but that American conceptions of democracy are ‘fake.’ It’s a fascinating choice for a ruling party that is only about seven percent of China’s population, but one that may get traction in places that have clashed with the United States or other Western powers…

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.”

In this new article, graduate fellow Sam Rosenberg and Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla delve into why the U.S. should consider sending military advisers to Ukraine: “Advisers will, in other words, help bring about the war’s endgame: a free Ukraine integrated into the institutions at the foundation of Europe.”

As part of Tablet’s ongoing series on the U.S.-Israel ‘special relationship’, Daniel J. Samet and Raphael Benlevi explain “The Pro-America Case for Ending Aid”. “Rather than being a zero-sum equation, it is in the best interests of both the U.S. and Israel to phase out aid gradually.”

“Since he came to power in 2012, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been laser-focused on ensuring the security of his regime.”

Sam Rosenberg, Jahara Matisek and William Reno make a case for more informal assistance to Ukraine from the United States and its allies: “Over the past year, such informal assistance has come to play a crucial role in many aspects of the Ukrainian war effort and counteroffensive.”

“Diplomacy is much more than exchanging words. It is rather a complex choreography of many elements of national power, aimed to influence multiple audiences.” Read Will Inboden’s thoughts on Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s visit to Beijing earlier this week on World.

Congratulations to our Executive Director Will Inboden! His book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, has been included on the shortlist for the 2023 Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award! The annual Award recognizes books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding of foreign policy…

Will Inboden & Peter Feaver have a new piece in the Journal of Democracy “…considering what can be learned from the fruits and failings of the Freedom Agenda.”