Strategy

The New Twin Pillars: Preparing for a New Era of American Rebalancing in the Middle East

In the 1960s and 70s America relied on Saudi Arabia and Iran as its allies in the Middle East. Today, we just rely on Israel and Saudi

Cluster Munitions and the Moral High Ground

The use of cluster munitions is not inherently immoral.

Surviving the Siege: The Life of the Artsakh’s Villages Under the Target of Azerbaijan

Since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has been illegally blockading Artsakh, an area historically populated by Armenians but claimed by Azerbaijan. For…

Cold War Strategy for Today: A Review of Hal Brand’s The Twilight Struggle
Cold War Strategy for Today: A Review of Hal Brands’s The Twilight Struggle

Brands offers seven key lessons for his readers about what he terms a “twilight struggle,” a period of high-stakes competition between great powers that occurs between the darkness of war and daylight of peace.

Solving the Nuclear Puzzle: A Review of Lieber and Press’ The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution
Solving the Nuclear Puzzle: A Review of Lieber and Press’ The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution

Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press argue in “The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution” that the Atomic Age isn’t too different from other ages. Geopolitical rivalries, arms races, military doctrines, stalemates, and much else are still the same.

Seeking Justice in the Middle East Grand Strategy
Seeking Justice in the Middle East

Assassinating Iranian Major General Qaseem Soleimani was a justified act. But it took place within the context of a largely unjust and strategically indefensible grand strategy, so it is unlikely to be a net positive in the long run.

The Case for Pragmatic Globalism: A Review of Paul Miller’s American Power and Liberal Order: A Conservative Internationalist Grand Strategy
The Case for Pragmatic Globalism: Review of Paul Miller’s American Power and Liberal Order

All in all, American Power and Liberal Order is an excellent book providing a spirited defense of what has largely been a successful American grand strategy for the past 70 years. The big question remains whether the same framework could work for the next 70 years, or whether new external challenges and internal political changes call for a different approach.

The Winning Combination: The American Military May Have Found a Successful Strategy for Fighting ISIS in the Middle East
The Winning Combination: The American Military May Have Found a Successful Strategy for Fighting in the Middle East

The American strategy in fighting Islamic State (ISIS) in Northern Iraq and Syria seems to be working. President Obama deserves some credit for this success, along with the US military and President Trump.