More than 10 years ago, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno, former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, and former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Adm. William McRaven observed that “conflict and competition are about people.” As a result “influencing these people—be they heads of state, tribal elders, and militaries and...

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has brought the risk of nuclear escalation back to the forefront of popular fears and policy concerns. With the onset of renewed great power competition between the United States and the Russian Federation over the last 20 years, strategic stability between these nations has suffered a catastrophic degradation...

Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible. *** Over the past...

After almost 59 years of controversial existence, the last vestige of the British Empire in the Indian Ocean, the British Indian Ocean Territory, is set to be wound up. On Oct. 3, Britain and Mauritius released a joint statement detailing a historic agreement via which sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, will be transferred...

On Sept. 17, at the University of Texas at Austin, General (Ret.) Kenneth F. “Frank” McKenzie Jr. spoke about his book, “The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century.” This discussion, moderated by Joseph Maguire, covers Gen. McKenzie’s military career, with a particular focus on his time as commander of U.S. Central Command – which included...

In 2022, Zachary Selden wrote “Will Finland and Sweden Joining NATO Deepen the Alliance’s Problems?” where he argued that their membership was likely to exacerbate tensions in the alliance. In the wake of their accession, we invited Zachary back to reflect on his article. Read more below. In your 2022 article “Will Finland and Sweden Joining NATO Deepen...