Analysis + Opinion | Older

	Analysis + Opinion December 12, 2016 Reports of saving the Pentagon billions are just fake news Harvey M. SapolskyThe National Interest The Balkan teenagers are at it again, this time in the guise of members of the Defense Business Board and consultants from McKinsey, with the claim that their report offering $125 billion in savings was being suppressed by the Department of Defense.
	Analysis + Opinion November 29, 2016 How to think about Russia Barry R. PosenThe National Interest Because the West is strong, and relative to Russia likely to get stronger, it is in a position to accommodate some Russian concerns, says Barry Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT Security Studies Program. Posen is among several experts featured in The National Interest on the future of US-Russia relations.
	Analysis + Opinion November 18, 2016 Confusion is risky Vipin Narang, Christopher Clary The Indian Express After Manohar Parrikar’s comments on no-first-use policy, a prime ministerial clarification is called for. Since 1998, a key pillar of India’s nuclear policy has been a pledge not to use nuclear weapons first. After considering the utility of individually negotiated bilateral or multilateral agreements committing to no-first-use (NFU) of nuclear weapons, by August 1998, the then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, opted to unilaterally announce that India would “not be the first to use nuclear weapons”.
	Analysis + Opinion November 16, 2016 The Wall and the Ban: Can Trump really accomplish either? John TirmanWBUR Anti-immigrant fervor fueled Donald Trump’s White House bid from the beginning, so a Trump presidency naturally worries undocumented immigrants in the United States.
	Analysis + Opinion October 20, 2016 South Asian nuclear tensions: Back to core issues Jayita SarkarBulletin of the Atomic Scientists To be sure, when tensions erupt between nuclear-armed adversaries in a conflict-prone zone, a superpower’s regional role is far from irrelevant, writes Jayita Sarkar, a Research Fellow with the MIT Security Studies Program.
	Analysis + Opinion October 13, 2016 Impose an arms embargo in South Sudan Jacey FortinBoston Globe “For many South Sudanese, peace has been punitive. Millions have been displaced by a civil war that began in 2013, two years after the country achieved independence,” writes Jacey Fortin, the Center’s Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, in an opinion piece for the Boston Globe.
	Analysis + Opinion October 4, 2016 The lines that have been crossed Vipin NarangThe Hindu As the dust settles following the so-called September 29 “surgical strike” which witnessed the publicly acknowledged employment of Indian special forces across the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time in over a decade, it is useful to take stock of the larger implications…
	Analysis + Opinion September 18, 2016 How to get China to use its leverage against North Korea Eric Heginbotham and Richard J. Samuels The National Interest It is time for a bargain between Washington and Beijing on a new and tougher approach—one that will require China to use its leverage to change North Korean behavior. Barring that, those most directly threatened—South Korea, Japan, and the United States—will rightly adopt new defensive measures that will, ultimately, impinge on Beijing’s security interests.
	Analysis + Opinion September 12, 2016 Why Zimbabwe's military sticks with Mugabe Philip MartinForeign Affairs Zimbabwe is headed for turbulent waters. Over the last few months, a protest movement has highlighted popular dissatisfaction with what many Zimbabweans see as the economic mismanagement and heavy-handed tactics of the government of President Robert Mugabe. Opposition groups are joining forces in an effort to defeat the ruling party in the 2018 elections.
	Analysis + Opinion August 12, 2016 Here are 4 reasons that South Africa’s ANC lost ground in this month’s elections Nina McMurry, Philip Martin, Evan Lieberman and Daniel de KadtThe Washington Post On Aug. 3, South African municipal elections delivered a startling result. The African National Congress won the majority of votes nationwide, as it has in every election since it brought apartheid to an end in 1994. But this year, for the first time, the ANC looked vulnerable, and secured only 53.9% of votes cast throughout the country, its first result below 60%.
	Analysis + Opinion July 13, 2016 The strategic implications of the South China Sea tribunal’s award M. Taylor FravelThe National Interest On July 12, the tribunal hearing the case issued its ruling that can only be described as a huge win for the Philippines. Digesting all 507 pages of the award will take time, allowing only for preliminary judgments to be made. I discuss several strategic implications.
	Analysis + Opinion May 8, 2016 Putin's pullout: a failing public relations campaign Carol R. SaivetzLawfare Russia won in Syria—or so Putin would like us to believe. The Russian intervention seemed to tip the balance of forces in Assad's favor, and Russia announced a pullout with its mission accomplished. Carol Saivetz of MIT, a regular Lawfare contributor, makes the case for skepticism.
	Analysis + Opinion May 3, 2016 Poor substitute By Eric Heginbotham and Richard J. Samuels Foreign Affairs The announcement last week that Australia will replace its aging submarine fleet with Shortfin Barracuda submarines from France is an enormous missed opportunity, not only for Australia, but also for its most important allies, Japan and the United States.
	Analysis + Opinion April 26, 2016 US Navy ships shouldn't be floating billboards for democrats Harvey M. SapolskyThe National Interest The secretaries of the armed services have been losing power ever since the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. The service secretaries are no longer members of the president’s cabinet and rarely perform more than ceremonial duties.
	Analysis + Opinion April 19, 2016 SCOTUS and immigration: the politics behind the case John TirmanHuffington Post The oral arguments before the US Supreme Court on President Obama’s executive order on immigration were made Monday, and afterwards most observers agreed it’s not clear how the Court will decide the case.
	Analysis + Opinion March 22, 2016 Has ISIS declared war on Europe? Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Brussels today. Here & Now's security analyst Jim Walsh discusses the attacks with host Robin Young.
	Analysis + Opinion March 10, 2016 To stop the missiles, stop North Korea, Inc. Jim Walsh and John ParkThe New York Times American diplomats should be proud of the new sanctions on North Korea that the United Nations Security Council passed last week. In response to a nuclear test in January and missile launch in February, the Council, at the United States’ urging, agreed to a ban on North Korean imports of jet fuel and to mandate inspections of all cargo coming into or out of North Korea.
	Analysis + Opinion March 4, 2016 North Korea ramps up nuclear readiness Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country's nuclear weapons should be ready for use "at any time." Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd asks security analyst Jim Walsh about that and what this new declaration from Kim really signifies.
	Analysis + Opinion February 8, 2016 UN condemns North Korea rocket launch Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now The United Nations Security Council say it will impose new sanctions on North Korea after its launch of a long-range rocket. Sunday's action follows a fourth nuclear test a few weeks ago, and the two acts violate existing sanctions. Here & Now's Robin Young checks in with our security analyst Jim Walsh.
	Analysis + Opinion January 27, 2016 Sanders’ surge is part of a growing global movement Meera SrinivasanBoston Globe The rebellious energy of Bernie Sanders’s campaign for the presidency in the United States, coupled with some good timing, has fueled global hopes that the left could be poised to make a comeback in Western democracies after decades of retreat.