CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies

“If the U.S. desires to remain globally postured to respond to crises and project power, it must be physically present and close to the action, which hinges on relationships with allies and partners that permit U.S. forces to operate in key terrain,” write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4jtyA55

Recent satellite imagery provides new insights into the construction of China’s fourth aircraft carrier, confirming that the vessel will be significantly larger than China’s existing carriers and could rival the United States’ supercarriers in size. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4fBXQE9

In the latest episode of The Opportunity Horizon, Enoh T. Ebong and Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive at ODI Global, explore the deeper structural realities of global governance to shape new pathways for equitable international partnerships. Watch: https://bit.ly/4jJugim

Pete Hegseth announced seven initiatives, promising to “govern the Department’s direction for years to come." Mark Cancian examines each initiative to better understand what it means, what to watch for as it takes shape, and how to implement it effectively. Read: https://bit.ly/4jzlEuy

10/28-29 | Join @chinapower.csis.org online for a discussion with leading experts exploring the current state of U.S.-China relations, China's evolving power, Beijing's foreign and security policy, and the trajectory of U.S.-China competition. Tune-in: https://bit.ly/3VpGAKu

The shift of human rights defenders to the center of the business and human rights agenda reflects a recognition within the investor community that the “shared space” of civic freedoms, rule of law, and democratic accountability is foundational, write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4zhSWU2

Europe has a key role to play in the technology superiority rivalry between the U.S. & China, but its perceptions and cost-benefit analyses are being reevaluated as the Trump administration’s stance toward the EU becomes more aggressive, write @erep.csis.org experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4dPHPcc

After President Zelensky's public disclosure that Kyiv transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, South Korea's government will have to find a diplomatic solution behind closed doors rather than fighting it out in the press, argues @victordcha.bsky.social. Read: https://bit.ly/4eQA2eu

TODAY | Join the @australia.csis.org for a virtual discussion exploring the various political actors at play in this year's election cycle in New Zealand, as well as the potential national and foreign policy implications of the election. Register: https://bit.ly/4i3L1U1

Industry has always played an essential supporting role in war, but companies now find themselves on the front lines. How should modern companies think about this world of warfare? A CSIS report offers a guide to help companies navigate the fog of conflict. Read: https://bit.ly/4jDl8vr

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List has expanded to restrict entire categories of foreign-produced technology, which raises questions about how the U.S. can use the list to reduce national security risks, write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4zahkGV

The central question behind Australia's growing number of bilateral arrangements is what purposes they serve and how they shape the broader pattern of external security engagement across the Pacific, write @australia.csis.org experts. Read: https://bit.ly/3VLr2kq

"Taiwan’s geographic position in Asia’s first island chain shouldn't become the reason why the U.S. supports Taiwan’s security. The focus of U.S. policy on Taiwan's security should be preventing a PRC attack on Taiwan," argues Thomas J. Christensen. Read: https://bit.ly/4iftUO0

“Going forward, the U.S must make important decisions over where to prioritize global posture, how to train and retain talent, and which capabilities present the best investment as an effective and responsible tool of U.S. statecraft,” write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4jtyA55

WEDNESDAY | What priorities should the Lebanese government have for 2027? Join @mideast.csis.org for an expert panel featuring leading voices from Lebanese civil society to examine the core pillars of Lebanon’s reform agenda. Register: https://bit.ly/3VU6Tsx

"Concerns about AI could become a source of terrorism, but evidence doesn't show that they have done so yet. Two past attacks motivated by AI-related grievances establish that violence is possible, but not that a broader campaign has arrived," write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4souSvX

Researchers project that further scaling up use of HIV prevention drug lenacapavir has the potential to bring the annual population-wide HIV incidence rate in South Africa to less than 0.1 percent, the virtual elimination threshold, as early as 2039, write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4BoQzjC

"Critical sectors across the U.S. economy & society depend upon data centers...making them vital national security & critical infrastructure assets. Working with Russia in this sector poses severe risks to U.S. national security," write Nikita Shah & Justin Sherman. Read: https://bit.ly/48c5gJh

TODAY | Join CSIS for a virtual discussion featuring Nicholas Rostow, author of Proportional to the Mischief: International Law and U.S. Grand Strategy, to explore how the U.S. might forge a new consensus on its role in the world. Register: https://bit.ly/4zMyQAV

"The increasingly multipolar landscape for technology partnerships in the Global South is giving countries greater choice on how they build their AI ecosystems while creating a more fragmented landscape for standards and governance," writes Sabeen Dhanani. Read: https://bit.ly/4dYbrnP

@victordcha.bsky.social explains why the dispute between South Korea and Ukraine over President Zelensky’s public disclosure that Kyiv had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul has deepened, and what both sides may want out of it. Read: https://bit.ly/4eQA2eu

"Terrorist causes rise and fall, and it is difficult to predict when new issues will produce violence. Nevertheless, several factors may influence whether AI concerns produce more terrorism in the years to come," write Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3U8XGfj

"The United States cannot compete with China while losing its allies. Meeting the China challenge requires building an ecosystem capable of achieving the same scale and offering countries around the world a credible alternative," write @erep.csis.org experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4dPHPcc

A new CSIS report offers a decision guide to help companies navigate the fog of conflict. It walks the C-suite and the board through a set of questions that identify key knowledge gaps and then establishes a risk evaluation framework and risk mitigation strategies. Read: https://bit.ly/4jDl8vr

10/26 | Join Nicholas Rostow, author of Proportional to the Mischief: International Law and U.S. Grand Strategy, with Suzanne Spaulding for a discussion of how the U.S. can forge a new consensus on its role. Register: https://bit.ly/4zMyQAV

“At times of conflict, land forces have shouldered extraordinary burdens and serve as the joint force’s foremost theater experts. U.S. land power must continue to challenge itself in real-world environments to modernize in the right direction,” argue CSIS experts. More: https://bit.ly/4jtyA55

October 28-29 | Join @chinapower.csis.org online for the 10th anniversary of the China Power Conference. This year's event brings together leading experts for two days of discussion on core issues underpinning China's power. Register to watch: https://bit.ly/4yQ5NfN

October 27 | On November 7, New Zealand will hold a tightly contested national election. Join @australia.csis.org to discuss the various political actors at play in this year's election cycle, as well as the potential national and foreign policy implications. Register: https://bit.ly/4i3L1U1

10/26 | Join CSIS for a discussion with Nicholas Rostow, author of Proportional to the Mischief: International Law and U.S. Grand Strategy. An incisive look at law’s essential place in American statecraft, he considers how the U.S. might forge a new consensus. Register: https://bit.ly/4zMyQAV

Companies that never considered themselves defense companies are now on the front lines. A new CSIS report explores how companies can navigate the fog of conflict and mitigate risks, as well as how the U.S. government can assess and reduce the threats they face. Read: https://bit.ly/4jDl8vr

The first report in The Value of U.S. Land Power series identified the core attributes that shape how U.S. land power is employed. A new second report applies these attributes to major modernization questions confronting U.S. land forces. Read more: https://bit.ly/4jtyA55

"The central strategic question is therefore not how many security relationships exist, but what purposes they serve and how they shape the broader pattern of external security engagement across the Pacific," write Angelina Bruno and John Augé. Read: https://bit.ly/3VLr2kq

"For U.S. policymakers, the challenge is not simply to compete with China or other emerging technology partners, but to offer a compelling model of partnership that responds to countries’ own priorities," writes CSIS Global Development expert Sabeen Dhanani. Read: https://bit.ly/4dYbrnP

"A joint data center proposed as part of broader negotiations between the U.S. and Russia poses a substantive threat to U.S. national security. Congress should play a vital role in scrutinizing the idea before it becomes a reality," write Nikita Shah and Justin Sherman. More: https://bit.ly/48c5gJh

10/27 | ODI Global Chief Executive Sara Pantuliano joins Enoh Ebong on The Opportunity Horizon to explore how to move beyond minor bureaucratic fixes, navigate ODA funding cuts, and shape a modern framework for equitable international partnerships. Register: https://bit.ly/4iD6YcE

"Space superiority is not about seeking conflict in orbit, but about deterring it, convincing adversaries that they cannot deny the U.S. the advantages of space or exploit their own space capabilities against U.S. forces without consequence," write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4sn07aD

Why has the diplomatic dispute between South Korea and Ukraine escalated? @victordcha.bsky.social explains President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public disclosure on Kyiv transferring two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul. More: https://bit.ly/4eQA2eu

South Africa has introduced lenacapavir, a new HIV prevention drug. Thousands have started on the injections, but questions about future costs and supplies need to be resolved to ensure the campaign’s success, write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4BoQzjC

MONDAY | Join CSIS for a discussion between Suzanne Spaulding & Nicholas Rostow on his book "Proportional to the Mischief," where he explores sovereignty, the balance of power, the nuclear age, & how the U.S. can build a new consensus on its role in the world. Register: https://bit.ly/4zMyQAV

What version of China the U.S. will be facing, and how confident it will be in its ability to solve regional problems, are much more important questions than the locations from which China would be able to launch future military offensives, writes Thomas Christensen. Read: https://bit.ly/4iftUO0

What is the risk that fears about AI will motivate terrorist attacks? A new CSIS brief examines the record of anti-AI violence so far, how and why new terrorist causes emerge, and what that history suggests for AI-related violence. Read: https://bit.ly/4izQd27

To address the challenges of rising Chinese and Russian economic coercion in the LAC, the U.S. must leverage the current spate of U.S.-aligned governments in the region to build new architectures for economic and trade security, argues Henry Ziemer. Read: https://bit.ly/4igZVX0

10/28-29 | For the 10th anniversary of the China Power Conference @chinapower.csis.org is bringing together leading experts for a discussion on core issues such as U.S.-China relations, China's evolving power, and Beijing's foreign and security policy. Register: https://bit.ly/3VpGAKu

"In demonstrating its unreliability as a security partner, the United States is eroding allied trust in U.S. defense and technology suppliers and in NATO," writes Max Bergmann. More: https://www.csis.org/analysis/throttling-starlink-disaster-ukraine-and-united-states

Russia’s demand for drones was answered with an arrangement to build the Iranian-designed Shahed on Russian soil. A @korea.csis.org report contends that the labor force that powers the Alabuga drone factory has become a site of gross human rights abuses and trafficking. Read: https://bit.ly/4s6jAw7

"While bioweapons have historically been challenging to create and deploy, it is now becoming cheaper, faster, and easier for both state and nonstate actors to develop bioweapons," write Paul Friedrichs and Sophia Hirshfield. Read: https://bit.ly/4eij1tq

"The threat of terrorism motivated by opposition to AI would grow if attackers began to copy & inspire one another, if extremist communities rewarded violence, or if opponents concluded that peaceful politics cannot stop AI risks," write Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe. More: https://bit.ly/4izQd27

A new @australia.csis.org interactive tool explores the security relationships between Pacific Island countries and Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, China, and Taiwan and points to a regional security architecture in transition. Explore: https://bit.ly/486HU7Q

21 months into Trump’s second term, North Korea has carried out 34 missile launch events, double the 17 at the same point in his first term, & fired at least 93 missiles, more than in all 4 years of his first term combined, write @victordcha.bsky.social & Andy Lim. Read: https://bit.ly/4eIGq7v

Given Western concerns over Beijing’s trade practices, European leaders visits with President Xi send a strong signal to Washington: Traditional allies are willing to hedge their technological dependencies for greater economic security, write CSIS experts. Read: https://bit.ly/4dPHPcc