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The American Tradition of Orderly Political Transition

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 9, Donald J. Trump crossed the necessary threshold of 270 electoral votes and became the President-elect of the United States of America.  At noon on Friday, 20 January 2017, Mr. Trump will take the oath administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the west Read More >

Ideological Differences Limit U.S.-China Counter-terrorism Cooperation

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice visited China last month, where she held talks with Chinese officials about the threat of terrorism and prospects for improving counterterrorism cooperation. In an email interview, Jeffrey Payne, the Manager of Academic Affairs at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, discusses the state of counterterrorism cooperation Read More >

The G.C.C. and China’s One Belt, One Road: Risk or Opportunity?

China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative is both a reflection of China’s growing need for deeper engagement with the regions to its west and a grander vision for Chinese foreign policy. OBOR is an ambitious plan for integrating the provinces of China, especially underdeveloped ones in the west and south of the country, with Read More >

China is Diving into the Gulf, But For How Long?

 It’s getting harder for Beijing to sell the story of non-interference in affairs of sovereign states.Like most other major global powers that have preceded it, China is becoming entangled in the Middle East. A friendlier region to its interests than its own neighborhood in East Asia, China found in the Middle East an attractive zone Read More >

Pathological counterinsurgency: the failure of imposing legitimacy in El Salvador, Afghanistan, and Iraq

Many voices in the US policy community have suggested that El Salvador provided a model for US counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, based on the unsound contention that elections increased government legitimacy and effectiveness. The same flawed assessments were present in counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan – unfounded assumptions that elections would increase Read More >

An Opening For Al-Qaeda

Since the Islamic State (IS) made its dramatic military advance in Iraq more than a year ago—capturing Mosul and other key cities and declaring the caliphate’s re-establishment—analysts have been near-unanimous that the group’s emergence has devastated its parent organization, al-Qaeda. Indeed, IS has undermined al-Qaeda’s once-unrivaled position as the standard-bearer of the jihadist movement, outstripping al-Qaeda’s public Read More >

Islamic State and the Coming Global Confrontation – Book Review

This book analyzes the origins and organizational structure of Islamic State (IS), examining its military triumphs and success in securing new recruits via social media. From its base in Iraq and Syria, IS has spread globally with 17 regional affiliates from Indonesia to Nigeria and sleeper cells in at least 60 countries, capable of atrocities Read More >