Publications

This commentary discusses Saudi Arabia’s alternatives to relying on US military power when it comes to foreign policy issues such as the turmoil in Syria and Iran’s nuclear program. The author contend...chevron_right

This paper assesses the first year of Chinese President Xi Jinping's time in office as well as his relations with the country's military. The author argues that, overall, Xi's first year represents a ...chevron_right

This note charts al Qaeda's evolution over a period of time, specifically, al Qaeda 1.0 (1988 – 2001), al Qaeda 2.0 (2002 – 2011) and al Qaeda 3.0 (2011 – present). It also provides some thoughts on t...chevron_right

This commentary examines the role of religion and secularism in Israeli politics. The author argues that, given the current demographic trends in Israel, Israelis should expect to be governed by coali...chevron_right

This note talks about how society in Pennsylvania prior to the foundation of the US developed so that it came to accept differences, particularly those related to religion. It especially focuses on th...chevron_right

This note outlines the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, the political importance of the divide between them, and the geopolitics of Sunni-Shia relations in the contemporary Arab world. The p...chevron_right

This note discusses the attributes of liberal democracy and examines to what extent and in what ways the Arab Spring has brought liberal democratic institutions to the Middle East. To do this, the aut...chevron_right

This commentary discusses developments in cross-border integration between Russia’s Far East (RFE) territory and China. Focusing on RFE’s trade patterns, China’s investments in the RFE and land use by...chevron_right

This commentary discusses the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the legality of targeted killing. The author specifically highlights the legal and moral challenges of targeted killing and propo...chevron_right

This commentary examines the academic standards and staff qualifications in the US Department of Defense's (DOD) Professional Military Education (PME) system. The authors argue that PME's security pra...chevron_right

This commentary discusses the possibility of partitioning Syria after its civil war. The author argues that the nation is not going to become a stable, unified state again anytime soon, let alone a re...chevron_right

The United States looks set to revive its once formidable military presence in the Philippines. Today, Felix Chang considers what Manila and Washington expect to gain from the proposed Increased Rotational Presence (IRP) Agreement, as well as China’s likely response.chevron_right

This commentary discusses the history of 'Russian exceptionalism' and its implication for current world politics. The author contrasts Russia's view of its exceptionalism with the US view of its own e...chevron_right

This commentary discusses the state of the Mexican government and its cross-party "Pact for Mexico". It discusses the pact's attempt at wide-reaching reforms in the face of budgetary constraints and t...chevron_right

This commentary looks at Egypt's head of state General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, his political motivations and the impact of his actions on the political situation in Egypt and the country’s relations wit...chevron_right