The Defense Strategy and Planning project studies the role of military force and operational art in modern great power competition. Our team conducts rigorous research and analysis on the ways, means, and ends of military operations conducted by the U.S., China, and other major powers to achieve foreign policy objectives short of war. Our work highlights the evolving role of military force in the post-Cold War era, including in gray zone conflict.
By combining military and diplomatic history with data-driven analysis, we identify and assess the historical, environmental, and political characteristics that have shaped the modern use of military force, and provide tools and analysis to decision-makers to help inform choices on how to more effectively use the U.S. military across domains and into the future.
There is a real danger that the actions the United States is taking in an effort to signal support for Taiwan will actually spur a conflict over Taiwan
May 18, 2022
Putin may have intended to achieve his political goals in Ukraine merely by presenting a highly credible threat of invasion.
March 31, 2022
An interactive visualization and downloadable dataset of overseas US active duty troop presence from 1991-2020.
July 14, 2021
Too often, foreign policy analysts have focused principally on the hard power component of China’s ambitions in the South China Sea.
May 13, 2021
The doctrine of “strategic ambiguity” makes it critical that any military action taken in defense of Taiwan has the overwhelming support of the American public.
January 19, 2021
The U.S. needs to make clear if transits through the Taiwan Strait are routine demonstrations of its navigational rights or intentional signals of deterrence.
January 15, 2021
This article was originally published in The National Interest
December 24, 2020
To compete successfully, DoD instead needs a strategy that uses its military strength to persuade friends and, when necessary, coerce rivals.
August 28, 2020
