Author: Jordan Henry
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US Grand Strategy and the Madman Theory: From Nixon to Trump
What happens when a president convinces the world he might just do the unthinkable? In US Grand Strategy and the Madman Theory, James D. Boys argues that projecting calculated irrationality can terrify adversaries into submission, but at enormous risk. From Nixon’s secret Cold War gambits to Trump’s chaotic tweet-driven diplomacy, Boys explores how these two
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Iran: The U.S. Needs to Find an Offramp, Soon
Ten weeks after the U.S. and Israel began their campaign of military strikes against Iran, a ceasefire remains in place, but negotiations appear deadlocked. In the Center for the National Interest’s latest Policy Brief, CFTNI Senior Fellow Greg Priddy assesses current circumstances and U.S. options in what has become an economic war of attrition. In
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May 11, 2026: “The Matter Is Coming to an End”
May 11, 2026: «The Matter Is Coming to an End» During his lengthy press conference following the May 9 Victory Day parade, Vladimir Putin slipped in an almost offhand remark that “the matter is coming to an end” — a phrase Western outlets quickly seized on as a signal that the war in Ukraine may
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Reality Always Wins | Has Foreign Intelligence Taken Over Job Web Sites?
In his latest Reality Always Wins post, Paul Saunders raises a concern he’s been quietly tracking for years: many “geopolitical risk analysis” job postings on major employment sites read suspiciously like foreign intelligence recruitment pitches. Drawing on his own brush with a sketchy “consulting” offer he ultimately reported to the FBI, Saunders walks through the
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Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War
On May 5, 2026, the Center for the National Interest hosted a discussion of Sean Wiswesser’s new book, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War. Wiswesser, who retired after a nearly 30-year career in the CIA, has written a fascinating book that demystifies how the Russian intelligence services operate; their strengths
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