Recent Events

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  What Comes Next in Venezuela?

  President Donald Trump has decapitated Venezuela’s socialist government and shaken up regional and global politics with his daring operation to capture—and effectively depose—the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, who now awaits trial in New York. Yet Mr. Trump’s apparent plan to use the carrot of U.S. investment and renewed economic growth, as well as the stick

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  Iraq After the 2025 Elections

  The November 2025 Iraqi elections produced strong results for incumbent Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani and saw a high voter turnout. Masoud Barzani’s KDP and Muhammad Halbusi’s Taqaddum also performed well. Nevertheless, government formation will likely require months of negotiations. The Shi’a Coordination Framework will advance its own vision for a governing coalition, while Muqtada al-Sadr

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  Great Power Competition in Central Asia

  Central Asia has long been subject to the influence of Russia and China, as their proximity and historical relationships with these states have fostered longstanding strategic and economic ties. While American engagement with the Central Asian States has intensified as the U.S. seeks to access critical minerals, transportation corridors, and energy resources, centuries of Russian

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  Unleashing American Nuclear Energy: The Role of U.S. Allies

  Continuous bipartisan support for nuclear energy over the past decade has thrust the United States towards the cusp of a civil nuclear resurgence, with recently completed new builds and the impending operational start of our pioneering advanced reactor projects paving the way forward. The administration’s ambitious timelines for deployment and the potential rapid expansion of

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  Russia and the New Total War

  In addition to the immense loss of life and destruction in Ukraine, Russia’s 2022 invasion has forced a reexamination of 21st-century warfare, including its weapons and tactics as well as other tools, such as disinformation. In his new book The New Total War, Dr. Robert (“Bob”) Seely intertwines hard-hitting analysis of Russia’s conduct with personal

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