Recent Events
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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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Clean Energy and Korean National Security
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has emphasized renewable energy and small modular nuclear reactors in an effort to reduce his country’s greenhouse gas emissions. In the midst of this effort, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have disrupted supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas. On Thursday,
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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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Should the Arctic Be a Top U.S. Priority?
The Arctic has become a region of intensifying geopolitical competition, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s efforts to expand its Northern Sea Route as an alternative corridor for Russia’s energy and raw materials exports, and for shipping between Europe and Asia. Many also see the Arctic—including Greenland, as well as continental shelf and
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Whither Hungary?
On April 12, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party won a projected two-thirds supermajority in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, ending Viktor Orbán’s sixteen-year tenure as prime minister. This “regime change” of sorts heralds a Western pivot in Budapest’s foreign policy, with the incoming government indicating a willingness to cooperate with the EU on anti-corruption reforms and aid for
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