Featured Reports
Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac
Carlton Haelig, Philip Sheers | October 21, 2025
Countering the Digital Silk Road
Vivek Chilukuri, Ruby Scanlon | October 15, 2025
Tipping the Scales
Caleb Withers | September 23, 2025
Countering the Swarm
Stacie Pettyjohn, Molly Campbell | September 10, 2025
Defense
Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac
For more than a decade, the United States has sought to modernize its military to deter China, but it has become stuck in a developmental cul-de-sac that has allowed China to ...
Technology & National Security
Countering the Digital Silk Road
The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s effort to strengthen its global ties and influence through technology. In the decade since the...
Technology & National Security
Tipping the Scales
This report examines how emerging AI capabilities could disrupt the cyber offense-defense balance....
Defense
Countering the Swarm
After decades of air dominance and a near monopoly on precision strike, the United States now faces a dramatically different, more hostile world as the proliferation of cheap ...
AMERICA'S EDGE
The United States faces a rapidly changing global security landscape. Evolving technology, shifting alliances, and emerging threats require America to harness bold, innovative approaches. The CNAS 2025 national security conference, America’s Edge: Forging the Future, will bring together bipartisan leaders, policymakers, and industry to chart a vision for enhancing America’s global edge.
CNAS 2025 National Security Conference | America's Edge: Forging the Future
Jun 3, 2025
The First 100 Days
The First 100 Days is a series of recommendations from CNAS experts. The recommendations span the most pressing issues that will test the administration, including competition...
Global Swing States
Global Swing States and the New Great Power Competition
International politics is undergoing a period of rapid, significant change. China and Russia are working together more closely and alongside Iran and North Korea...
Press
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Trump Officials Accused of Bullying Tactics to Kill a Climate Measure
In The News
More than 100 nations were poised last month to approve a historic deal to slash pollution from cargo ships. That’s when the United States launched a pressure campaign that of...
By Richard Fontaine
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Ship with Russia Oil Makes Rare Move off India as Trade Strained
In The News
A tanker carrying crude from recently-sanctioned Rosneft PJSC has made a rare cargo transfer off Mumbai, as the Trump administration ramps up its scrutiny of India’s oil trade...
By Rachel Ziemba
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In The News
National Security Human Capital Program
Military Influencers Are Going Viral, and the Pentagon’s Social Media Rules Aren’t Keeping UpTop military influencers are taking over corners of social media — and it's opening a can of ethical worms for the Pentagon....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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As Pokrovsk Is Set to Fall, Ukraine Must Choose to Fight or Save Troops
In The News
Ukrainian forces are still battling desperately to maintain their foothold in the besieged eastern city of Pokrovsk, even as debate mounts over whether they should tactically ...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
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Mushroom Clouds on the Horizon? What Trump’s Threat Means for Global Nuclear Testing
In The News
In June 2019, the director of the Pentagon's main intelligence agency made an eyebrow-raising allegation about Russia and its nuclear programs: Moscow is testing its atomic we...
By Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, Jr. (Ret.)
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What It Would Take to Build Trump’s Golden Fleet ‘Battleships’
When President Donald Trump told a group of high-ranking military officers in September that he was “seriously considering” building “battleships” for the US Navy, it raised e...
By Carlton Haelig
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Defense / Technology & National Security
What to Expect from Military AI in 2030By Josh Wallin
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
To Compete with China on Military AI, U.S. Should Set the StandardsBy Jacob Stokes, Paul Scharre & Josh Wallin
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What It Would Take to Build Trump’s Golden Fleet ‘Battleships’
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Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | The Cost of Silence on China’s Cyber AggressionJust weeks before the much anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and General Secretary Xi Jinping, the United States discovered yet another major China-backed cyb...
By Morgan Peirce
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Trump Officials Accused of Bullying Tactics to Kill a Climate Measure
By Richard Fontaine
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Seoul, Washington Formalize Nuclear Sub Talks; North Korea Contact Eyed via Condolence Diplomacy
By Dr. Go Myong-Hyun
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National Security Human Capital Program
Military Influencers Are Going Viral, and the Pentagon’s Social Media Rules Aren’t Keeping UpTop military influencers are taking over corners of social media — and it's opening a can of ethical worms for the Pentagon....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
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National Security Human Capital Program
Airmen and Space Force guardians will be extended for 60 days due to shutdownBy Katherine L. Kuzminski
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National Security Human Capital Program
Army Extends Contract for Soldiers Nearing End of Service Due to ShutdownBy Katherine L. Kuzminski
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Trump's Trade Talks and Europe with Liz Economy and Mikko Huotari
President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping on October 30, 2025, ended with a temporary truce between the two leaders. While thi...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
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Mushroom Clouds on the Horizon? What Trump’s Threat Means for Global Nuclear Testing
By Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, Jr. (Ret.)
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As Pokrovsk Is Set to Fall, Ukraine Must Choose to Fight or Save Troops
By Franz-Stefan Gady
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Trump's Trade Talks and Europe with Liz Economy and Mikko Huotari
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Ship with Russia Oil Makes Rare Move off India as Trade Strained
A tanker carrying crude from recently-sanctioned Rosneft PJSC has made a rare cargo transfer off Mumbai, as the Trump administration ramps up its scrutiny of India’s oil trade...
By Rachel Ziemba
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How a Peace Deal Between Hamas and Israel Will Reshape the Middle East
By Rachel Brandenburg
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Oct. 7 Anniversary: Israel Battles Optics, Isolation, and Mounting Death Toll as World Pushes Trump Deal
By Adham Sahloul
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Ship with Russia Oil Makes Rare Move off India as Trade Strained
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U.N. Security Council Removes Syria’s President from Sanctions List
The United Nations Security Council voted on Thursday to remove President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria from a terrorism sanctions list, just days before his planned visit to Washin...
By Alex Zerden
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Supreme Court’s Skepticism on Trump Tariffs Means Uncertainty Reigns
By Rachel Ziemba
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Economic Security in North America
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
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U.N. Security Council Removes Syria’s President from Sanctions List
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Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | The Cost of Silence on China’s Cyber AggressionJust weeks before the much anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and General Secretary Xi Jinping, the United States discovered yet another major China-backed cyb...
By Morgan Peirce
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Defense / Technology & National Security
What to Expect from Military AI in 2030By Josh Wallin
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
To Compete with China on Military AI, U.S. Should Set the StandardsBy Jacob Stokes, Paul Scharre & Josh Wallin
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
In the Trump Era, Cheney’s Brand of Conservatism Became ObsoleterWhen George W. Bush asked Dick Cheney to be his running mate in the summer of 2000, Mr. Cheney warned that his voting record was well to the right of Mr. Bush’s presidential c...
By Richard Fontaine
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Trump Admin Faces Deep Skepticism from Supreme Court on TariffsBy Carrie Cordero
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Trump Antifa Crackdown Steered to Agency That Targets Organized CrimeBy Carrie Cordero
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Losing the Swing States
The United States has strained its relations with friendly BRICS members....
By Richard Fontaine & Gibbs McKinley
- New CNAS Report Argues Six “Global Swing States” Will Shape the New Great Power Competition
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Global Swing States and the New Great Power Competition
By Richard Fontaine & Gibbs McKinley
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Losing the Swing States
