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
Reports
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 ...
Reports
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...
Reports
Tipping the Scales
This report examines how emerging AI capabilities could disrupt the cyber offense-defense balance....
Reports
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.
Event
CNAS 2025 National Security Conference | America's Edge: Forging the Future
Jun 3, 2025
Reports
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...
Reports
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’s Pentagon Chief Under Fire as Scandals Mount
In The News
Hegseth -- a former Army National Guard major who went from Fox News co-host to leader of the world's most powerful military -- is no stranger to controversy and was only narr...
By Jim Townsend
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In The News
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could UnfoldFive miles off Taiwan’s coast, ZTD-05 amphibious vehicles roll out of ships and zip over the water amid a hail of artillery fire. The Chinese soldiers inside have their orders...
By Tom Shugart
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America’s Biggest Defense Contractors Are Fighting for Their Place in the Future of Drone Warfare
In The News
Silicon Valley disruptors and defense industry heavyweights are locked in a fight to shape the future of drone warfare....
By Stacie Pettyjohn
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New US National Security Strategy—Three Things It Says About China
In The News
China took center stage in U.S. President Donald Trump's newly released national security strategy, which outlines his security priorities for the coming years....
By Derek Grossman
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In The News
Technology & National Security
How Ukraine Became the World’s Most Recorded War—and a Laboratory for AI-Driven CombatSamuel Bendett, CNAS adjunct senior fellow, is a leading analyst of Russian military technology, with a focus on drones, robotic and autonomous systems, and artificial intelli...
By Samuel Bendett
Featured
Audio & Video
Events
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Past Event
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Past Event
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Past Event
Our Research Programs
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could UnfoldFive miles off Taiwan’s coast, ZTD-05 amphibious vehicles roll out of ships and zip over the water amid a hail of artillery fire. The Chinese soldiers inside have their orders...
By Tom Shugart
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America’s Biggest Defense Contractors Are Fighting for Their Place in the Future of Drone Warfare
By Stacie Pettyjohn
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U.S. Deploys Cheap Attack Drone Copied from Iranian Technology
By Becca Wasser
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could UnfoldFive miles off Taiwan’s coast, ZTD-05 amphibious vehicles roll out of ships and zip over the water amid a hail of artillery fire. The Chinese soldiers inside have their orders...
By Tom Shugart
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New US National Security Strategy—Three Things It Says About China
By Derek Grossman
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Chinese Maker of Bitcoin-Mining Machines Is a Security Threat, Says Expert
By David Feith
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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 Pentagon Chief Under Fire as Scandals Mount
Hegseth -- a former Army National Guard major who went from Fox News co-host to leader of the world's most powerful military -- is no stranger to controversy and was only narr...
By Jim Townsend
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Transatlantic Security / Middle East Security
The Russia-Iran Partnership: A Geopolitical Balancing ActBy Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
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Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Look Before We Leap on Artificial IntelligenceBy Jon B. Wolfsthal
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Trump’s Pentagon Chief Under Fire as Scandals Mount
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Transatlantic Security / Middle East Security
The Russia-Iran Partnership: A Geopolitical Balancing ActIt has been almost a year since Russia and Iran signed their comprehensive strategic partnership. That deal established a 20-year partnership between the two countries coverin...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
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U.S. Seeks Rare Earth Sweet Spot in Saudi Arabia
By Rachel Ziemba
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Russia’s ‘Shadow Vessels’ Using False Flags to Skirt Sanctions, Report Says
By Rachel Ziemba
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What if 'America First' Appears to Work? With Tom Wright
Tom Wright joins to talk about his recent article, “What if 'America First' Appears to Work?" about the Trump administration’s “might makes right” approach to foreign policy, ...
By Emily Kilcrease & Geoffrey Gertz
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USMCA Partners Urged to Form Joint Economic Security Mechanism to Address China Challenge
By Emily Kilcrease
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Analysts, Advocates Sound off During Day One of USTR’s Hearing on USMCA
By Emily Kilcrease
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What if 'America First' Appears to Work? With Tom Wright
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Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Look Before We Leap on Artificial IntelligenceThis article was originally published on The Dispatch. A debate about the role that artificial intelligence should and will play in society, and how it will affect humanity fo...
By Jon B. Wolfsthal
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Technology & National Security
How Ukraine Became the World’s Most Recorded War—and a Laboratory for AI-Driven CombatBy Samuel Bendett
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Technology & National Security
China’s Quantum Leap Will Eclipse U.S. Aircraft CarriersBy Morgan Peirce
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Pentagon Officials on Capitol Hill to Brief Congress on Double-Tap Boat StrikePentagon officials made their case for the double-tap strike, saying survivors were still “in the fight” and were radioing for help. But is that legally enough to justify the ...
By Carrie Cordero
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Colombian Family Files Legal Complaint on U.S. Strikes in CaribbeanBy Carrie Cordero
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
White House Blew past Legal Concerns in Deadly Strikes on Drug BoatsBy Carrie Cordero
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How the U.S. and South Africa Could Use the G20 to Plot a Path Forward
In the contest for the future of global order, South Africa’s choices will have a disproportionate impact on the outcome....
By Richard Fontaine & Gibbs McKinley
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Losing the Swing States
By Richard Fontaine & Gibbs McKinley
- New CNAS Report Argues Six “Global Swing States” Will Shape the New Great Power Competition
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How the U.S. and South Africa Could Use the G20 to Plot a Path Forward
