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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After Venezuela, Trump Offers Hints About What Could Be Next
In The News
Barely 48 hours after toppling the leader of Venezuela and asserting U.S. rights to the country’s oil, President Trump threatened Colombia with a similar fate, declared that C...
By Richard Fontaine
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Rubio Takes on His Most Daunting Role Yet
In The News
President Donald Trump ordered the military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro. But in the aftermath, Marco Rubio is in the spotlight....
By Richard Fontaine
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Will Venezuela Strike Lower Gas Prices for Americans?
In The News
As policy experts continue to debate the ethical and legal ramifications of the weekend raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Americans may be worried about...
By Rachel Ziemba
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Trump Is Tying His Legacy to Whatever Happens in Venezuela
In The News
Possibly, just possibly, Donald Trump just scored a foreign-policy success that could define his legacy. By striking Venezuela and whisking away Nicolás Maduro (along with Mad...
By Richard Fontaine
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America’s Strategic Investment Plan in Contested Region
In The News
The State Department has set a new tone for the United States’ priorities when it comes to foreign assistance in the Indo‑Pacific region, where the country is locked in a batt...
By Derek Grossman
Featured
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Past Event
Our Research Programs
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
Chinese Military Threat Grows, According to Pentagon ReportChairman Xi Jinping continues to invest heavily in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), as China's military approaches his 2027 "centennial military building goal"....
By Tom Shugart
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
China’s Plans to Dominate at Sea in 2026By Tom Shugart
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China Aircraft Carriers Set to Outnumber U.S. in Pacific by 2035: Analysts
By Tom Shugart
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Rubio Takes on His Most Daunting Role Yet
President Donald Trump ordered the military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro. But in the aftermath, Marco Rubio is in the spotlight....
By Richard Fontaine
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After Venezuela, Trump Offers Hints About What Could Be Next
By Richard Fontaine
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Trump’s Audacious Success
By Richard Fontaine
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Rubio Takes on His Most Daunting Role Yet
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National Security Human Capital Program
Key Elements of the 2026 National Defense Authorization ActThis article was originally published on War on the Rocks. Although contemplating the personnel requirements of a large-scale conflict — and with it, the potential for casualt...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
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National Security Human Capital Program
What Is Nifty Nugget? NDAA Revives 47-Year-Old Military ExerciseBy Katherine L. Kuzminski
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National Security Human Capital Program
Privatizing Galleys Is an ‘Open Question,’ Says Navy’s Top Enlisted LeaderBy Katherine L. Kuzminski
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Former NATO Secretary Explains: What’s Next for Venezuela?
The recent strikes leading to the capture of Nicolas Maduro have raised significant questions about the future of Venezuela. Jim Townsend, CNAS adjunct senior fellow and forme...
By Jim Townsend
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Zelensky Heads to Trump Meeting with Canada, EU Support
By Jim Townsend
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Russia’s Economy Is Struggling. But That Won’t Bring Putin to the Negotiating Table for Years
By Richard Connolly
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Former NATO Secretary Explains: What’s Next for Venezuela?
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‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Everywhere Except the U.S.
Global markets remained resilient as investors grow accustomed to President Trump's unorthodox military operations, viewing them as temporary shocks rather than long-term risk...
By Rachel Ziemba
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Will Venezuela Strike Lower Gas Prices for Americans?
By Rachel Ziemba
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Gold Looks the Way to Play Weaker Dollar
By Rachel Ziemba
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‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Everywhere Except the U.S.
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Trump Administration Pauses Offshore Wind Projects Along the East Coast
Five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast have been halted. The Trump administration says the projects pose a national security risk. Wil...
By Will Rogers
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Trump Isn’t That Serious About Defeating Xi
By Liza Tobin
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No Grid, No Glory: What History Teaches Us About the Next Major War
By Will Rogers
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Trump Administration Pauses Offshore Wind Projects Along the East Coast
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Technology & National Security
For Defense AI, Bubble, Bubble, Toil and … Bargains?: 2026 PreviewThe Pentagon could pick up technology and talent at bargain prices if soaring investments in artificial intelligence finally come crashing down in 2026, experts told Breaking ...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
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Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
America’s Cyber Retreat Is Undermining Indo-Pacific SecurityBy Morgan Peirce
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Technology & National Security
Ukraine’s Campaign Against Russia’s Shadow Fleet Goes GlobalBy Samuel Bendett
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Nicolás Maduro Indictment ImplicationsCNAS senior fellow and general counsel Carrie Cordero joined CNN to discuss the case brought against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration's interventi...
By Carrie Cordero
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
U.S. Intervention in VenezuelaBy Carrie Cordero
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Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Trump’s Venezuela Escalation Raises Questions on Next StepsBy 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
