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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U.S. Nvidia Chips to China: What Does That Mean for the AI Race?
In The News
During the Cold War, U.S. policy on export controls for advanced technology meant that the United States prevented sales to adversaries to stifle competition as rival countrie...
By Jacob Stokes
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Golden Dome: The Astronomical Cost of Defeating ‘Any Foreign Aerial Attack’
In The News
Just days into his second administration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to do what no other commander in chief has done: build a system for the U...
By Becca Wasser
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U.S. Strategy Shifts Focus to China, Urges South Korea to Redesign Security with Nuclear Options
In The News
2025 NSS omits North Korea denuclearization, acknowledges nuclear reality, calls for South Korea to enhance deterrence through potential nuclear armament and increased defense...
By Lisa Curtis
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Annual Defense Policy Bill Calls for Psychological Study on Drone Operators, Analysts
In The News
The final draft of the annual defense policy bill tasks the Pentagon with conducting a psychological study on troops and Defense Department civilians who use or support unmann...
By Molly Campbell
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In The News
Technology & National Security
How Much Could China Gain from Access to Powerful Nvidia Chips?President Trump’s announcement that the American chip maker Nvidia would be able to sell semiconductors to China appeared to roll back years of policies aimed at blocking the ...
By Tim Fist
Featured
Audio & Video
Events
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Past Event
Our Research Programs
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Golden Dome: The Astronomical Cost of Defeating ‘Any Foreign Aerial Attack’
Just days into his second administration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to do what no other commander in chief has done: build a system for the U...
By Becca Wasser
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Annual Defense Policy Bill Calls for Psychological Study on Drone Operators, Analysts
By Molly Campbell
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Japan Builds up ‘Missile Archipelago’ near Taiwan to Counter China
By Franz-Stefan Gady
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Golden Dome: The Astronomical Cost of Defeating ‘Any Foreign Aerial Attack’
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U.S. Nvidia Chips to China: What Does That Mean for the AI Race?
During the Cold War, U.S. policy on export controls for advanced technology meant that the United States prevented sales to adversaries to stifle competition as rival countrie...
By Jacob Stokes
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U.S. Strategy Shifts Focus to China, Urges South Korea to Redesign Security with Nuclear Options
By Lisa Curtis
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Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
See How a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Could UnfoldBy Tom Shugart
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U.S. Nvidia Chips to China: What Does That Mean for the AI Race?
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National Security Human Capital Program
Short SupplyExecutive Summary The U.S. military faces a critical challenge: Fewer young Americans are willing to serve, and fewer adults are encouraging them to do so. Because of delibera...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski & Taren Sylvester
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National Security Human Capital Program
Military Influencers Are Going Viral, and the Pentagon’s Social Media Rules Aren’t Keeping UpBy 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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Transatlantic Tensions in the New National Security Strategy
On December 4th, the Trump administration released its long-awaited national security strategy, sending another round of shock waves through the transatlantic community. The n...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
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Trump’s Pentagon Chief Under Fire as Scandals Mount
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 Tensions in the New National Security Strategy
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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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Rational Security: The “Adverse Possession” Edition
This week, Scott sat down with Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien and Contributing Editor and CNAS adjunct senior fellow Alex Zerden to talk through a few of the week’s big...
By Alex Zerden
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What if 'America First' Appears to Work? With Tom Wright
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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Rational Security: The “Adverse Possession” Edition
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Technology & National Security
How Much Could China Gain from Access to Powerful Nvidia Chips?President Trump’s announcement that the American chip maker Nvidia would be able to sell semiconductors to China appeared to roll back years of policies aimed at blocking the ...
By Tim Fist
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Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Look Before We Leap on Artificial IntelligenceBy 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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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
