Publications
The National Institute for Deterrence Studies staff, fellows, and analysts often publish research and commentary in a variety of journals, publications, and popular websites. Below, we list research, articles, and other works we have published with other organizations and maintain our co-author rights for many of the organizations listed. If you would like to know more about our research and publication, please contact us
Global Security Review
Global Security Review
Our online journal dedicated to the advancement of strategic nuclear deterrence.
Recent Publications
Mutual Assured Destruction Doesn’t Deter Escalate to Win
Published 9/2/2025 in the USSTRATCOM News Briefs as well as…
Mutual Assured Destruction Doesn’t Deter Escalate to Win | Real Clear Defense
Is There a Strategic Nuclear Arms Race? | Real Clear Defense
Does China’s Air Defense Umbrella Cover Taiwan?
By NIDS Senior Fellow Dr. Carl Rhodes. Chinese surface-to-air missiles now have the range to reach the airspace over Taiwan, but experts disagree on whether this would pose a serious threat.
Georgia on Trump’s Mind
By Stephen Blank. It would currently be very much in the U.S. interest to reinvigorate relations with Georgia. Despite Georgia’s growing submission to Russian policy, its mounting anti-democratic repression, and pervasive corruption, opportunities exist that can justify a U.S. policy initiative towards the country. Specifically, Trump can emulate his achievement of inserting U.S. influence over trade routes like the Zangezur corridor to resuscitate the U.S. effort to develop Georgia’s Anaklia port complex on the Black Sea. Success would establish a lasting U.S. presence and provide a counterbalance to Sino-Russian influence. An enduring U.S. trade presence and even management of the primary land and sea corridors linking the Caucasus to both Central Asia and Europe could facilitate a far-reaching strategic transformation throughout these regions.
Keep artificial intelligence out of the ‘nuclear football’
By Rob Maness in Stars and Stripes and spot on Bannon’s war room, discusses how America must reject AI in the decision-making process for presidential nuclear actions. This decision is not driven by fear of progress; rather, it is a matter of preserving humanity in our most solemn responsibilities.
Are We Overestimating Autocracies?
By Matthew Kroenig, a columnist at Foreign Policy and vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, discusses how Russia and Iran have proved weaker than many thought. So will China.
DIMET: Shaping the Age of “Techno-Strategic” Power
This article by Curtis McGiffin discusses how technology, a key part of the DIME framework, now stands as a pillar of influence, marking the era of DIMET, where technological supremacy determines the level of prosperity and preeminence on the global
stage.
AI-Powered Drone Swarms Have Now Entered the Battlefield
Zak Kallenborn
Cited in Wall Street Journal: Zak Kallenborn
In a new frontier for warfare, Ukraine is using technology to allow groups of drones to communicate and make decisions independent of their operator
COURSE CORRECTIONS: ISSUE #2 Space Deterrence Messaging and Posture Improvements Needed
By Christopher Stone. In the second issue of Course Corrections, Senior Fellow for Space Deterrence Christopher Stone critiques recent Department of Defense and U.S. Space Command approaches to space deterrence. While acknowledging improvements in strategic language from top leaders, Stone warns that persistent confusion around key deterrence concepts, such as declaratory policy, credible threats, and space warfighting doctrine, could leave the U.S. Space Force ill-equipped to deter adversaries like China. The publication offers targeted “course corrections” to strengthen space deterrence posture through more precise terminology, faster deployment of space weapons, and a deeper understanding of adversary strategic thinking.
COURSE CORRECTIONS: ISSUE #1 Why America Still Lacks the Capacity for Space Superiority
This article by Senior Fellow Christopher Stone discusses America’s ongoing struggle to achieve space superiority, highlighting leadership issues, strategic flaws, and necessary corrections for the Space Force to effectively address space threats and adversary operations.
Combat Drones in Ukraine
By Dr. Adam Lowther and Dr. Mahbube Siddiki. This article published in the Air Force’s Air & Space Operations Review examines how Ukrainian and Russian forces are employing drones and their effects on the battlefield to devastating effect against Russian forces.
The Evolving Context for Deterrence
By Professor Stephen Cimbala and Dr. Adam Lowther. The main aim of the article published in the Journal of the Joint Air Power Competency Center is to discuss the challenges faced by NATO, focusing on the evolving threats posed by cyberattacks, space warfare, hypersonic weapons, missile defenses, drones, conventional-nuclear integration, and the nuclear capabilities of Russia and China.
Strategic Missile Defense and Nuclear Arms Control
By Professor Stephen Cimbala and Dr. Adam Lowther. This article for the Air Force’s Air & Space Operations Review seeks to define cyber red lines within gray-zone cyber operations to determine when the US Department of Defense could and should respond to state or nonstate actor operations that manifest as cyberattacks.
Small Aircraft, Sizeable Threats
By NIDS Senior Fellow Dr. Carl Rhodes. This article written for the Australian Army Research Centre discusses preparing the U.S. Army to counter small uncrewed aerial systems. In both international and intra-national conflicts conducted over the past decade, the increasing military capabilities of small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) have been firmly demonstrated.
Establishing a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise for Australia
Co-authored by Dr. Carl Rhodes, this research was written for RAND. Covering international and domestic lessons learned, the research describe the relevance of five international case studies to Australia in relation to the creation of a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise.
Recent Research
A New Era in Strategic Deterrence
It should be clear to all observers that neither the diminution of the nation’s nuclear arsenal, in force posture and strategy, nor the unbalanced exuberance for arms control, in the service of nuclear disarmament, swayed America’s adversaries from pursuing their quest for power and international restructuring.
