Georgetown Security Studies Review

GSSR Volume 12, Issue 1 Available for Download GSSR-Vol-12-Iss-1-FinalDownload If you are interested in publishing with the GSSR in future editions or on our online forum, please view our ‘Contribute’ page or contact the E…

Volume 12, Issue 1 of the Georgetown Security Studies Review is now available to view and download! 📖⤵
The submission deadline for the 12(2) edition has been set for November 10, 2024. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/07/08/g...

Strategic Ambitions: Russia’s Deepening Military and Geopolitical Footprint in Libya Image Source: Pulaski The Wagner Group’s entrenched and increasingly overt operations in Libya reflect Russia’s strategic challenge to Western influence and its ambition to solidify its…

Russia’s exploitation of Libya further demonstrates that its challenge to NATO is not confined to the Eastern flank but also aims at the Southern flank.
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Precision-Guided Podcast | Book Talk – Life and Death at Abbey Gate with Mikael Kirk Apple Podcasts | Spotify The United States withdrew from its two decade-long mission in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. During the withdrawal,  a group of veterans, government employees, an…

During the Afghanistan withdrawal, an ad-hoc group of veterans, government employees, and everyday citizens banded together for an extraordinary rescue mission. "Life and Death at Abbey Gate" is their story, the story of
#DigitalDunkirk.
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The “Coolest Dictator” and El Loco: The New Latin American Right Image Source: The Economist Across Latin America, leaders have adopted increasingly bold platforms to propel them into office. Argentinian President Javier Milei campaigned on vows of a much-needed…

Latin America’s new right-wing leaders have promised to deliver needed policy overhauls and reforms but have paved the way for democratic backsliding as populations trade democratic freedoms and liberties for greater security or economic stability.
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Precision-Guided Podcast | ‘The Year of Democracy’: Assessing Democratic Backsliding in Latin America with Ambassador Jimmy Story Apple Podcasts | Spotify Amidst the global wave of democratic elections in 2024, voters in six Latin American countries have already or will head to the polls to decide the future of their countrie…

The Precision-Guided podcast sits down with U.S. Ambassador Jimmy Story to discuss democratization trends and analyze their implications for the future of democracy in Latin America.
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From USSR Propaganda to Modern Russian Information Warfare: Racial Issues Now and Then Image Source: Magic Media, via Canva In the 1930s, the Soviet Union promoted the concept of “Southern Autonomous State,” an independent state in the South of the United States. As part …

Russia has revived the Soviet-era weaponizing of U.S. racial tensions, with the goal of undermining American democracy and distracting the United States from Moscow's expanding geopolitical interests.
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Borderlands on Fire Image Source: Wikimedia February 2024 marked the third anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup, which threw the country’s nascent democracy into chaos and set off a geopolitical chain reaction acros…

Myanmar’s civil war holds a magnifying glass to great power competition in the Indo-Pacific region, illustrating the role that the United States could play in addressing the crisis. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/06/08/b...

What AI Policy Can Learn from Pandemic Preparedness Image Source: DALL-E By guest contributor Akash Wasil, an AI policy researcher and incoming Security Studies Program (SSP) student.  U.S. policymakers are sprinting to bolster the federal governmen…

EO 14110 leaves a critical question unaddressed: What should the government do once the model evaluations are triggered?
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Gaming for the Win: Merging Video Games, Synthetic Training Environments, and Combat Simulators Image Source: dream.ai According to a victorious Ukrainian tank commander, video games helped him figure out “how” and “where” to strike a much better armed and armored Russian T-90M on the outskir…

We must position ourselves to win tomorrow’s conflicts by fighting as many of them virtually as possible. And, while wars of the future will certainly not be games, some games will help us win them.
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Blister in the Sun: Pursuing Climate Goals in a Chinese-Dominated Solar Industry Image Source: Louisiana Illuminator After her bilateral summit with China in April 2024, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen returned home reporting an agenda that spanned critical topics across t…

With competing demands for government spending and debt interest payments looming on the horizon, the United States may lack the revenue to meet green energy goals without access to more mature Chinese production markets.
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Building a Better Integrated Defense: Obstacles and Opportunities for U.S.-Japan Defense-Industrial Integration Image Source: RAND During Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent state visit in April 2024, the White House released a visionary joint statement on deepening U.S.-Japan cooperation across a…

The vision for U.S.-Japan defense-industrial integration set out by recent administrations is a lofty proposition that will require considerable bureaucratic and industry movement, patience, and some betting on the U.S.-Japan defense relationship.
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Unveiling Masculinity: The Complexities of Gender Identities in Jihadi-Salafi Extremism Image Source: Islamic State propaganda published in its “Ghazwa-e-Hind” magazine Judith Butler, a pioneer of third-wave feminist theories, described gender performativity as a phenomenon where “gen…

By demonstrating ways that patriarchal gender norms fuel extremist ideologies, recruitment, and operations, we can foster a more inclusive and gender-equal society that is resilient to extremist narratives.
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Ukraine’s Export Crisis Isn’t Over Yet Image Source: Reuters The Ukrainian “grain crisis” is not over, despite tremendous successes in increasing Ukrainian seaborne exports since the Russian military invaded Ukraine in 2022. Ukrai…

Russia continues to benefit when Ukrainian exports are complicated and compromised. Perhaps less directly, Russia profits from what the Houthis claim are protected shipments across the Red Sea, while Ukrainian exports remain at risk. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/05/04/u...

AI-Enabled Deception: The New Arena of Counterterrorism Image Source: Academic Info Artificial Intelligence (AI) is constantly reshaping the boundaries of innovation, permeating every aspect of modern society, from healthcare to finance. As of November …

The rapid evolution of AI technologies and their potential for misuse by extremist groups demand a proactive approach that anticipates future threats while fostering innovation in counterterrorism methodologies.
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The Case for U.S. Homeland Ballistic Missile Defense Against North Korea Image Source: Breaking Defense The United States has long maintained that it can defend the homeland against limited North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strikes. The 2022 Missile…

The U.S. homeland BMD system against North Korea is effective and affordable. It does not inevitably provoke arms races nor hinder arms control. Instead, it enhances the credibility of the American deterrent against North Korea. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/05/02/t...

Remembering a Forgotten War: United States Policy Options to Resolve Sudan’s Civil War Image Source: Sudan War Monitor Wars have dominated this year’s election news cycle, with the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza featuring prominently in President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Addres…

The United States must remember the “forgotten war” in Sudan. The longer the civil war in Sudan continues, the more leverage Iran will gain–from its military aid–over the Sudanese Armed Forces. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/05/01/r...

A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Afghanistan Image Source: Eurasianet The unrecognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is experiencing its first period of peace in nearly fifty years. The Taliban-run state now must balance its desire for good …

The United States and the West should lead efforts for Central Asia’s economic development away from thirsty cotton fields and towards more sustainable water practices.
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Surging Violence and Far-Right Extremism: Unpacking Social Media’s Role in the 2024 Election Image Source: Wall Street Journal Across the Western world, right-wing political movements are on the rise. In the United States, this has manifested in an uptick of far-right extremist activity on…

Underpinning the alarming shifts in extremist activities is the rapid evolution of the Internet and social media technologies, which have become the tools to facilitate extremist communications and radicalization endeavors across the United States.
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Why the Armenians of Artsakh Surrendered: Takeaways from Interviews with Refugees Image Source: AP News By guest contributor Sarkis Karabashian, a student in the Security Studies Program (SSP). As the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, another longstanding conflict simulta…

Armenians in Artsakh faced a stark choice: resist and face certain massacre, or surrender and preserve life and liberty, albeit with only meager possessions.
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From Sling and Stone to Autonomous Drone? Key Questions for Determining Whether Autonomy Favors Davids or Goliaths Image Source: DALLE-3, via ChatGPT Suppose that the year is 2035 and America is engaged in counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East: would autonomous drones favor the insurgents or counterin…

Given the many surprises in AI’s progress in the past decade, analysts should more clearly acknowledge and address the critical points of technological uncertainty/dispute before concluding that AMS will favor weaker or wealthier military actors.
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@avielroshwald.bsky.social

The Great Replacement Theory & Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists Image Source: NPR In February, a convoy of trucks calling themselves “Take our border back” traveled from Virginia to the Texas-Mexico border to show support for the Texas government in its protest…

Amid reasonable political debate about how to reform the U.S. immigration system, policymakers should be concerned about great replacement rhetoric inspiring individuals to commit violence.
georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/04/16/t...

Precision-Guided Podcast | Fact vs. Fiction: WWII Mythologizing and Its Legacy in Ukraine Apple Podcasts | Spotify The invasion of Ukraine has shone a light on how global leaders leverage historical narratives to suit the political moment. For leaders like Vladimir Putin, the popular me…

In this episode, Dr. Aviel Roshwald discusses the legacies of WWII historical myth-making and separates the truth of Ukrainian experiences during WWII occupation from Kremlin fiction. (2/2)

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The invasion of Ukraine has shone a light on how global leaders leverage historical narratives to suit the political moment. For leaders like Vladimir Putin, the popular memory of World War II is a useful propaganda tool to legitimize its invasion. (1/2)

The End of MINUSMA: Russia Competes with the UN for Global Influence Image Source: United Nations In late December 2023, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, finalized its withdrawal from the country after over a decade on the ground. Its exodus came after …

The egregious human rights violations by the Wagner Group are symptomatic of the operational framework embraced by Mali’s government and the dangers posed by the elevation of PMCs.
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Looking Beyond the Politics at the Southwest Border Members of the Texas National Guard give directives to migrants at the United States-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez). Image Source: Spectrum 1 N…

A real solution to the border necessitates the removal of our partisan blinders and implementing a renewed approach that works for the United States and invites the cooperation of neighboring countries.
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Pyrophobia: Confronting a National Resistance to Proactive Fire Use Image Source: National Geographic “You can’t fireproof the forest,” John Gould, former smokejumper and manager of the Alaska Fire Service, told me. There is simply too much land to manage and not e…

In the same way that the federal government compelled states to raise the drinking age by threatening to withhold highway funding, so too must legislators act to ensure prescribed burns are taken seriously. georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/04/10/p...

Beyond Conflict: The Ripple Effect of Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea Image Source: AP On October 19, 2023, the U.S.S. Carney intercepted three Houthi cruise missiles and several drones in the Red Sea. The missiles were launched from Yemen and targeted commercial ves…

The Israel-Hamas War breeds an environment in which the Houthis and others can capitalize on the plight of the Palestinians to justify attacks against adversaries. It allows them to garner international attention and recruit members to their cause.
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Precision-Guided Podcast | Shoot for the Moon – Cislunar Security Apple Podcasts | Spotify As great power competition extends into space, what will be the impact on nations’ behaviors and interests both on and around the Moon? Host Kellsie Herrmann sits down with…

As great power competition extends into space, what will be the impact on nations’ behaviors and interests both on and around the Moon? Learn about the political and scientific realities of cislunar security in our latest podcast episode!
georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2024/04/08/p...

Precision-Guided Podcast | NATO at 75 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts In recognition of NATO’s upcoming 75th Anniversary, please join us for a special episode of the Precision-Guided Podcast featuring Professor Stephen Flana…

In recognition of NATO’s upcoming 75th Anniversary, please join us for a special episode of the Precision-Guided Podcast featuring Professor Stephen Flanagan, a distinguished figure in the field of transatlantic security and defense.

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