Italy’s Choice: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
On Sunday, Italians definitively voted “No” to a constitutional referendum supported by the country’s Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi. After the vote, in which nearly 60 […] More
News & Analysis
Mattis as Defense Secretary: Wartime Experience for a Country at War
Late Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would appoint retired Marine General James Mattis – nicknamed “Mad Dog” – as Secretary of Defense. “They […] More
Living Under the Heavy Hand of ISIS
MOSUL, IRAQ — Ahmed Salam received a printed citation signed by an Islamic State fighter for shaving his beard and wearing tight-fitting, Western-style clothes. Considering […] More
Developing and Sticking With a Clear Strategy in Afghanistan
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said that fighting Islamic extremism is one of his administration’s top priorities. Determining the path forward in Afghanistan, where the […] More
Afghanistan: The U.S. Must Settle In for the Long Haul
The Cipher Brief sat down with former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann to discuss some of the challenges that the incoming Trump Administration will […] More
Nudging Afghanistan in the Right Direction
With the Trump Administration set to take office next month, The Cipher Brief spoke with Robert Grenier, former CIA Chief of Station in Pakistan and […] More
Sweden, Finland & Norway Deepen Defense Ties with the West
Sweden, Finland, and Norway (the only NATO member of the three) are inching closer to the western sphere of defense. Russian incursions over the past […] More
Nordic Nations Need NATO
The Nordic countries – in particular Sweden, Finland, and Norway – are bolstering defense relations with the United States at a time when Russia had […] More
How Russia Likely Sees Nordic Defense
Sweden and Finland are moving closer to the western sphere of defense, while Norway has long held strong defense relations with the U.S. and NATO, […] More
Obama's Legacy on Russia and China: Making the Grade
When asked recently by The Atlantic about President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy with China, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger replied: “I’d say B-plus.” […] More
Obama Failed to Understand Putin
As 2016 draws to a close and along with it the presidency of Barack Obama, it is perhaps time to reflect on the relationship with […] More
Did Mideast Crises Hamper Obama's Asia Pivot?
With the incoming Trump presidency, much ink has been spilled regarding the “end” of President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia. The pivot was centered on […] More
Identity in Cyberspace: The Advent of Biometrics Authentication
Cyberspace has grown into a vital domain of everyday life—we work, socialize, play, and conduct financial transactions online. Our lives now have a digital touch, […] More
Biometrics: Harmony Between Security and Privacy?
The use of biometrics to authenticate identity has been the subject of great debate for years, with opposing sides arguing its value for security, privacy, […] More
The Key Questions to Ask About Biometrics Security
Amidst a rash of data breaches where compromised passwords provided the vector of attack – think Target, Anthem, OPM, or more recently, the Democratic National […] More
China's Economy: Great Power, Great Responsibility
For roughly 30 years, China’s “economic miracle” has catapulted the once-impoverished country from relative backwater to global economic juggernaut. Driven by export-led growth and massive […] More
Beijing's Inefficient Economics Policies
Since the liberalizing economic reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, the Chinese economy has grown at an average annual rate of nearly 10 percent. […] More
Job Creation in the Age of Globalization: Trump and Xi's Shared Challenge
President-elect Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have more in common than they currently realize. Both want to make their countries “great again,” and both […] More