Confederate Monument, Arlington National Cemetery

Traitors to Their Country: The Argument for Removing Confederates from the Arlington National Cemetery

Opinion By Alan Cunningham on March 28, 2022 | Reading time 4 min

The U.S. Civil War began on 12 April 1861 and would end four years and fourteen days later on 26 April 1865. While exact numbers of the ceased are unknown, it is estimated that some 750,000 Americans died in the conflict, some 360,000 dying for the United States and 260,000 dying on the Confederate side. The conflict forever changed the course of American history and was a monumental development from a social, political, legal, and economic perspective.
However, in the decades after the Civil War, partly due to the promulgation of Lost Cause myths, a more positive view of the Confederacy and their military has evolved.

President Joe Biden

Why Biden’s “democracy club” is likely to fail

Brief Analysis By Bruno Pedrosa on March 23, 2022 | Reading time 8 min

The increasing tensions between China and the United States have taken Washington to revive old ideas. One example of that is the Summit of Democracies that was held virtually last December. The idea of a concert of democracies is not new and was already tried before, however unsuccessfully. Biden’s administration is now trying to carry out this concept as a way to tackle autocracies like China and Russia. But will it work this time?

Microsoft Building, Redmond

The Empire Strikes Back: Microsoft buys Activision-Blizzard

Opinion By Benjamin Hanussek on March 17, 2022 | Reading time 4 min

Earlier this year, Activision-Blizzard, developer and publisher of games such as World of Warcraft and Call of Duty, announced that Microsoft will incorporate them for about 70 billion dollars. This acquisition has enormous implications not just for the games industry but also for the average consumer.

Marine Corps War Memorial

General Sam and the Warrior-Scholar: The Importance of Self-Education in the Armed Forces 

Brief Analysis By Alan Cunningham on March 14, 2022 | Reading time 5 min

Newly commissioned officers and officer hopefuls look to various areas for role models. Some look to business and politics while others look to science and academia. Yet, most look towards military officers, persons such as GEN Creighton Abrams, LTG Lewis “Chesty” Puller, or ADM Chester Nimitz. Many are able to find key qualities for officers in these persons; duty to country and subordinates, leadership, tactical ability, and intelligence.
However, one officer that frequently is never mentioned is Lieutenant General Samuel V. Wilson of the U.S. Army.

Neutral Ukraine - Anti War Protest, London

It’s not NATO threatening Russia – Democracy is

Opinion By Gabriela Greilinger on March 12, 2022 | Reading time 4 min

The claim that Putin feels threatened by NATO is not only the key argument of political scientist Mearsheimer and it has also been picked up and replicated by Russian propaganda. However, various scholars and experts on the region disagree with this notion of NATO threatening Russia. Instead, some argue, it is democracy that poses a threat to Putin and his regime and that fear of flourishing democracy in Russia’s neighbourhood is part of the explanation for the Russian invasion in 2014 and 2022.

Wall between Israel & Palestine

Convening a Summit for Democracy while militarily aiding Israel’s regime

Opinion By Stella Popova on March 11, 2022 | Reading time 8 min

As one examines the human rights violations in Palestine, aiming to promote democratic principles in other corners of the globe seems duplicitous. The problems that we encounter when trying to promote human rights principles question the point of vying for respect for these principles: it seems that, if they are not on the agenda of the most powerful states, it may turn out to be a lost cause. Rights and principles are often addressed when concrete national interests are affected. But also because of national interests, or due to a particular conception of national interests, states are willing to remain silent or even whitewash international crimes.

President Xi Jinping State Visit to the UK

China in the Pacific: How is Beijing flexing its power in the region

In-Depth Analysis By Kareem Salem on March 7, 2022 | Reading time 7 min

The Pacific Islands and their vast expanse of ocean have never been a major source of traditional military threats. The post-World War Two security architecture of the Pacific has historically been dominated by the United States. Yet today, China’s diplomatic and economic push into the Pacific is incrementally reshaping the strategic landscape. While its presence in the region is not new, Beijing has capitalised on the dissonance between Washington and the Pacific Island nations by steadily and significantly expanding its commercial and geopolitical clout. As a result, ten of the fourteen Pacific Island nations now recognise the One China policy, which warrants considerable attention from the United States and other regional actors such as Australia.

Sochi - Meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

Putin Changed the International Order – How Do We Deal With It?

Opinion By Haris Šehović on March 4, 2022 | Reading time 4 min

Some perceived Vladimir Putin as a tactical, rational decision-maker, who undertook calculated risks on the international stage in order to achieve Russian national interests. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine ordered by Putin, which started on the 24th of February, deviates from this perception. He miscalculated the ability of his military to wage blitzkrieg and he underestimated the Ukrainians’ willingness to fight to the last man for their country. Ukraine is his Afghanistan and this mistake will be his end. The consequences of the invasion however do not just reflect on Putin and the Kremlin’s inner circle. The consequences of the invasion will be felt throughout the world because Putin changed the international order in just one day. So what can the West do about it?

Ukraine & EU

Putin is punishing Ukraine for choosing the West and why it is (not) the West’s fault

Opinion By Gabriela Greilinger on March 1, 2022 | Reading time 5 min

In 2014, John J. Mearsheimer wrote an article in Foreign Affairs called “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault”. He argues that the West bears the majority of the responsibility for the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, because of NATO’s expansion in Russia’s backyard by which Russia felt increasingly threatened, and because of EU enlargement in the same geographical area as well as its support to pro-democracy movements in the region. The same argument is now revived as the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfolds before the world’s eyes. However, this argument misses a crucial point. The West might be responsible for what is happening in Ukraine, but not in the way most people think.

U.S. Army in Afghanistan

Lessons on Insurgency and Counterinsurgency (COIN) from Star Wars

In-Depth Analysis By Alan Cunningham on February 22, 2022 | Reading time 12 min

In the aftermath of the war in Afghanistan, much can be learned from Star Wars about the practice of Counterinsurgency (COIN). In the fictional universe, the period between the final moments of Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith (ROTS) and Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) would be when COIN tactics would be most clearly utilized. With Afghanistan, the United States effectively lost, the Taliban taking control of Kabul and pushing out the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the pro-democracy, U.S.-allied government. This is quite similar to how the Empire itself lost to the Rebel Alliance; a large, technologically advanced force being overwhelmed by a smaller, primitive force. However, beyond this similarity of being an insurgency, the Taliban and the Alliance share little else.