Volume 136 - Number 3 - Fall 2021
How to Stop Jihadist Foreign Fighters Daniel Byman argues that the threat volunteers for al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other jihadist groups pose is potentially grave, but that effective policy can profoundly reduce the danger. He argues that governments can disrupt the recruitment and travel of foreign fighters, hinder their time in war zones, and improve policing and intelligence gathering when they return.
Volume 136 - Number 2 - Summer 2021
The Life Cycle of Grand Strategies: The Case of the American Shift to Containment Ilai Z. Saltzman examines the way grand strategies change by identifying their “life-cycle.” He argues that replacing an existing grand strategy is a multiplayer and decentralized process incorporating the ideational inputs of various actors, and that this process is more chaotic, porous, and nonlinear than we tend to think.
Volume 136 - Number 2 - Summer 2021
Pugnacious Presidents: Democratic Constitutional Systems and International Conflict Matthew Kroenig and Madison Schramm analyze how domestic political institutions affect international conflict. Using standard international relations datasets on conflict, they demonstrate that jointly-presidential democratic dyads are over two times more likely to become involved in militarized interstate disputes than other jointly-democratic dyads. They also find that when it comes to lower-level conflicts, jointly-presidential dyads are statistically indistinguishable from nondemocratic dyads. They argue that the results have important implications for our understanding of democratic peace theory and the causes of international conflict.
Volume 136 - Number 1 - Spring 2021
Policy or Pique? Trump and the Turn to Great Power Competition Deborah Welch Larson analyzes Donald Trump’s policy toward China and Russia and the return of great power competition. She argues that Trump’s personalization of foreign policy undermined his trade war with China, and efforts to improve relations with Russia and that the Joe Biden administration will continue to compete but seek cooperation in areas of shared interests.
Volume 135 - Number 4 - Winter 2020-21
Conflict Aggravation or Alleviation? A Cross-National Examination of U.S. Military Aid’s Effect on Conflict Dynamics with Insights from Pakistan Amira Jadoon analyzes the effects of U.S. military aid on conflict dynamics and violence within recipient states. She argues that higher levels of U.S. military aid to states with weak governance structures can inadvertently result in a diffusion rather than elimination of militant organizations and fail to constrain retaliatory attacks.
Volume 135 - Number 4 - Winter 2020-21
Perception and Misperception in U.S.-China Relations Andrew Scobell assesses contemporary U.S.-China relations. He concludes that bilateral ties are best characterized as full-blown greatpower rivalry. He argues that heightened intensity and persistent hostility is likely due to the powerful impact of pervasive misperceptions and enduring negative images of each other.
Volume 135 - Number 3 - Fall 2020
Going Nuclear: The Promises and Perils of Nuclear Energy in China Il Hyun Cho discusses China’s pursuit of nuclear energy and identifies domestic political legitimacy and geopolitical ambitions as key factors shaping Beijing’s policy. He argues that China’s nuclear drive raises questions about nuclear safety and proliferation.
Volume 135 - Number 2 - Summer 2020
Intelligence in the Cyber Era: Evolution or Revolution? Tim Stevens consider whether the cyber era ushered in an intelligence revolution and identify areas of continuity and change in intelligence priorities and rationale in the Anglo-American intelligence communities. They argue that the cyber era is a technological revolution, but not an intelligence revolution.
Volume 134 - Number 3 - Fall 2019
A Prologue to Manifest Destiny: Why Britain Allowed the United States’ Unchallenged Rise in North America, 1836–1848 Dong Jung Kim analyzes why Britain did not respond militarily to the United States’ massive territorial expansion during the period of 1836–1848. Building on leading theories of great power politics, he argues that three considerations constrain a leading power’s military behavior against a rising power.
Volume 134 - Number 2 - Summer 2019
Explaining Why Some Muslims Support Islamist Political Violence C. CHRISTINE FAIR and Parina Patel examine why some Muslims support Islamist political violence. They find, among other things, that those who were more exposed to Islamist violence as well as those living in countries with larger Muslim populations were more supportive of political violence.
