A platform for analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens.

Dec 31, 2024 · As we close out 2024, War on the Rocks reflects on the stories and analyses that resonated most with our readers during a year marked by evolving geopolitical tensions, transformative military technologies, and the enduring echoes of history. From strategic challenges in Europe and Asia to the complexities of warfare in Ukraine and Gaza, our top …

6 days ago · Russia is close to achieving a decisive edge on the energy front of the Russo–Ukrainian war. Repeated attacks on key infrastructure have recently intensified, leaving Ukraine’s damaged electrical grid 70 percent reliant on three complexes of nuclear reactors.These reactors are increasingly threatened by the instability of the grid itself and could become …

2 days ago · The Net Assessment team discusses Frank Hoffman’s recent Joint Force Quarterly article about risk. They share concerns about the challenges that U.S. policymakers face in evaluating risk in a structured way. But they also fear that the solutions to these problems will require more fundamental changes to the U.S. bureaucracy than have been contemplated.

Commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens.

4 days ago · Europe’s “Battery Basket” From the medieval period through the 18th century, Ukraine’s economic fortunes turned principally on its agricultural productivity. The most fertile lands in the central and southern regions benefit from a wide distribution of chernozem — or “black earth” — a rich soil found in parts of the Eurasian steppe and the North American Great …

War on the Rocks is a platform for analysis and debate on strategy, defense, and foreign affairs. It features articles and podcasts produced by an array of writers with deep experience in these matters: top notch scholars who study war, those who have served or worked in war zones, and more than a few who have done it all.

5 days ago · Walker D. Mills is a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer and MQ-9A Reaper pilot. He is the co-director of Project Maritime at the Irregular Warfare Initiative and a host of the Marine Pulse podcast for War on the Rocks.. Andrew “Kramer” Tenbusch is an FA-18 weapons systems officer currently assigned to Strike Fighter Wing Pacific.

Oct 24, 2024 · Episode Reading. Antony Blinken, “America’s Strategy of Renewal,” Foreign Affairs, October 1, 2024. David Brennan, “Why America’s THAAD Missile Defense Deployment to Israel is a ‘Gamble’ in Iran Conflict, Analysts Say,” ABC News, October 17, 2024. “America’s Economy is Bigger and Better than Ever,” The Economist, October 17, 2024.

Dec 29, 2023 · As we look back on 2023, the crises that dominated 2022 continue, while another war has begun in the Middle East. At this time last year, the world was concerned about Russian nuclear weapons use in Ukraine, even while many believed that the Russian leadership was mired in a conflict that it could not win.