The Minds and Actions of Devoted Actors and the Will to Fight: A Behavioral and Brain Studies Approach to War and Extreme Group Conflict

The Minds and Actions of Devoted Actors and the Will to Fight: A Behavioral and Brain Studies Approach to War and Extreme Group Conflict

Speaker: Dr. Scott Atran (University of Michigan) Date: 12 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary What drives warfighters to make costly sacrifices—including their lives—is a long-standing question that military and civilian leaders have tried to answer. Dr. Atran...
Russia’s Role in Global Nuclear Supply Chains

Russia’s Role in Global Nuclear Supply Chains

Speaker: Ms. Darya Dolzikova (RUSI) Date: 12 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary Ms. Dolzikova discussed how Russia’s civil nuclear sector has largely evaded the sanctions placed on the rest of the Russian economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in...
Double deterrence: Two challengers, one defender

Double deterrence: Two challengers, one defender

Author: Dr. Frank Zagare (University of Buffalo) Publication Preview During the cold war the conventional wisdom was that an all-out war between the United States and theSoviet Union was all but precluded. The key to this strategic nirvana was a carefully calibrated...
Strategic Culture – Its history, issues, and complexity

Strategic Culture – Its history, issues, and complexity

Authors: Dr. Lawrence A. Kuznar (NSI, Inc.); Nathan Heath (NSI, Inc.); George Popp (NSI, Inc.) Publication Preview The concept of strategic culture emerges in discussions of both tailored and integrated deterrence. Thisreport examines the concept’s history, current...
Nuclear Intimidation, A Russian Success Story

Nuclear Intimidation, A Russian Success Story

Speaker: Mr. Keir Giles (Chatham House) Date: 5 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary Russia’s long-term information operations (IO) and influence campaigns have altered how US and Western decision makers perceive the risk level of Russia using a nuclear weapon....
Concepts of Influence Beyond Punishment and Denial: A Combined Effect Analysis of China, Russia, and Iran

Concepts of Influence Beyond Punishment and Denial: A Combined Effect Analysis of China, Russia, and Iran

Speaker: Brig Gen (Ret) Thomas Drohan (Professor Emeritus of Military and Strategic Studies, U.S. Air Force Academy; Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies) Date: 29 August 2023 Speaker Series Summary Authoritarian states more frequently use a whole-of-society...