WAR ON THE ROCKS:
The Defense Industrial Alliance Washington Is Throwing Away
https://warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/the-defense-industrial-alliance-washington-is-throwing-away/
As the relationship between the United States and Canada continues to degrade, it now comes at the expense of each country’s industrial security.Last month, the Pentagon announced the unilateral suspension of the 86-year-old Canadian Permanent Joint Board on Defense in response to what the
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
The Art of Statecraft in an Age of Strategic Failure
https://warontherocks.com/the-art-of-statecraft-in-an-age-of-strategic-failure/
Jack Watling, Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World (Macmillan, 2026)The war against Iran exposed a multitude of forced errors and own goals in the conduct of statecraft. The purpose of sound statecraft is the integrated application of a state’s tools and its repertoire of governmental instruments of
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
A New Force Posture Concept for Europeanizing Extended Nuclear Deterrence
https://warontherocks.com/a-new-force-posture-concept-for-europeanizing-extended-nuclear-deterrence/
During the Cold War, Europe kept asking whether Washington would risk an American city to save a European one. It was an impolite question, but a useful one, which is why it never quite left the room. It has now packed its bags and moved east. Earlier this year, French
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
Not Imaginary: The Deterrence Gap is Real and America Needs Low-Yield Nukes
https://warontherocks.com/not-imaginary-the-deterrence-gap-is-real-and-america-needs-low-yield-nukes/
Nuclear policy debates are at their best when they force hard questions about risk, deterrence, and military necessity. They are at their worst when disagreement is recast as bad faith. In 2018, as an outgrowth of a rigorous policy review process, the Trump administration’s
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
The 2026 War on the Rocks Summer Fiction Reading List
https://warontherocks.com/the-2026-war-on-the-rocks-summer-fiction-reading-list/
You can tell a lot about a person from what fiction they keep on their nightstand. Once a year, we make the staff, contributing editors, and show hosts of War on the Rocks tell on themselves.Kerry AndersonThe Midnight Library, Matt Haig (2020). Drawing on evergreen themes from books and movies such as Sliding Doors
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
Misreading Myanmar’s War: Why the Junta’s Recent Gains Don’t Mean Imminent Victory
https://warontherocks.com/misreading-myanmars-war-why-the-juntas-recent-gains-dont-mean-imminent-victory/
To understand how close Myanmar’s pro-democracy resistance came to victory last year — and how far it has slipped since — there is no sharper microcosm than the story of a Gen Z sniper. In April 2025, a female teenager, Anina, enraptured the world, her
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
Open Strait, Unsettled Waters
https://warontherocks.com/open-strait-unsettled-waters/
Welcome to The Adversarial. Every other week, we’ll provide you with expert analysis on America’s greatest challengers: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and jihadists. Read more below.***IranOn June 17, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian separately signed a memorandum of understanding. Mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, the agreement
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
The Importance of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
https://warontherocks.com/the-importance-of-the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn/
On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and an entire battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment rode to their deaths and into American legend on the ridges north of Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The battle was decided in a few hours. Its meaning remains contested 150 years later.Little Bighorn stands alongside
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
The U.S. Navy’s Subsea Rare Earth Vulnerability
https://warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/the-u-s-navys-subsea-rare-earth-vulnerability/
The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine is the next generation of American nuclear deterrence. Twelve of these boats will replace the aging Ohio-class fleet, entering service over the 2030s and 2040s, each carrying 16 Trident IIs and driven by a ghost-quiet electric motor that renders them acoustically invisible
WAR ON THE ROCKS:
Nuclear Stability in the Age of AI
https://warontherocks.com/nuclear-stability-in-the-age-of-ai/
In 2024, Paul Scharre and Michael Depp wrote, “Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Stability,” where they argued integrating artificial intelligence into the nuclear chain of command presents both opportunities and risks. Two years later, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into military systems and processes, we asked them to revisit their arguments.
Defending Ukraine
