Download PDF A year after the Hamas attacks that led to war in Gaza, there can be no doubt: This latest outbreak of violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict has wrought by far the most significant damage, expanding to include attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis, Israeli operations against Hezbollah in
Table of contents Introduction Findings summary Methodology Analysis Key findings and recommendations Appendix: Table-top-exercise timeline Introduction China’s rapidly improving nuclear capabilities and expanding nuclear arsenal underpin its recent rise as a nuclear peer power. For the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, the uncertainty of China’s intentions behind this nuclear expansion poses
This chapter is part of a report on the prospects for enhanced cooperation between Turkey and Western countries in the Black Sea region in the new geopolitical setting following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Assessing the strategic environment In its Black Sea neighborhood, which includes Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia, Turkey faces a centuries
In the previous volume on foreign actors in Libya, I divided U.S. involvement into five stages, including the intervention itself, the immediate post-conflict period, and the aftermath of the tragic death of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi. As is well documented, Ambassador Stevens’ death created a long-lasting political firestorm starting in the 2012 election year
Over the past decade, Russia’s involvement in Libya is evidence of its realization that it could transition from a marginal power to a significant competitor in the country, and thus in the broader Middle East and North Africa. As Russia became disillusioned by its perception of the West’s actions in Libya as aimed at regime
On April 16, 2024, UN Special Representative for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily announced he would resign, citing a “lack of political will and good faith” among Libyan leaders. Few would disagree with his diagnosis that the vested interests of Libyan leaders have created a roadblock for progress. Bathily conducted eighteen months of shuttle diplomacy before concluding
In May 2014 Libyan General Khalifa Haftar launched a then-unauthorized military operation from Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city. The operation, which Haftar named Karama, or Dignity, was centered on but not limited to Benghazi; its declared aim was to eradicate what Haftar and his associates described as terrorism. However, it prompted a swell of armed opposition
The two main armed conflicts of the last two years—in Gaza and Ukraine—have led to the belief that international politics are ruled again by sheer force and that the United Nations is no longer a relevant actor. Libya, where international rules have been violated periodically in the last decade, represents one of the first examples
Table of contents Executive summary Introduction Background: What makes special operations forces “special”? How are US Special Operations Forces organized today? The five SOF truths USSOF’s twelve core activities USSOF’s role prior to and during conflict History of USSOF: SOF’s evolving purpose and how its history lends to competition today The creation of USSOF and
Table of contents Introduction Definitions, institutions, and norms Trends and uncertainties Scenarios Sahel regional analysis Questions for policymakers I. Introduction The multilateral system, defined as the set of rules, norms, and institutions that together constitute the world’s governance architecture, is not static. Rather, this system both evolves over time and, less frequently, is reconstituted by
