Professor @jrovner.bsky.social examines what history can tell us about the trajectory of US-China relations in this new piece published in @foreignaffairs.com. Read it here: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/real-thucy...
The United States and China each believe that they can use new technologies to overcome the other’s advantages—and “the more they indulge this prewar hope, the more likely they are to find themselves in a protracted conflict,” writes Joshua Rovner.
In @foreignaffairs.com I write about how short wars become long ones. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
DC friends, @ldfreedman.bsky.social, Mara Karlin, Michael O'Hanlon, and I will be talking strategy at The Brookings Institution on March 24. Lots to discuss... www.brookings.edu/events/us-st...
Trump's peactime grand strategy favors flexibility over principle. But this is a recipe for strategic confusion in war. Re-upping a piece from last year: warontherocks.com/2025/01/star...
Some thoughts in @warontherocks.bsky.social on Trump's grand strategy after Iran warontherocks.com/2026/03/what...
TNSR | "The Changing Face of War"
Are those holiday gift cards already burning a hole in your pocket? Invest in something that lasts longer than the season.
The TNSR winter issue, featuring our newly redesigned logo, is now available in print. Order your copy now from @utexaspress.bsky.social!
utpress.utexas.edu/journals/tex...
China is undergoing major changes in how it thinks about nuclear weapons, as indicated in the just released China Military Power Report. 2 developments stand out.
media.defense.gov/2025/Dec/23/...
"Autonomous weapon systems bring many risks and concerns, but they also present an opportunity to, in specific cases, wage more discriminate forms of war—an opportunity to master and mitigate the scourges of war." by Nathan Wood from his article, "Bombs, Bots, and the Principle of Distinction . . ."
Can autonomous weapons make war less brutal?
Instead of viewing autonomy solely as a risk, Nathan Wood (@woodnathang.bsky.social) posits that these systems—when used within the correct parameters—offer a pathway to more discriminate and legally compliant warfare. tnsr.org/2025/12/bomb...
What is sabotage and how is it a form of statecraft in world politics? A new article co-authored by @jrovner.bsky.social in @ejisbisa.bsky.social explores this concept, which has important implications for understanding contemporary security challenges. Read more: www.american.edu/sis/research...
Scholar article by Carter Malkasian, "Wars of the Greater Middle East, 1945–1992"
How did warfare evolve in the "greater Middle East" during the Cold War? Carter Malkasian from the National War College argues this period saw a "democratization of violence"—guerrilla warfare & terrorism—that complicated state authority.
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social's new article is a super read on an important but neglected area of covert action:
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
What is sabotage? How does it work as a tool of statecraft? And what are its limits? Check out my new article with @rorycormac.bsky.social and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social. Open access
Concerns about the presumption of regularity also impact national security policy. Re-upping a piece from the first Trump administration: warontherocks.com/2020/04/an-a...
Cover of the "European Journal of International Security" with the hashtag "#OpenAccess" visible on the upper right corner.
#OpenAccess from @ejisbisa.bsky.social -
Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics - https://cup.org/4o2MQBc
- @jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social
#FirstView
Delighted to talk about Strategy and Grand Strategy with Aaron Maclean on his excellent School of War podcast. Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZZD...
Our latest roundtable examines the rapidly evolving global nuclear order. From North Korea to NATO, China to Latin America, this collection of essays explores the domestic and international forces reshaping nuclear security.
Full roundtable: tnsr.org/roundtable/n...
Strategy and Grand Strategy beyond war and peace. Bradley Dickey from the Cambridge Centre for Pandemic Risk uses the book to understand the response to covid-19 - and to think about the broader questions surrounding health security. www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/blog/strateg...
I joined @nktpnd.bsky.social on his @warontherocks.bsky.social podcast “Thinking the Unthinkable” to talk about my new book: The Art of Coercion.
And here’s the book (the ebook is free!):
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Good news! You can now download the open access (free) ebook of Age of Decption from @CornellPress !
(You can also buy a paperback, which makes a fine decoration for your bookshelf)
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Should the US release secret intelligence for strategic gain? A roundtable debate in @h-diplo.bsky.social with Melissa Graves, David Gioe, @mindyhaas.bsky.social and me: issforum.org/roundtables/...
New collection of essays and interviews on European security. Includes my thoughts on strategy and grand strategy. human-magazin.de/wp-content/u...
Teaching about 9/11, then and now. My thoughts @usatoday.com
I have some thoughts for USA Today on teaching abut 9/11, then and now www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
"Trade in War" with Mariya Grinberg, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon
At the start of WWI, Britain allowed the trade of machine guns to Germany but banned the trade of carriages for them. Why?
On our podcast Mariya Grinberg discusses her book, "Trade in War," and why adversaries often continue to trade even while fighting @mitpolisci.bsky.social @ssp-mit.bsky.social
Article on sabotage accepted for publication in @ejisbisa.bsky.social authored with @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social and @jrovner.bsky.social
calls for a celebratory Dartmoor whisky
Sabotage weaponises friction to degrade; subversion actively generates change
2 distinct logics in “grey zone” statecraft
A study of nearly 2,000 military and civilian officials reveals that even the most experienced experts are susceptible to cognitive biases that can have significant implications for international stability.
Read Jeffrey Friedman's article on this topic on the TNSR website. tnsr.org/2025/09/the-...
2/2 For more on strategy and grand strategy, and why they sometimes work at cross-purposes, see here: www.iiss.org/publications...
