Horns of a Dilemma

When it comes to cyber-security, the United States seems to be perpetually behind the 8-ball. A provision in the new defense bill seeks to solve this. Down in Austin, the dream team of experts explains the Cyber Solarium: an exercise in strategic planning inspired by an early Cold War planning cell. Starting with the Eisenhower-era roots of this concept, Will Inboden, Celeste Ward Gventer, Bobby Chesney, and Stephen Slick explain how the Cyber Solarium, an initiative of Sen. Ben Sasse, is...

From world leaders, to commercial titans, to scholars, more and more people are coming to believe that advances in artificial intelligence will change the world in dramatic ways. From the workplace to the military balance of power, the shifts, we are told, will be radical. But is this the case? In the third issue of the Texas National Security Review, Michael Horowitz of Penn has written the most comprehensive article weighing how and why artificial intelligence could matter when it comes...

In the third issue of the Texas National Security Review, Michael Mazarr of RAND and Michael Kofman of CNA warn decision-makers in Washington against doubling down on U.S. military and geopolitical predominance lest they transform the global stage into something far more confrontational and zero-sum than it needs to be. Despite the often odious behavior of those ruling Russia and China, Mazarr and Kofman point to the prospective benefits of "a new U.S. approach to international affairs"...

For the third issue of TNSR, Julie Smith - a former government official and CNAS senior fellow - writes in the Strategist section on her efforts to engage Americans across the country on the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as well as our deep political and economic relationships with the nations of Europe. Check out the rest of issue three at tnsr.org Music and Production by Tre Hester

Mutual mistrust, saber-rattling, and heated rhetoric define the U.S. relationship with Russia. If it looks like a new Cold War and smells like a new Cold War, is it a new Cold War? If it's not, what is it? From the 1990s to the present, how did we get here? Why did the West's hopes for Russia in the aftermath of the Cold War dissolve? How does Russia view its current strategic position? What are the limits of its growing influence in the Middle East and other regions? How long will Putin...

In our last episode of Horns of a Dilemma, we featured a speech by Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence. At the very same conference​, organized by the Intelligence Studies Project -- a collaborative effort of the Strauss and Clements Centers down at the University of Texas -- there was a fascinating conversation moderated by Michele L. Malvesti of Tufts University, that featured John McLaughlin, the former Acting Director of Central Intelligence, Nicholas Rasmussen, former...

What challenges confront the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century? There are few better positioned to know the answers to that question than Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence. The Intelligence Studies Program, a collaborative initiative of the Strauss Center and the Clements Center down at the University of Texas, held a major conference recently where Coats was the keynote speaker. Listen to his wide-ranging remarks on North Korea, Russia, China, cyber-security,...

This is Horns of a Dilemma, the podcast partner to that journal, which features the thinkers and leaders resident at the various institutions of the University of Texas and those who stop in to share their wisdom. On the latest episode of Horns of a Dilemma, we have Amy Zegart, who was hosted at the University of Texas as a part of the Strauss Center's Brumley Speaker Series. You should know who Amy is already, but if you don’t she is co-director of the Stanford Center for International...

In the second episode of our new podcast series, "Horns of a Dilemma," William Inboden interviews Mark Updegrove, president and chief Executive of the LBJ Foundation, and author of the new book The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush (Harper 2017). This new book draws on interviews with both Bush presidents to explore their formative experiences as well as their perspectives on public service, America’s role in the world,...

This is the first episode of “Horns of a Dilemma,” a new series brought to you by the Texas National Security Review, featuring the leaders and thinkers based at the University of Texas or who stop in to share their wisdom. Fittingly, we are kicking this off with a conversation on leadership, mostly in the national security context. This session is moderated by William Inboden, the director of the Clements Center. The guests are all based at the University of Texas: Adm. (ret.) Bill...