Defense Technology International – Arming the Arctic

The environmental changes occurring in the Arctic are as dramatic as they are significant for security cooperation and competition among Arctic nations. With the polar ice cap receding 25 percent since 1978, vast tracts of unexplored ocean rich with natural resources are opening up. In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Arctic contains over 90 billion barrels of oil, 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and some 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids—of which the USGS estimates a whopping 84 percent may wait “offshore.”

New York Times Magazine – Is Yemen the Next Afghanistan?

In Yemen, Al Qaeda may have found the perfect combination of tribal hospitality, chaos and military opportunity.

Armed Forces Journal – Ice breaker

While the science community debates whether global warming is fact or fraud, this much is certain: The Navy will soon sail uncharted waters — and it won’t be a pleasure cruise.

Edmonton Journal – Uneasy passage: The Northwest Passage is central to Canadian identity, yet its future remains uncertain

Though few Canadians have ever sailed it, the Northwest Passage strikes a resonant chord in this country. These feelings stem from a romantic passion for the North, as well as from practical reasons involving sovereignty and control over Arctic waters and resources.

Armed Forces Journal – Polar frontiers

A new Arctic age is emerging. New forces are transforming the very fabric of the entire region. Some of these changes will positively benefit those people who call the region home, while some will have negative impacts. Decision-makers in the Arctic nations will need to be increasingly mindful of these changes and need to develop policies that are innovative, proactive and intelligent.

Big Think – Interview With Niall Ferguson

An insightful interview with Niall Ferguson in which he describes the West’s “Killer Apps.” You can watch the video or read the transcript in the scrolling box underneath it.

Vancouver Sun – Q&A with Niall Ferguson

Excellent question and answer session with Niall Ferguson, particularly in regards to the rise of the East versus the decline of the West.

New York Times – For Greece’s Economy, Geography Was Destiny

Robert D. Kaplan looks at the geography of the Greek economic crisis.

New York Times – The Geography of Chinese Power

Robert D. Kaplan writes that China’s blessed geography is so obvious a point that it tends to get overlooked in discussions of the country’s economic dynamism and national assertiveness. Yet it is essential: It means that China will stand at the hub of geopolitics even if the country’s path toward global power is not necessarily linear.

Economist – New Silk Roads

Since the Silk Road fell into disuse six centuries ago, Asian commerce has been carried not by land but by sea along coasts and island chains, first on monsoon winds and now in the holds of diesel ships. The story of Asia’s post-war miracle is above all a maritime one…The miracle is inconceivable without the ship-borne container…The broad lines of Asian security mirror this watery theme. Since the Pacific War of 1941-45, the United States has enforced a Pax Americana through naval strength and a perimeter of island allies, from Australia to Japan. If American dominance is challenged, it will be at sea. The rise of China and India as military powers has been marked by a large increase in their navies…But Anthony Bubalo and Malcolm Cook of the Lowy Institute in Sydney argue in The American Interest that such a perspective is bumping up against the limits of usefulness.

US Naval War College Review – Engaging Oceania

The fourteen island nations of Oceania are weak by any traditional measure of state power. They are mostly small and poor, with zero military muscle and little diplomatic clout. On a map of the Pacific these microstates appear almost like tossed sand, widely dispersed and hardly noticeable in the great blue expanse between the Western Hemisphere, Asia, and Australia. But the small size and gross domestic products of these states conceal a disproportionate economic, political, and military potential.

Los Angeles Times – America, the fragile empire

Niall Ferguson asks what if history is not cyclical and slow-moving but arrhythmic — at times almost stationary but also capable of accelerating suddenly, like a sports car? What if collapse does not arrive over a number of centuries but comes suddenly, like a thief in the night?

Wall Street Journal – U.K. and Argentina Spar Over Claim to Falkland Islands

Britain said it “firmly rejects” a new Argentine law that defines the Falkland Islands, over which the countries fought a war in 1982, as part of its territory.

The Diplomat – The Next Arms Race

…will be undersea, say Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes, and will have big political repercussions for the entire Asia-Pacific region.

StrategyPage – Violence Continues To Decline

StrategyPage’s yearly review of the current status of conflict in the world today.

Financial Times – The decade the world tilted east

Niall Ferguson sums up the last decade for us…

US Naval War College Review – US Naval Options For Influencing Iran

This article is intended to explore the range of options the U.S.Navy can provide to policymakers in developing a strategic approach to Iran.

US Naval War College Review – The New Security Drama in East Asia: The Responses of US Allies and Security Partners to China’s Rise

In the theater of East Asia, a geopolitical drama is unfolding. The growing presence of China in regional economic and security affairs—generically referred to as the “rise of China”—is changing interstate relations. While the major powers in East Asia are the protagonists, there are no bit players in this drama. Think King Lear, not Macbeth. China’s rise is affecting the perceptions, interests, and policies of all nations throughout East Asia. For the United States, the responses of its allies and security partners are uniquely consequential. These countries are the foundation of American presence in the region as well as the edifice of a regional security architecture that has produced decades of relative stability and prosperity.

The Atlantic – The Bear Still Has Teeth

Robert D. Kaplan writes that as the Obama administration’s recent scrapping of plans for an Eastern European missile defense system makes clear, while Poland and the Czech Republic may be our allies, it is mighty Russia to whom we are wise to defer.

The Atlantic – What Obama’s Nobel Really Means

Robert D. Kaplan writes that a growing contingent wants Obama to lead a post-nationalist global society. If he does things right, the U.S. could become history’s first truly international nation.