War On The Rocks

On Aug. 4, 2018, a drone exploded over Avenida Bolívar in Caracas during a speech by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A second drone crashed and exploded a few blocks away. Maduro was unharmed, but the first blast injured several…

Russia is close to achieving a decisive edge on the energy front of the Russo–Ukrainian war. Repeated attacks on key infrastructure have recently intensified, leaving Ukraine’s damaged electrical grid 70 percent reliant on three…

For some people, the new year brings a resolution to refrain from drinking — if only for a month. In 2013, a British charity launched the “Dry January” campaign to raise awareness of the health and lifestyle benefits of giving up drinking…

<!-- category --> January 30, 2025 Flat-earthers tend to get all the attention these days, and I don’t begrudge them their fame. But I regret that it comes at the expense of the hollow earth crowd, whose driving geologic theory…

An MQ-9 Reaper drifts ominously through the crisp, pre-dawn sky over Sanaa, Yemen. Its matte-gray fuselage blends seamlessly with the deepening hues of early morning, its whirring sensors casting an invisible gaze over bustling streets…

<!-- category --> January 29, 2025 In 2018, Fabiana Perera wrote “U.S. Policy Options for Maduro’s Venezuela: Benign Engagement, Not Benign Neglect,” assessing U.S. strategies vis-à-vis Venezuela and engagement in…

Will the Trump administration try to break the so-called “axis of upheaval”? The Russo-Ukrainian War has catalyzed the consolidation of two sets of adversarial geopolitical alignments, however loose or imperfect they might be. On the…

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.…

When President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 15, 2025 that the United States had successfully brokered a fragile ceasefire and phased hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, he underscored how the cessation of violence could open the…

Mike Kofman joined Ryan for a wide-ranging conversation on the challenges faced by both Ukraine and Russia this year. They discuss losses on both sides, manpower challenges, the importance of following the discourse in Ukraine, the Russian…