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Conflict & Security

Conflict & Security analyzes the how and why of disputes, clashes, and wars around the world. We seek to take a unique approach to security, looking not only at how conflict is carried out, but also the relationships built around it, efforts at mediation, and its effects beyond military power.

Recent Articles

Conflict & Security

The Balochistan Quagmire: A Cycle of Violence, Political Mobilization, and Repression

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and westernmost province, spans 44 percent of its landmass yet remains its most sparsely populated and politically marginalized region, home to just 14.8 million of…

Mar 14, 2025
Conflict & Security

The Colonial Strategy and India-China Conflict: Past, Present, and Future

Jan 18, 2025
Conflict & Security

How the New Geopolitics of Energy Informs the Current Oil Price-Risk Relationship in the Middle East

Dec 10, 2024
Conflict & Security

The Dangerous Narrative of the “War on Cartels”

Nov 23, 2024

Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding

cityscape of Jerusalem

The Potential Implications of the Two-State Solution Act

Inclusive Governance in Upper Karabakh Can Bring a Lasting Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace

The recent tragic war between Armenia and Azerbaijan brought the parties closer than ever to a final peace settlement. The three-decade-long peace talks have focused on the territorial questions at…

Al Shabaab

An Update on Preventing Violent Extremism in the Horn of Africa

Five years have passed since the UN global mandate on preventing violent extremism (PVE) was launched and rapidly adopted by the Horn of Africa (HoA) countries. Since then, mostly small…

Military & Defense

Army machine parade in North Korea.
Conflict & Security

The North Korea Conundrum: Pyongyang’s Strategic Calculus and Future Trajectory

North Korea’s intensified military activities must be viewed in the broader context of its domestic and foreign policy. The country’s current policies have their roots in the failed US-North Korea…

Conflict & Security

Engagement, not Entanglement: India’s Relationship with the Quad

Taipei,_Taiwan_CBD_Skyline
Conflict & Security

China’s Efforts to Isolate and Intimidate Taiwan Are Pushing U.S. Allies Closer

Conflict & Security

The Modern Aim and Growth of the Brazilian Defense Industry

A gray image taken from Turkish drone footage showing buildings, terrain, and tanks from overhead.
Conflict & Security

Look to Idlib: A Preview of Warfare in the New Decade

Grand Strategy & Competition

Conflict & Security

Re-envisioning the “Fundamental Values” of a “Free and Open” Indo-Pacific

At the Quad Leaders’ summit in Tokyo, the leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India re-affirmed their commitment to “a free and open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) based on…

electronics factory in Shenzhen
Conflict & Security

Military-Technology Competition Between the United States and China

ROC's Coast Guard Administration vessels return water cannon fire of their Japanese counterparts near Diaoyutai territorial waters to protect ROC fishermen.
Conflict & Security

Reconsidering Japan’s Role in the Taiwan Strait

President Obama visits the Indian Parliament
Conflict & Security

The Indo-Pacific Strategy: Promoting Democracy in South Asia

Putin and Erdogan Meeting
Conflict & Security

Russia and Turkey Deconflict Their Geopolitical Moves in the Caucasus

Weapons & Armament

Conflict & Security

Why the United States Doesn’t Need an “Arsenal for Democracy” – And What to do Instead

As the war in Ukraine continues, there is an emerging consensus across the national security community – including senior defense leaders, members of Congress, defense industry professionals,…

China's DongFeng 2 Missile on display
Conflict & Security

The Dual Nature of China’s Nuclear Modernization

Conflict & Security

China’s Hypersonic Weapons

Conflict & Security

Collateral Damage No More: Urban Conflict, Explosive Weapons, and a Case Study in Multilateral Norm Building

U.S. Marines conduct artillery strikes against ISIS in Syria
Conflict & Security

The Arms Trade and Syria

Conflict & Security Editorial Staff

Noah Van Horne

SFS ’25 Section Editor

Benjamin Manens

SFS ’26 Section Editor

Saahil Rao

SFS ’27 Editorial Assistant

Ophelia Bentley

SFS ’27 Editorial Assistant

Jenna Marcus

CAS MA ’25 Editorial Assistant

Mary Black

MASIA ’25 Editorial Assistant  

Michael Hassner

SFS ’28 Editorial Assistant

Cat McGuire

SFS ’28 Editorial Assistant

Ava Manaker

SFS ’28 Editorial Assistant

Katherine Ranjbar

CAS ’28 Editorial Assistant

Conflict & Security

The Balochistan Quagmire: A Cycle of Violence, Political Mobilization, and Repression

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and westernmost province, spans 44 percent of its landmass yet remains its most sparsely populated and politically marginalized region, home to just 14.8 million of…

March 14, 2025
Conflict & Security

The Colonial Strategy and India-China Conflict: Past, Present, and Future

The longstanding interconnections among Nepal, Tibet, and India remain important in contemporary geopolitics. This article argues that British historical border management strategies are being mimicked in the Himalayas, where great…

January 18, 2025
Conflict & Security

How the New Geopolitics of Energy Informs the Current Oil Price-Risk Relationship in the Middle East

The traditional correlation between Middle East conflict risk and accelerating oil prices is now broken. Oil markets are well-supplied by non-OPEC production, and weak demand in Asia and a longer-term…

December 10, 2024
Conflict & Security

The Dangerous Narrative of the “War on Cartels”

The “America First” movement enthusiastically supports the use of military force in Mexico to solve the drug crisis afflicting the United States today. President-elect Donald Trump, his running mate JD…

November 23, 2024
Conflict & Security

The Amazon as a State Matter: Exploring the Role of Military in Forest Governance

Under President Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest surged as the government cut the budgets of environmental protection bodies and submitted them to military control. In 2023, newly elected…

November 12, 2024
Conflict & Security

Historicizing the Gaza War Through the Use of Collective Violence

In this article, I historicize the Gaza war from the joint vantage point of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs through the perspective of collective violence. The Israeli Jewish and the…

October 3, 2024
Conflict & Security

Demystifying the Enemy: Putin’s Geopolitical Calculus and the War in Ukraine

Many assessments of the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have emphasized Vladimir Putin’s individual characteristics, such as his early career as a KGB officer, imperial ambitions towards Ukraine, or…

August 28, 2024
Conflict & Security

Southeast Asia’s Grand Strategy: Hedging

Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, but also ASEAN, are hedging toward both China and the United States. However, China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea…

August 12, 2024