ISP Brief April 2020

It's our pleasure to send you the April Edition of the ISP Brief, the monthly newsletter of the CSIS International Security Program. The ISP Brief features articles and commentary written by our scholars including analysis as published in various media sources (including video and audio highlights) and links to recent events. We hope the newsletter provides you, our readers, a snapshot of the excellent work underway in ISP and the engaging analysis of our experts. As always, your feedback is welcome.

Featured

Synthetic Biology: The Ongoing Technology Revolution

Emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G, and synthetic biology—drive security and economic competition and are increasingly shaping national strategies. Through a series of four symposia, the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) will explore synthetic biology's wide ranging applications and opportunities to shape its future development in support of U.S. security and economic interests.

Watch DIIG' s Morgan Dwyer explain the risks and opportunities posed by synthetic biology. Plus, watch part one and part two of the second event in the series, both hosted virtually this month.

Covid-19 and Cities: Challenges and Cooperation

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of International Affairs Amb. (ret.) Nina Hachigian joined Smart Women, Smart Power podcast host Beverly Kirk to talk about the challenges cities face globally in the Covid-19 pandemic, and why cooperation is a key component of response efforts. They also discuss how the pandemic is impacting national security and the role of women in security issues. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Pursuing Effective and Conflict-Aware Stabilization: Lessons from Beyond the Beltway

This CSIS Brief unpacks the challenges, opportunities, and gaps in U.S. stabilization efforts in Lebanon and Colombia, and derives lessons from those experiences for the implementation of future stabilization efforts that are inclusive of policy perspectives beyond the beltway. It proposes ways to better integrate the principles outlined in the U.S. government's Stabilization Assistance Review into political engagement and regional planning.
Photo: LUIS ROBAYO/AFP via Getty Images

The Intelligence Edge: Opportunities and Challenges from Emerging Technologies for U.S. Intelligence

The United States must maintain a competitive advantage in strategic intelligence over its rivals to advance its national security interests. The CSIS Technology and Intelligence Task Force seeks to understand how emerging technologies can advance U.S. interests. In this new CSIS Brief, ISP Fellow Brian Katz provides a framework for the Task Force's efforts and presents core intelligence questions that will drive the Task Force's research.

Photo: Adobe Stock

Decoding the Latest U.S. Report on Arms Control: Are Russia and China Really Cheating?

On April 15, 2020, the State Department released the executive summary for the 2020 Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments, more commonly known as the Compliance Report. Rebecca Hersman, director of the Project on Nuclear Issues, answers five critical questions following the report's release.

Photo: GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

ISP Spotlight: Combating Covid-19 Weekly Update

Given the rapid changes to information surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, we've made it easier to track what is happening within DoD and the services. The Covid Weekly Response Update provides a roundup of what the military has done to combat the novel coronavirus over the past week and how the military itself has been affected by the virus. Read the latest here.

Check out all of ISP's Covid-19 content on the Defense 360 website.

Publications

READ - "The Evolution of Tunisia's Military and the Role of Foreign Security Sector Assistance" by Hijab Shah and Melissa Dalton

READ - "Mission First: U.S. Military Must Train & Recruit During Pandemic" by Mark Cancian and Adam Saxton

READ - "What Can Military and Civilian Leaders Do to Prevent the Military's Politicization?" by Risa Brooks

READ - "Battling on Three Fronts: Ukraine Takes on the Russians, Coronavirus, and Its Own Old Ways" by Jason Gresh and Iain King

READ - "Improvements, Questions, and Limits for the Future of Watchlisting" by Timothy Goyer

READ - "Public Surveillance to Keep Us Healthy and Protect Our Privacy" by Glenn Gerstell

READ - "DoD Must Identify Its 'Crown Jewels' in Preparation for Fiscal Insecurity" by Todd Harrison

READ - "The Military Can't Save Us from Covid-19" by Alice Hunt Friend and Jim Golby

READ - "What Makes a Civilian?" by Alice Hunt Friend

READ - "Accelerating the Defense Department's AI Adoption" by Lindsey Sheppard

READ - "On the Horizon Vol. 2: A Collection of Papers from the Next Generation" by Rebecca Hersman

READ - "Will Covid-19 End the Age of Mass Protests?" by Sam Brannen

READ - "Four Ways U.S. Intelligence Efforts Should Change in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic" by Glenn Gerstell

READ - "This Is What Is So Unusual About the U.S. Navy Making Captain Brett Crozier Step Down" by Alice Hunt Friend, Lindsay Cohn, and Jim Golby

READ - "Is the Roosevelt Captain a Martyred Hero or a Disloyal Subordinate?" by Mark Cancian

READ - "Unleash the Privateers!" by Mark Cancian and Brandon Schwartz

READ - "The World's Landmine Challenge Demands Presidential Action" by Tommy Ross

Multimedia

WATCH - In the latest Ahead of the Game video, Suzanne Spaulding, Seth Jones, and Hijab Shah explain how their prescient research on Russian information operations, the Iranian threat to Saudi critical infrastructure, and Hindu-Muslim tensions in India predicted recent world events.

Plus, watch part one (Technology) and part two (Coronavirus) in the Ahead of the Game series now.

WATCH - Todd Harrison discusses his team's recently published report, Space Threat Assessment 2020, which is intended to raise awareness and understanding of the threats, debunk myths and misinformation, and highlight areas in which senior leaders and policymakers should focus more attention.

WATCH - Sam Brannen, director of the Risk and Foresight Group, joined Vice News Tonight to discuss how disinformation around Covid-19 is impacting elections around the country.

LISTEN - On the latest Defense 2020 podcast, Kathleen Hicks hosts a discussion with Rebecca Hersman (CSIS), Alexandra Bell (Center for Arms Control & Nonproliferation), and Rebeccah Heinrichs (Hudson Institute) on the issues surrounding nuclear weapons and arms control. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

WATCH - Aerospace Security Project's Todd Harrison and Kaitlyn Johnson joined a Space News panel where they discussed the status of the Space Force and the Space Force's proposals to change the acquisition system.

LISTEN - Smart Women, Smart Power host Beverly Kirk interviewed Neill Sciarrone, founder of Trinity Cyber, about the importance of emerging technology during the Covid-19 pandemic and why cybersecurity has to be a priority during national emergencies and natural disasters. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

WATCH - Kaitlyn Johnson, Aerospace Security Project, joined Government Matters to discuss the growth of the Space Force including hiring, acquisitions, and counterspace developments.

LISTEN - Sam Brannen joined the Left, Right, Center podcast to discuss the status of the U.S. government's coronavirus response efforts.

LISTEN - On the Defense 2020 podcast, host Kathleen Hicks moderated a discussion on Covid-19 and the U.S. military featuring Steve Morrison (CSIS), Mark Cancian (CSIS), Christine Wormuth (RAND), and Rear Admiral (ret.) Tom Cullison (former Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Navy). Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

WATCH - On Government Matters, Mark Cancian discussed the significance of President Trump enacting the Defense Production Act to implore General Motors to create ventilators.

LISTEN - Samuel Brannen joined The Cable Podcast to discuss how the novel coronavirus will impact the age of mass protests.

WATCH - Todd Harrison joi ned Government Matters to discuss how the coronavirus is impacting the way the Pentagon is spending its money this fiscal year.

Unpacking the Defense Enterprise : A CSIS Executive Education Course

ISP is pleased to offer this popular course in a live, real-time online format in accordance with precautionary measures and CDC guidance related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Unpacking the Defense Enterprise virtual course gives participants a competitive advantage in analyzing the defense domain, the evolution of defense strategy, budgetary and technical issues, and future challenges and opportunities in the U.S. defense enterprise. The course is led by an accomplished cadre of defense and security experts, including practitioners, scholars, and former U.S. government leaders. Applications are due by May 29, 2020. Click here to learn more.

Upcoming Events

Online Event: Establishing a Bipartisan Covid-19 Commission

Hosted by Kathleen Hicks and Steve Morrison
Featuring Representatives Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and John Katko (R-NY)
Friday, May 1, 2020
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST

Online Event: Pursuing Effective and Conflict-Aware Stabilization

Hosted by Melissa Dalton
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST

Online Event: NASA's Moon to Mars Plan with Administrator Jim Bridenstine

Hosted by Todd Harrison
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST

Online Event: The Age of Covid-19 and Mass Protests

Hosted by Sam Brannen
Thursday, May 7, 2020
2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. EST

Save the Date

May 12, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST
The Russian Campaign in Syria hosted by Seth Jones

June 2, 2020 at 9:00 AM EST
Covid-19 and National Security with Hon. Michèle Flournoy and Kathleen Hicks

In Case You Missed It

Online Event: Covid-19's Impact on the Defense Budget and Defense Supply Chain

Hosted by Todd Harrison and Andrew Hunter
Monday, April 27, 2020

Online Event: Synthetic Biology and National Security: Risks and Opportunities (Part 2 of 2)

Hosted by Morgan Dwyer and Andrew Hunter
Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Online Event: Synthetic Biology and National Security: Risks and Opportunities (Part 1 of 2)

Hosted by Morgan Dwyer
Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Media Highlights

Discussing how Covid-19 will impact mass protests across the globe, Samuel Brannen said, "When political movements have been repressed in the past... people take digital refuge, they retooled; they hid their identities; they went to encrypted communications," in The Atlantic on April 23, 2020.

"For the part of the defense industry that does work in the commercial aviation sector, they are in the same crisis that you see across the commercial aviation sector," said Andrew Hunter on the impact of Covid-19 on the Pentagon. "Here there is both a supply shock and a demand shock because the airlines can't afford to order or even take delivery of previously ordered airplanes," in CNBC on April 22, 2020.

"Civilians across the defense, diplomatic, intelligence, and legislative enterprises may not comprise a single profession like military officership. But the experience, skills, knowledge, and vision that civilians bring to their politically enabled roles in the civil-military relationship provide the military profession the context in which it is called to serve," said Alice Hunt Friend in War Room on April 9, 2020.

On the news that Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly was resigning, Mark Cancian said, "The contrast in leadership stability between the Army and the Navy is dramatic. The Army has very stable leadership and been able to implement a coherent program as a result. The Navy leadership has been in turmoil," in The Wall Street Journal on April 7, 2020.

On the Navy's decision to remove Captain Brett Crozier, Kathleen Hicks said, "There's no question they had the authority to remove him. The issue is one of poor judgement in choosing to do so. They are fueling mistrust in leader transparency among service members, families, and surrounding/hosting communities," in The New York Times on April 3, 2020.