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ISP Brief March 2021
It's my pleasure to send you the March 2021 edition of the ISP Brief, the monthly newsletter of the CSIS International Security Program (ISP). The ISP Brief features CSIS reports and analysis written by our scholars and includes externally published articles, media highlights such as video interviews and podcasts, and links to recent and upcoming virtual events.
I welcome your feedback on this newsletter and its contents at ISPOutreach@csis.org . I also invite you to follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram , and Facebook for the very latest on ISP's work.
Dr. Seth G. Jones
Senior Vice President
Harold Brown Chair
Director | International Security Program
CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies
1616 Rhode Island Ave, NW | Washington, DC 20036
Featured
As part of its Strategic Dialogue on Civic Education as a National Security Imperative, CSIS hosted a conversation with FBI Director Christopher Wray and national security lawyers to get their perspectives on why civic education is a national security issue and how civic education plays a role in rebuilding trust in institutions, maximizing security, and strengthening our democracy. Read the transcript here. Watch on C-SPAN here . Watch here .
The Global Rise of Authoritarianism – A Conversation with Chairman Adam Schiff
Dr. John J. Hamre and Dr. Seth G. Jones hosted a special event with Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA). The event explored steps the Biden administration and Congress can take to reassert U.S. leadership around the world to counter the dangerous spread of authoritarianism, and how the U.S. intelligence community can track and analyze the harmful, cross-cutting threats to our national security, including the impacts of climate change and global health. The discussion also examined how U.S. efforts to revitalize the strength and faith in democracy at home are integral to countering authoritarianism globally. Read the transcript here. Watch here.
The Future of Military Engines
The Future of Military Engines report looks at the state of the U.S. military engine industrial base and the choices confronting policymakers at the Department of Defense (DoD). The military engine industrial base is closely tied to the industrial base for commercial engines. U.S. engine providers use many of the same facilities and largely the same supply chain for military and commercial engines. The ability to leverage commercial supply chains is critical because supply chain quality underlies the performance advantage of U.S. military engines, both for individual aircraft and military aircraft fleets. Read here.
Maritime Security Dialogue - Congressional Perspectives on the Future of the Navy
CSIS and the U.S. Naval Institute hosted a Maritime Security Dialogue that featured Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Co-Chair, House National Security Caucus and Member, House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA), Vice Chair, House Armed Services Committee & Member, Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. Watch here.
The Women Who Took on ISIS: A Conversation with Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Author, The Daughters of Kobani
On International Women's Day, Beverly Kirk and Smart Women, Smart Power hosted an event with New York Times best-selling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, where she discussed her new book, The Daughters of Kobani (2021). The Daughters of Kobani tells the story of what ISIS has left in its wake: the most far-reaching experiment in women’s equality in the least likely place in the world brought to you by young women who have been battling ISIS town by town, street by street since 2013. Listen here. Watch here.
U.S. Military Forces in FY 2021: The Last Year of Growth?
CSIS senior adviser Mark Cancian annually produced a series of white papers on U.S. military forces, including their composition, new initiatives, long-term trends, and challenges. This report is a compilation of these papers and takes a deep look at each of the military services, the new Space Force, special operations forces, DOD civilians, and contractors in the FY 2021 budget. It also examines how the Biden administration might approach decisions facing the military forces, drawing on insights from the individual chapters. Read here.
ISP Spotlight
What Did the U.S. Military Learn in the First Year of the Pandemic?
This report considers two questions. First, how has the military coped with ensuring its own readiness during the pandemic? Second, how do militaries best support the civilian response to the pandemic? Answers to these questions will not just help the United States prepare for the next public health emergency—natural, accidental, or intentional—but they will have global applications as well. Read here .
D360’s Combating Covid-19 series serves as the hub for analysis on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic from the CSIS International Security Program. The series assesses the effect of Covid-19 on the defense sector and the role of the military in containing it with weekly updates and other commentaries from CSIS experts.
Read the series here.
Publications
Emily Harding Joins CSIS as Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of International Security Program by CSIS
Covid-19 Response Update: March 19-March 26 by William Healzer, Adam Saxton, and Mark Cancian
Statement from the Editors on the March 16, 2021 Attacks in Atlanta, Georgia by the Represent Editorial Board
How the Defense Department Can Move from Abstraction to Action on Climate Change by Samuel Brannen, Sarah Ladislaw, and Lachlan Carey
It Is Time for a Realistic Bargain With North Korea by Eric Brewer and Sue Mi Terry
Statistically Identifying the NPT’s Effect on Nuclear Proliferation: Is it a Fundamentally Unidentified Question? by Danny Bressler
Covid-19 Response Update: March 12-March 19 by William Healzer, Adam Saxton, and Mark Cancian
Reviving the Iran nuclear deal requires tackling these three issues by Eric Brewer and Henry Rome
Covid-19 Response Update: March 5-March 12 by Adam Saxton and Mark Cancian
What’s In A Name? Billions In Cuts Depend On Defining ‘Legacy’ by Adam Saxton and Mark Cancian
Covid-19 Response Update: February 26-March 5 by Adam Saxton and Mark Cancian
Global Political Protests and the Future of Democracy by Samuel Brannen and Riley McCabe
Rethinking the Role of Remotely Crewed Systems in the Future Force by Todd Harrison
Multimedia
Todd Harrison, Kaitlyn Johnson, and Makena Young joined NSSA Spacetime to discuss their new report "Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space." Watch here.
Andrew Hunter is featured in a CSIS PreView video where he discussed his team's latest report, The Future of Military Engines. Watch here.
Suzanne Spaulding joined an episode of The Takeaway where she discussed what you need to know about foreign interference in the 2020 election. Listen here.
Mark Cancian discussed a Marine Corps without tanks with Marine Corps Times. Watch here .
Suzanne Spaulding spoke about
disinformation and democracy as a part of the University of Notre Dame's Ten Years Hence Speaker Series 2021. Watch here .
Mark Cancian joined an episode of R Street's Pentagon Purse Strings where he discussed DoD management reform. Watch here .
On International Women's Day, Beverly Kirk joined the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur and ISIS (Institute of Strategic and International Studies) Malaysia's Foreign Policy Speaker series where she discussed how governments and societies can ensure greater women's representation. Watch here.
Todd Harrison joined an episode of CSIS's The Truth of the Matter podcast, where he discusses his new study "Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space: Protecting Space Systems from Counterspace Weapons" with CSIS's Andrew Schwartz. Listen here. 
Todd Harrison testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on “Future Defense Spending” on February 24, 2021. Watch his Testify recap here.
Kaitlyn Johnson discussed how crucial it is to invest more in space domain awareness capabilities on an episode of Government Matters. Watch here.
Suzanne Spaulding joined the German Marshall Fund to discuss changes in U.S. and E.U. cyber policy. Watch here.
Suzanne Spaulding discussed implications for safety, security, and sovereignty in cyberspace at the Yale Cyber Leadership Forum. Watch here.
Lindsey Sheppard discussed AI and security on a panel at the Nunn Symposium. Watch here.
Kaitlyn Johnson joined Duke University's Department of Political Science, where she discussed threats and opportunities for the second space age. Watch here.
Todd Harrison testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on “Near-Peer Advancements in Space and Nuclear Weapons” on February 23, 2021. Watch his Testify recap here.
ISP Podcasts
SWSP x Girl Security: Patriotism vs. Nationalism
In the first episode of our new series, SWSP x Girl Security, host Beverly Kirk is joined by Girl Security scholar Meaghan Burnes and AEI’s Dr. Kori Schake. The group discusses the difference between patriotism and nationalism, and how the events of January 6, 2021 will shape this question in America.
Listen on Apple and Spotify.
SWSP x Girl Security: Diversity in National Security
In the second episode of our new series, SWSP x Girl Security, host Beverly Kirk is joined by Girl Security scholar Hannah Barrett and CSIS’s Director of the Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Program Nicole Aandahl. The group discusses diversity, equity, and inclusion in the national security space.
Listen on Apple and Spotify.
SWSP x Girl Security: Covid-19, Biothreats, and Biodefense Policy
In the third episode of our new series, SWSP x Girl Security, host Beverly Kirk is joined by Girl Security scholar Sruthi Katakam and Johns Hopkins University health security scholar Dr. Gigi Gronvall. The group discusses the holes in U.S. biodefense policy revealed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the role of dual-use biotechnologies in strategy and policy.
Listen on Apple and Spotify.
SWSP x Girl Security: Worst-Case Scenarios: 9/11 to Covid-19
In the final episode of our new series, SWSP x Girl Security, host Beverly Kirk is joined by Girl Security scholar Carolina Permuy and former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Carmen Medina. The group discusses issues of justice, mercy, and transparency in the intelligence community and why decision-makers should change the way they think about worst-case scenarios.
Listen on Apple and Spotify.
Upcoming Online Events
The Dark Arts in Space: Developments in Counterspace Weapons
Featuring: LtCol Joe Moye, Victoria Samson, Brian Weeden, and Makena Young
Hosted by: Kaitlyn Johnson Thursday, April 8, 2021
1:00 p.m. ET
Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space
Featuring: Details coming soon.
Hosted by: Details coming soon. Thursday, April 15, 2021
1:00 p.m. ET
Past Online Events
The Army in the Indo-Pacific: A Conversation with General James McConville and General Paul LaCamera
Featuring: General Ja mes C. McConville and General Paul J. LaCamera
Hosted by: Mark Cancian
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Rethinking the Role of Remotely Crewed Systems in the Future Force
Featuring: Dr. Ulrike Franke, Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider, Scott Wierzbanowski, and Rachel S. Cohen
Hosted by: Todd Harrison
Friday, March 26, 2021
The Army's Next-Generation Combat Vehicle
Featuring: MG Richard Coffman
Hosted by: Andrew Phillip Hunter
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Media Highlights
“Too much of the defense budget is tied down in things that can't easily be changed in a single year, like major elements of force structure and personnel,” said Todd Harrison to Politico on March 4, 2021. “I doubt we will see any major cuts in acquisition programs in this first budget request, but you never know. We could be surprised.”
"It makes it much harder for Saudi to quit Yemen, knowing that you have this hostile force there with these missiles capable of firing into their territory,” Ian Williams said in The Washington Post on March 12, 2021
“The decision to pursue step-function capability improvement is a reflection of the growing rogue state missile threat,” said Dr. Tom Karako in Defense One on March 23, 2021.
On March 28, 2021, Suzanne Spaulding told Politico , “No administration wants to have a Senate-confirmed position inside the White House because it gives Congress some say in how the President organizes his staff and brings an obligation to testify, which other officials in the Office of the President do not do." She continued, “Nevertheless, there are other confirmed positions within the White House staff and they seem to work fine. More importantly, staff sizes within the NSC are extremely limited--basically a handful, at best, for any given issue.”