Riley McCabe

Associate Fellow, Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program
Riley McCabe

Riley McCabe is an associate fellow with the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research focuses on military operations, irregular warfare, and terrorism and political violence. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. He was previously an editor at the Irregular Warfare Initiative. Riley is a public service fellow pursuing an MA in international relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and holds a BA from Occidental College.

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Ideological Trends in U.S. Terrorism

The Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program examines the state of terrorism in the U.S., finding left-wing violence has risen in the last decade but from very low levels and still well below historic levels of violence by right-wing and jihadist actors.

Analysis by Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe — September 26, 2025

The Wrong Way to Fight the Cartels: CSIS Experts in Foreign Affairs

Experts from the CSIS Americas Program and Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program argue in Foreign Affairs that President Trump’s approach to the cartels risks repeating the mistakes of the “War on Terror.”

Commentary by Ryan C. Berg, Daniel Byman, Iselin Brady, Riley McCabe, Alexander Palmer, and Henry Ziemer — September 15, 2025

Aid Cuts Make Peace Negotiations in Ukraine Less Likely

Cutting U.S. aid to Ukraine now would not hasten peace. It would encourage the Kremlin to believe what it has long hoped for—that U.S. resolve is fleeting, and that time is on Russia’s side.

Commentary by Riley McCabe — June 16, 2025

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Aid Cuts Make Peace Negotiations in Ukraine Less Likely

An audio version of “⁠Aid Cuts Make Peace Negotiations in Ukraine Less Likely⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Riley McCabe. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Riley McCabe — June 16, 2025

Audio Briefs

Can Ukraine Survive Without U.S. Aid?

Experts from CSIS’s Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program sat down for a discussion on the possible implications of a partial or complete suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Event — June 5, 2025