By Julian Daniel, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow Nigeria faces a security crisis. A wide variety of armed groups, ranging from the transnational jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) and the endemic jihadist group Boko Haram to a variety of criminal gangs known as “bandits,” terrorize civilians across rural Nigeria. Between 2023 to 2025, over 10,000 […]
Tag: Marcellus Policy Analysis
Resilience Without Decoupling: The Case for Selective Semiconductor Denial
By Mustafa Mayar, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow Semiconductors now sit at the center of U.S. national security because they power advanced computing, artificial intelligence, advanced weapons systems, and much of the civilian economy. Recent supply-chain shocks and intensifying competition with China have pushed Washington to treat chips not only as commercial goods but also […]
Recalibrating US Alliances: A Restraint Strategy with Japan and the Philippines
By David Dichoso, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow Standing as the southern and eastern anchors of the United States’ deterrence-by-denial strategy in the Indo-Pacific, the Philippines and Japan are strengthening their ties and expanding their own bilateral military cooperation, including enhancing their defensive capabilities of key geography within their territories that serve to deny Beijing’s […]
Ending the Open-Ended Commitment: A Phased US Withdrawal from Kosovo
By Catherine Day, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow U.S. military involvement in Kosovo began in 1999 with NATO’s bombing campaign to end the war in Kosovo. Since that time, the United States has contributed to the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), which was established to deter renewed hostilities and stabilize the country. After more than two […]
Rethinking Security in Latin America: A Realist Case for Restraint
By Camila Manrique, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow In early September of 2025, the United States embarked on a campaign of gunboat diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere, one that would culminate in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3rd, 2026. The Trump administration designated transnational criminal organizations as foreign […]
Infrastructure Integration and the Limits of US Development Competition with China
By Taylor Coplen, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow The rise of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has created a perceived need for the United States to offer a more serious answer to Chinese infrastructure finance. Current U.S. strategy increasingly centers on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as a more investment-oriented tool for […]
The Eighty Year Subsidy: The Case for Burden Shifting in NATO
By Matthew MacKenzie, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow Transatlantic policymakers have long debated Europe’s security dependence on the United States through the wrong framework. Washington has measured allied commitment through burden sharing: defense spending levels, GDP benchmarks, and cost distribution. The deeper problem is structural. Europe remains dependent because Washington organizes, enables, and underwrites European […]
Rethinking US Sanctions in the Americas: Humanitarian and Strategic Implications (Marcellus Policy Analysis)
By Sana Motorwala, Fall 2025 Marcellus Policy Fellow Both Cuba and Venezuela have been at the forefront of Latin American foreign policy, especially with recent tensions that have increasingly characterized Cuba and Venezuela as “countries of concern.” They have both been positioned as countries antithetical to the United States, with their communist and socialist systems […]
Chinese Reluctance to Invade Taiwan and its Policy Implications (Marcellus Policy Analysis)
By Luke R. Thompson, Fall 2025 Marcellus Policy Fellow In American foreign policy circles, it is common to hear it suggested that 2027 is the year that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is either planning or will be ready to invade Taiwan (the Republic of China, or ROC). Such pronouncements are accompanied by significant […]
Strategic Regionalism and Economic Realism: What NATO Should Learn from the Success of the Bucharest Nine (Marcellus Policy Analysis)
By Anthony J. Tokarz, Fall 2025 Marcellus Policy Fellow As the Ukraine war enters its fifth year, Russia’s growing momentum requires a reevaluation of transatlantic security. While both American and European leaders had hoped that the war would weaken Russia, the first four years of the conflict suggest that it has weakened Europe’s North Atlantic […]