By Hekmat Matthew Aboukhater, Fall 2025 Marcellus Policy Fellow Washington should pursue a policy of controlled de-escalation with Iran to prevent the Middle East from tipping into a new regional imbalance. In the post October 7th Middle East, the fall of Assad has weakened the Shia Axis and opened space for Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, […]
Tag: Marcellus Policy Analysis
Climate Before Competition: Adopting a Restraint Strategy for US Arctic Policy
By Siddhanth Ravi, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow A region that is withstanding the worst effects of anthropogenic climate change is the Arctic Circle, warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2025 Arctic Report Card (ARC). As a resource-rich and geopolitically-significant global commons, […]
The Wrong War: Why Operation Southern Spear Fails as Counternarcotics Policy
By Juanita Caballero, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow On November 13, 2025, the United States launched Operation Southern Spear, a military campaign targeting suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The operation has deployed approximately 15,000 personnel, carrier strike groups, bombers, and amphibious assault ships, making it one of the largest U.S. […]
A Renewed Good Neighbor Policy
By Cameron Tobias, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow The creation of a safe Western Hemisphere must be a three-pronged effort, involving American development, consumption, and non-interference. Each prong will proceed in service of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty), conditioned on the accession of each party to the treaty. Latin American members of […]
Peacemaking as Leverage: Private Interests, Geopolitical Risk, and the Limits of US Diplomacy in the South Caucasus
By Linda Gayle, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow Under the Trump administration, unilateral peacemaking has increasingly emerged as a tool of U.S. foreign policy, and the 2025 U.S.-brokered peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan offers a key example of these dynamics and possible consequences for U.S. national interests. The South Caucasus, though often regarded as […]
Killing the Leader, Not the Regime: The Limits of Decapitation in US Foreign Policy
By Suruchi Rajan, Spring 2026 Marcellus Policy Fellow On February 28th, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran, following several months of the Pentagon’s largest military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq War. On the first day of the war, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, was […]
Beyond Military Intervention: A Sustainable US Strategy for Security in Nigeria
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 […]
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 […]