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How a Gulf Rift Opened a Second Front for Iran
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APT Profile: Salt Typhoon
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The Siege of the Republic of Iran
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When AI Finds a Software Flaw, Who Decides When the Affected Vendor Is Told?
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Evolving Nature of Terrorism since the September 11 Attacks: al-Qaeda and ISIS Affiliates
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Promoting Evidence-based Policy and Good Governance

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Defense & Security, Middle East

Oct 1 , 2026

Op-Ed

How a Gulf Rift Opened a Second Front for Iran

As of mid-September, the Houthis, after capturing Mokha, the Hanish Islands, and Mayun, hold physical control over the approaches to Bab el-Mandeb, the chokepoint through which a large share of Red Sea shipping must pass. Saudi Arabia has begun mobilizing a direct military response to reverse those gains, but even

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OPI-ROCCA

Sep 25 , 2026

Projects

APT Profile: Salt Typhoon

The ROCCA project examines significant cyber incidents and the actors behind them to identify patterns in cyber threats, their targets, and their broader security implications. These APT profiles provide background on the groups responsible for major incidents documented in the ROCCA dataset. Country of Origin China Threat Actor Type State-sponsored

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Defense & Security, Middle East

Sep 23 , 2026

Policy Brief

The Siege of the Republic of Iran

Following months of U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran and repeated diplomatic efforts and ceasefires, the U.S. administration has shifted to a strategy of increased economic pressure against Iran under Operation Economic Outcast. The White House has framed the current strategic shift as primarily an economic campaign (with a dual

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OPI-ROCCA, NextGen

Sep 16 , 2026

Projects

Governing the Breach: Cyber Crisis Response in Germany and the United States

Introduction In December 2024, a cyberattack against the U.S. Department of the Treasury did not begin inside the Treasury. A Chinese state-sponsored actor gained access through a compromised third-party cybersecurity provider. The incident exposed a fundamental problem of modern cyber governance: governments are increasingly responsible for protecting digital infrastructure they

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Cybersecurity, Technology

Sep 14 , 2026

Op-Ed

When AI Finds a Software Flaw, Who Decides When the Affected Vendor Is Told?

In July 2026, the Trump Administration announced GOLD EAGLE, a new federal clearinghouse with the goal of improving cybersecurity vulnerability coordination, using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify software flaws and speed up the time it takes to fix them. While a commendable and necessary effort, the current public details on

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Defense & Security, Terrorism & Extremism, Africa, Middle East

Sep 8 , 2026

Policy Brief

Evolving Nature of Terrorism since the September 11 Attacks: al-Qaeda and ISIS Affiliates

The terrorism threat landscape has changed substantially since September 11, 2001. Over the last quarter of a century, counterterrorism efforts disrupted terrorist networks and decapitate several senior leaders, including the founder of al Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, and his successors, as well as ISIS leadership. Despite al Qaeda being pushed

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Defense & Security, Technology

Sep 5 , 2026

Policy Brief

Folly, Persuasion, and Deceit: Artificial Intelligence and the Coming Crisis of Overconfidence in Strategic Nuclear Affairs

Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) is seeping steadily into strategic nuclear affairs. In 2018, a RAND Corporation study reasoned that by 2040, an AI could advise humans on matters of escalation without connecting directly to nuclear launchers, based on the progress AI is making in “increasingly complex and poorly specified tasks.”[1]

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Data Privacy & Governance Hub

Sep 3 , 2026

Projects

Utah Law Strengthens Student Privacy Protections for Educational Technology

Key Takeaways Researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) reported that some educational technology (EdTech) applications used in Utah K-12 schools collected and shared student data in ways that violated privacy agreements. Utah House Bill 55, which took effect on July 1, 2026, increased privacy requirements for EdTech vendors by allowing

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Latest Research

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Crime & Justice, Transnational Crime, Americas, OPI-TCP

Feb 4 , 2026

Policy Brief

Venezuela’s Hybrid Criminal Networks and U.S. Regional Strategy

Editor’s Note: This policy brief is Part I of an Orion Policy Institute (OPI) Transnational Crime Project (OPI-TCP) series and culminating report examining Venezuela’s transnational criminal networks, their regional security implications, and the evolving U.S. policy response. For years, U.S. policy toward Venezuela has fluctuated between sanctions, diplomacy, and public

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Democracy & Human Rights, Africa

Jan 27 , 2026

Research

Women and the Path for Peace in Africa: DR Congo

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This research article draws on in-depth interviews with Dr. Susanne Alldén, who is a senior lecturer in Peace and Development Studies at Linnaeus University in Sweden and has extensive field experience in conflict-affected regions, particularly in central and western Africa. She has also led and managed stabilization, peacebuilding, and gender

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Technology

Jan 17 , 2026

Policy Brief

Post-Quantum Cryptography: An Urgent Need for AI Infrastructure

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Post-quantum cryptography is typically framed as a problem in quantum computing. It is something to address once fault-tolerant machines arrive. So, this framing is still incomplete. Every scaled AI system today depends on encrypted data pipelines, protected model weights, and secure inference infrastructure. The cryptographic standards protecting that infrastructure are

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Defense & Security, Africa

Jan 13 , 2026

Policy Brief

Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland: Strategic Logic and Regional Implications

Rather than an isolated diplomatic gesture, Israel’s decision to formally recognise the Republic of Somaliland constitutes a deliberate strategic intervention in the Horn of Africa. By extending recognition to a de facto sovereign entity that is not officially recognised, Israel has challenged long-standing international norms governing statehood, territorial integrity, and

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Defense & Security, Indo – Pacific, South Asia

Jan 7 , 2026

Policy Brief

Why China May Be Emboldened by America’s 2025 National Security Strategy

China is rapidly increasing its economic and military strength and asserting itself more aggressively on the world stage. Until President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, China was careful to downplay its ambition and growing international power. Now, the country is a near-peer competitor of the United States military in

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Defense & Security, Americas

Dec 12 , 2025

Policy Brief

The Trump Corollary: Venezuela as the First Test of a Neo-Monroe Doctrine

Foreign policy analysts had long suspected that President Trump was reviving a Monroe Doctrine–style policy for Latin America. With the release of the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), that idea now has a formal name: the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. This newly declared doctrine revives a two-century-old concept

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