The world is undergoing a period of significant defense retrenchment. The U.K. has cut back dramatically on its defense budget and is making potentially transformative cuts to the storied Royal Navy. NATO’s members have gone back to the drawing board for a new Strategic Concept to guide the organization’s often-questioned mission. In Asia, the U.S. is assessing its relations with old allies and courting new ones, always with an eye to hedging China’s rise. And elsewhere, regional security organizations seek to define their role. This World Politics Review special report examines the global security picture through articles published from March 2010 through November 2010.
Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Subscribers can also download a .pdf version of this report from our document center. Not a subscriber? Subscribe now, or try our subscription service for free.
The End of the U.S. Security Backstop
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
Nov. 22, 2010
U.K. Budget Cuts: Sinking the Royal Navy, Part I
By David Axe
Oct. 27, 2010
U.K. Budget Cuts: Sinking the Royal Navy, Part II
By David Axe
Oct. 28, 2010
Budget Cuts Threaten U.K. Trident Replacement
By Chad O’Carroll
Sept. 14, 2010
The British Military’s Genetic Mutation
By Robert Farley
Nov. 3, 2010
Britain’s Defense Cuts and U.S. Security
By Robert Farley
Oct. 6, 2010
NATO in an Age of Austerity
By James Joyner
Oct. 26, 2010
NATO’s Missile Defense Challenge
By Richard Weitz
Nov. 11, 2010
More Promises, More Problems for NATO
By Alan W. Dowd
Nov. 23, 2010
The Future of the U.S.-Japan Alliance
By Prashanth Parameswaran
July 7, 2010
U.S., China Court Indonesia with Arms and Military Ties
By Fabio Scarpello
Aug. 29, 2010
Shangri-La Dialogue Highlights Challenges for Asian Regional Security
By Greg Lowe
June 9, 2010
U.S. Battle Plan for Pacific Hinges on Reform, Allies
By David Axe
Aug. 11, 2010
China’s Naval Buildup and its Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region
By Abraham Denmark and Zachary Hosford
Sept. 14, 2010
European Union: Global Security Actor or Paper Tiger?
By Soeren Kern
March 9, 2010
EU Ponders Defense Irrelevance
By Richard Weitz
Sept. 28, 2010
Eurasian Security Institutions: The CSTO and SCO
By Richard Weitz
June 29, 2010
Sustainability is Elusive for Persian Gulf Regional Security System
By Brian Katulis
June 29, 2010
Organized Complementarity and African Regional Security Cooperation
By Benedikt Franke
June 29, 2010