Texas National Security Review
@tnsr
A rigorous, policy-relevant journal on national & international security, brought to you by The University of Texas System | tnsr.org
How did North Korea interpret the fall of the USSR? @dubstepindprk.bsky.social explains how Pyongyang leveraged the collapse to frame Juche as superior to Soviet socialism, paving the way for military-first politics. tnsr.org/2026/08/how-... #NorthKorea #ForeignPolicy #ColdWar
On our latest podcast, @dubstepindprk.bsky.social argues Pyongyang learned from the USSR's fall by doubling down on Stalinism and nuclear deterrence. Listen: tnsr.org/2026/08/how-... #NorthKorea #ColdWar #NuclearSecurity
In "What Good Is a Nuclear Threshold Capability?", @ebrewer.bsky.social uses Iran’s nuclear trajectory to assess the strategic benefits and inherent risks of holding threshold nuclear status. tnsr.org/2026/06/what... #NuclearPolicy #MiddleEast #Deterrence
Subsea telecom cables form the vital backbone of global communications. @charlesmok.bsky.social highlights the urgent need for international collaboration to secure undersea cable networks against physical and cyber threats. tnsr.org/2026/06/towa... #CyberSecurity #Infrastructure #Policy
In "Saving Socialism," Benjamin R. Young (@dubstepindprk.bsky.social) explores the institutional and ideological lessons North Korea drew from the collapse of the Soviet Union to ensure long-term regime survival. tnsr.org/2026/07/savi... #NorthKorea #EastAsia #Security
In "Choosing Orbits," R. Lincoln Hines, Lawrence Rubin, and Dayana Alagirova explore China’s space diplomacy in Egypt, the UAE, and Iran, highlighting how local states exercise agency while navigating great-power rivalries. tnsr.org/2026/07/choo... #SpaceDiplomacy #China #MiddleEast
Research by @pslovic.bsky.social, Missy Peterson, Rose McDermott, Daniel R. Post, and Daniel Västfjäll demonstrates that public support for nuclear strikes is heavily influenced by cognitive biases rather than pure strategic logic. tnsr.org/2026/06/when... #NuclearStrategy #Psychology #Defense
In "The Meaning of Place," Francis J. Gavin argues that while geopolitics has shifted into non-physical domains like cyber and space, traditional geography and a sense of place continue to profoundly shape statecraft. tnsr.org/2026/06/the-... #Geopolitics #GrandStrategy #Diplomacy
We are proud to announce the print release of Vol. 9, Issue 3, "New Challenges, Shifting Perspectives." The complete physical edition can now be purchased through @utexaspress.bsky.social. Read now: tnsr.org/volume-9-iss... #NationalSecurity #ForeignPolicy #InternationalRelations
Satellites capture public attention, but 100-year-old undersea cables carry 99% of global data transmission. @charlesmok.bsky.social explores why policymakers routinely overlook vital physical infrastructure. He argues that out-of-sight cables represent a critical national security vulnerability.
Undersea infrastructure carries 99% of intercontinental data, yet it remains a dangerous blind spot in national security circles. On our latest podcast, @charlesmok.bsky.social details how authoritarian states use gray-zone tactics to target these vulnerabilities.
What did North Korea learn from the Soviet Union's collapse? @dubstepindprk.bsky.social argues that they never bought the idea that economic reform leads to stability. The Kim regime chose patrimonialism and ideological control instead. That choice has defined North Korean statecraft ever since.
What did North Korea take from the Soviet collapse? Benjamin R. Young argues Pyongyang drew one conclusion above all: strengthen ideological control and build nuclear weapons. Read now: tnsr.org/2026/07/savi... @dubstepindprk.bsky.social #NorthKorea #NuclearWeapons #NationalSecurity
How do global conflicts reshape Beijing’s cross-strait strategy? Mike Kuiken explains how the PLA is analyzing military quagmires in Ukraine and Iran. He argues that these insights are prompting Chinese planners to comprehensively refresh their approach to a 2027 Taiwan scenario.
The UAE signed an agreement to fly a lunar rover on China's Chang'e 7 this August. Then US ITAR restrictions forced it to withdraw. Hines, Rubin & Alagirova argue that moment captures something larger: American export controls are closing doors that China is walking through.
How has the US-China Commission shaped strategy over 25 years? Randall Schriver and Mike Kuiken break down the 2027 Taiwan timeline, tech competition, and over-the-horizon risks. tnsr.org/2026/07/25-y... #China #NationalSecurity #Taiwan @iips.bsky.social | @hooverinstitution.bsky.social
China's Chang'e 7 mission launches this August, targeting the lunar south pole and carrying payloads from six international partners. Egypt is one of them. In our new issue, Hines, Rubin & Alagirova map China's expanding space diplomacy across the Middle East and find a deliberate strategy.
A hit-and-run playbook leaves undersea cable networks highly vulnerable to gray-zone aggression. How can the international community respond? In our new article, @charlesmok.bsky.social argues that democracies must unite to protect this vital infrastructure.
Undersea cable networks carry up to 99 percent of intercontinental data transmission, but they are increasingly vulnerable to gray-zone sabotage at critical chokepoints. In our newest article, @charlesmok.bsky.social outlines a targeted framework for global collaboration.
Has degrading Iran's nuclear program actually made the region less safe? @ebrewer.bsky.social argues that previous restraint—like avoiding attacks on the Strait of Hormuz or Gulf energy targets—was driven by fear of retaliatory strikes. Now that those strikes have occurred, Iran has less to fear.
How fragile are our moral boundaries during a high-stakes crisis? @pslovic.bsky.social et al. demonstrate that when forced to evaluate competing tragedies side-by-side, what was once considered completely unthinkable can quickly become accepted as a "lesser evil."
With the US and Iran negotiating a roadmap to end the recent war, Tehran’s nuclear program is once again at the forefront of global security. What role does nuclear latency play in regional stability?
Our latest article challenges classical deterrence theory by exploring the limits of human rationality. @pslovic.bsky.social et al. argue that deep-seated cognitive biases, including psychic numbing and the affect heuristic, systematically distort high-stakes decisions regarding nuclear escalation.
Did Western military dominance inadvertently accelerate Iran’s nuclear ambitions? In our latest, @ebrewer.bsky.social examines the dangerous escalation cycle between the United States, Israel, and Iran. He argues that conventional superiority drove Tehran to advance its nuclear program . . .
What are the strategic trade-offs of nuclear hedging? @ebrewer.bsky.social examines Iran’s nuclear program from 2023–25 and argues that instead of providing a net advantage, Iran’s threshold status became a critical vulnerability that invited conventional attacks and degraded its security.
In our new podcast episode, Herb Lin argues that unproven military tech lets policymakers gloss over operational flaws. It offers a convenient narrative to promise casualty reduction and simulate responsive action in unfavorable scenarios.
Why are policymakers consistently drawn to the promise of revolutionary military tech despite repeated acquisition failures? Herb Lin reveals the persistent traps of technological overmatch, from "fallacy of the last move" thinking to the distinct architectural nature of AI.
Geography is about more than just resources or strategic chokepoints. In our upcoming issue, Francis J. Gavin, the chair of our editorial board, argues that place fundamentally shapes identity and political realities.
In the opening essay to our upcoming issue, Francis J. Gavin argues that modern geopolitics has expanded into the planetary commons, cyber, and space. Yet, traditional physical geography and a deep sense of place still fundamentally shape international conflict.
Following recent talks in Beijing, "strategic stability" is the formulation of the moment in US-China relations. But how does this diplomatic shorthand map onto reality? In our latest issue, authors argue that achieving true strategic stability is harder today than ever.