July 2025

In This Issue

Editorial introduction not yet supplied.

1. 01

   Economic Security · Global Competition · National Security & Defense

   Leveraging Strength in Economic Statecraft

   Francis A. Finelli, Timothy Welter, PhD

   There was once a time when it was assumed that China would move toward liberal democratic institutions and, with that, pursue a more open capitalist economy. This assumption was based on the argument that as China grew richer through capital investment and market-driven economic expansion, its population’s values and outlook would become more Westernized.

2. 02

   Human Health & Performance · National Security & Defense

   Optimizing Cognitive Performance: Cutting-Edge Neuroscience for Intelligence Analysts

   Bob Gourley

   In today’s era of relentless disruption, intelligence analysts sit on the front lines of national defense, not with weapons, but with judgment. Faced with an avalanche of data, increasingly deceptive adversaries, and constant geopolitical volatility, their mission is to extract clarity from chaos.

3. 03

   Artificial Intelligence · Science & Technology Policy

   Assessing the Risks of AI: Haven’t We Been Here Before?

   William Regli, PhD

   Will artificial intelligence (AI) technology empower a magnificent future, or will the risks of AI manifest themselves in a way that threatens human existence? Wall Street and Silicon Valley (i.e., many of whom are “AI boomers”) mostly believe that AI will make us productive, rich, and prosperous in a transition of our future that portends super-charged productivity and applications that eliminate worry and tedium.

4. 04

   National Security & Defense · Space

   Missile Defense through Deterrence: How to Prevent an Attack on the Homeland

   Robert Hummel, PhD

   Missiles are flying over the Middle East and Europe, of many different types and with both offensive and defensive purposes. At one time, the US assumed that the only danger to the continental US was from intercontinental ballistic missiles, most likely nuclear-tipped.

5. 05

   National Security & Defense · Space

   Can Trump’s Golden Dome Make Us Safe?

   Gerold Yonas, PhD

   Last year, Donald Trump announced that “we must be able to defend our homeland, our allies, and our military assets around the world from the threat of hypersonic missiles, no matter where they are launched from.” After his election, he called for a program labeled the Golden Dome and requested a plan with no limit on cost to achieve his goal.