Wachenheim Program on Peace and Security

Ensuring that Ukraine resists Russian aggression and survives as a secure, sovereign, democratic state is central to the future of European peace and security.

Recent years have seen cooperation among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea broadening and deepening, ushering in a new “Axis of Autocracies.” The group is not only cooperating to sustain support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, but also working to divide the United States from its traditional friends, partners, and allies, and to encourage resentment in the Global South toward the West.

The return of great power competition, Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling, China’s rapid build-up of its nuclear arsenal, and the collapse of the arms control architecture pose serious questions for U.S. nuclear strategy, the composition of its nuclear arsenal, and its arms control and non-proliferation policies.

In many places around the world, insecurity and violence are perpetuated not by governments and official armies but by informal militias, militants, and organized crime rings. These non-state armed actors not only terrorize local populations but also undermine government control and even presence, as well as proliferate illicit economies.