Strategic Insight for Defense & Security

Independent analysis and strategic foresight at the intersection of defense, security, and emerging global risks.

The Mecca Pact’s Real Test

Key Points : Türkiye must control every mission accepted under the pact. Intelligence support can create exposure without combat deployment. Defending Saudi territory must not determine Yemen’s settlement. Iranian stability remains a Turkish and Pakistani...
Engin Büker -

Weekly Strategic Brief – 38

Weekly Strategic Brief – 37

Weekly Strategic Brief – 36

Regional Conflict & Stability

The Mecca Pact’s Real Test

Key Points : Türkiye must control every mission accepted under the pact. Intelligence support can create exposure without combat deployment. Defending Saudi...
Engin Büker -

Who Sets Syria’s Security Limits?

Key Points : Israel struck Abu al-Duhur after talks on prospective Turkish deployments. In April 2025, Israel struck T4, Palmyra and...
Regional Conflict & Stability Research Group -

The Mecca Pact Connects Two Wars

Key Points : Türkiye is losing its strategic non-entry position. The pact links Gulf security to NATO. Israel is its main indirect...
Engin Büker -

Energy & Maritime Security

European Combat Vessel: Can Seven Navies Deliver?

Key Points : Seven EU states plan a modular warship family for 2040 Requirements released in January 2026 now...
Cengiz Karakaş -

Escalation Architecture From Black Sea to Red Sea

Key Points : Crisis theatres are becoming connected systems. Maritime routes now transmit escalation. Energy chokepoints bind distant theatres. Critical infrastructure...
Engin Büker -

Submarine Cable Security: The Anatomy of Asymmetric Pressure in the Gulf Crisis

Key Points : Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and the Egypt-Suez corridor are dual energy-data chokepoints. In a crisis, repair access...
Cengiz Karakaş -

Hybrid Threats, Cognitive Warfare & Information Operations

The Emotion of Wars

Key Points : Wars rarely end for strategic reasons alone. Fear, pride, anger, humiliation and hope keep them...
Ahmet Kalkan -

When Protest Loses Visibility: Iran’s Use of Uncertainty as an Internal Security Tool

Key Points: Iran’s response to recent unrest is distinctive less for the scale of repression than for how...
Tuana Sevi -

China’s Semiconductor “Manhattan Project”: Breaking the EUV Monopoly

Key Points: • Monopoly Disrupted: China tested a prototype EUV machine, challenging ASML’s long-standing global monopoly.• Scale: A...
Mustafa Kirisci -

Defense Technology, Industry & Economic Security

Beyond the Airframe: How Advanced Materials Are Shaping the Future of Air Power

Key Points : Future air power increasingly relies on distributed, autonomous and networked operations. Collaborative Combat Aircraft and unmanned...
Faik Nurşen -

How can maritime drones navigate/survive in a jammed environment?

Key Points : Electronic warfare threatens the core functionality of maritime robotics by actively targeting maritime drones’  ability...
Gökay Yayla -

Manned-Unmanned Teaming: Why Nations Are Investing

Key Points : Pilot scarcity, force structure constraints, and China's public MUM-T demonstration are driving a procurement surge...
Nurettin Sevi -

Global Power Competition & Systemic Transitions

Defence Innovation as Protection

Key Points: NATO’s central defense innovation challenge is conversion, not invention. Emerging and disruptive technology (EDT) adoption should be...
Engin Büker -

Germany’s Maritime Defense Test

Key Points : Germany’s defense credibility is likely to be tested through maritime resilience.  Germany’s ability to sustain allied...
Mehmet Sümer -

U.S.-China Nuclear Competition Beneath the South China Sea

Key Points : $3.4 trillion in annual trade depends on sustained South China Sea deterrence. China's Bastion doctrine extends...
Şakir Oruç -

Future Conflict, Climate & Humanity

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Warfare

Key Points : • AI is transforming warfare across tactical, operational, and strategic levels.• It is the first technology capable...
Dr. Murat Çalışkan -

Panel After-Assessment: Is Aligning the Green Deal with Global Crises and Strategic Imperatives Possible?

The European Defence & Security Summit 2024 recently facilitated a pivotal panel discussion on "War Economy for the EU:...
Engin Büker -

Why Polarization in the Military Is a Growing Concern for Democracies

The past few years have seen a wave of concern over how increasing political and social polarization is negatively...
Mustafa Kirisci -

Policy Papers

The overall concept of military defence: Military Strategy and Plan for the Armed Forces

Responsibility for Europe. This document is the publicly accessible part of the first Bundeswehr Military Strategy and the resulting Plan...

Munich Security Report 2026 : Under Destruction

The Munich Security Conference 2026 is taking place at a moment of profound uncertainty. Rarely in the conference’s recent...
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