Survival, the IISS’s bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment.
Survival, the IISS’s bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment.
In this issue:
- Michael Carpenter discusses the deepening contest between democratic and authoritarian models of governance and their role in today’s international alignments
- Michael O’Hanlon observes that, on most core matters of security, Donald Trump’s second term as US president has so far been less egregious than expected
- Jonathan D. Caverley and Ethan B. Kapstein argue that despite fears about the viability of NATO, a new equilibrium between the US and European NATO is emerging and could produce a stronger and more balanced alliance
- Emile Hokayem considers the challenges facing interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the path to a new Syria
- And ten other thought-provoking pieces, as well as our regular Book Reviews and Noteworthy column.
To read free articles from the journal, please visit its homepage at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tsur20.
Survival 67.6 (December 2025January 2026), pp. 1244
The Geopolitics of Governance, by Michael Carpenter
Double-talk: Russias Variable Ideology, by Marlene Laruelle
Reverse Convergence? Donald Trump and the Prospect for USChina Stability, by
Lanxin Xiang
Why the Vatican Matters in Global Politics, by Jodok Troy
The Deals-based International Order?, by John Raine
Cause for Relief? US Strategic Policies in Trumps Second Term, by Michael
OHanlon
Indias Multi-alignment Challenges, by Viraj Solanki
Noteworthy: Dialogues
The Atlantic Alliance: Diverging Interests, Converging Policies, by Jonathan
D. Caverley and Ethan B. Kapstein
Russias Sabotage Campaign in Europe, by Seth G. Jones
The War Within: Gaza, Netanyahu and Israels Security Services, by Guy Ziv
Reforming for Relevance: The UN at 80, by Farrukh Khan
Can China Win the Trade War?, by Chris Clague
Storyboarding America, by Jonathan Stevenson
Book Reviews
War, Conflict and the Military, by Franz-Stefan Gady
United States, by David C. Unger
Europe, by Hanns W. Maull
Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, by Jonathan Stevenson
Syrias Unsteady Transition, by Emile Hokayem
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a registered charity with offices in Washington, London, Manama, Singapore and Berlin, is the worlds leading authority on politicalmilitary conflict. It is the primary independent source of accurate, objective information on international strategic issues. Publications include The Military Balance, an annual reference work on each nations defence capabilities; The Armed Conflict Survey, an annual review of the worlds active conflicts; Survival, a bimonthly journal on international affairs; Strategic Comments, an online analysis of topical issues in international affairs; and the Adelphi series of books on issues of international security.