USA Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

Trump’s Iran Rhetoric Is Not Deterrence. It Is Strategic Self-Sabotage

Every revolutionary regime depends on a story to survive. The Islamic Republic’s story has always been simple, emotionally powerful, and politically effective. Iran, according to the Khomeinist worldview, stands as a righteous…

April 8, 2026Iran, USA

Geoeconomics National Security

Bypassing the System: Russia’s Crypto Networks in Africa and the Erosion of U.S. Sanctions Power

Moscow is using Africa as a space in which it can reduce the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions pressure by shifting external transactions into crypto-based payment channels operating outside the traditional…

April 8, 2026Niger, Nigeria, Russia, USA, Zimbabwe

Drug trafficking Geopolitics National Security

From Narcos to Networks: How CJNG Is Tapping Global Arms Supply Chains

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have charged a group that attempted to supply the Mexican cartel CJNG with an arsenal worth €53.7 million. U.S. investigators have linked the central figure, Peter…

March 25, 2026CJNG, Mexico, Russia, USA

Economy Energy Geoeconomics

Russia’s Vietnam Play: A Growing Challenge to U.S. Sanctions and Indo-Pacific Strategy

Russia’s push to expand energy cooperation with Vietnam is not a transactional economic move, but part of a systemic strategy to rebuild global leverage under sanctions pressure. By embedding itself in…

March 24, 2026Russia, USA, Vietnam

Intelligence ops National Security Psyops Terrorism

Risk Assessment: Threats Against the U.S. Vice President During a Visit to Hungary

The risk of a politically motivated hostile act against the U.S. Vice President during a visit to Hungary should be assessed as elevated in terms of political sensitivity, but constrained by a…

March 23, 2026Hungary, Russia, USA

Democracy Economy Governance

Political Stability in Cuba: Risks of Power Change and Potential Consequences

Cuba is currently experiencing one of the most severe economic and social crises since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The country faces an acute shortage…

March 17, 2026Cuba, USA

National Security Nonproliferation

Russia’s Nuclear Shield for Iran: How Rosatom Is Undermining U.S. Pressure on Tehran

Russia is embedding itself deeply in Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.Through its state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Moscow is consolidating a long-term presence at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, including personnel deployment, reactor construction, fuel…

March 13, 2026Iran, Russia, USA

Geopolitics Terrorism

Why is Mali resuming intelligence operations with the US?

Since 2021, when the Malian junta consolidated power in a second coup after the first one in 2020, the military government it controlled was largely seen as anti-Western.This was mainly…

March 12, 2026Mali, USA

Democracy Governance National Security

Beyond Decapitation: Why Iran’s Political System Is Built to Survive War

A recent classified assessment by the National Intelligence Council concludes that even a large-scale interstate war against Iran would be unlikely to remove or fundamentally transform the country’s ruling system. According to…

March 11, 2026Iran, USA

Conflict Geopolitics Warfare

U.S.–Israel Ground Operation Using Kurdish Forces: Probability, Effectiveness, Aims, and Consequences (March 2026)

A large-scale U.S.–Israel ground invasion of Iran is unlikely in the near term. What is plausible—and already being signaled in open reporting—is a limited “ground-enabled” campaign: air/missile strikes combined with Kurdish (and potentially other peripheral) armed groups opening…

March 5, 2026Iran, Kurdistan, USA

USA