Publications and Research

Modern wars are often explained through geopolitics, ideology, or territorial disputes. In Wars of the Few, Costs for the Many, Dr. Melanie Banerjee argues that another dimension deserves closer attention: the economic and institutional incentives that shape how conflicts emerge, persist, and evolve. Drawing on political economy, democratic theory, and contemporary security trends, the report examines the relationship between defense spending, industrial policy, and elite influence, inviting readers to reconsider how modern warfare is understood and governed.

This report develops a contemporary framework for deterring attacks on U.S. space systems by adversarial nations. It argues that Cold War-era deterrence logic no longer applies to today's space domain, where more than 70 nations operate satellites, new weapons can disable systems without creating debris, and gray-zone attacks have become routine. The paper proposes an eight-question framework for tailoring deterrence strategies to specific adversaries, then applies this framework to China—America's pacing threat. The analysis yields five policy recommendations emphasizing resilience, debris removal technology, and space domain awareness as critical components of a credible 21st-century space deterrence strategy.

The traditional framing of liberty versus security as a zero-sum game has become not only outdated but dangerously counterproductive. This report advances a core thesis: liberty and security are mutually reinforcing principles. Democratic institutions enhance national security by providing legitimacy, accountability, and adaptive capacity, while well-governed security institutions create the stable conditions necessary for democratic freedoms to flourish.

The United States can and must compete effectively with China without replicating its authoritarian methods. This report argues that values-based competition is not only ethically necessary but strategically superior to authoritarian approaches that sacrifice long-term competitive advantages for short-term tactical gains.

This report explores how crises like earthquakes, wars, and pandemics create openings for exploitation by criminal networks, corrupt elites, and authoritarian actors. Through case studies in Haiti, Sri Lanka, and North Carolina, the report shows how disasters can erode trust, weaken institutions, and threaten democracy. It argues that while democracies are uniquely vulnerable, they also have tools—transparency, civil society, and rule of law—that can prevent exploitation. With the right safeguards, disaster response can reinforce rather than undermine democratic resilience.

This report examines how anti-corruption rhetoric, once a hallmark of democratic reform, is increasingly used by authoritarian and illiberal regimes to centralize power, suppress dissent, and erode judicial independence. Through case studies of China, the Philippines, El Salvador, and others, it distinguishes genuine reform efforts from coercive political tools and proposes a framework for assessing anti-corruption legitimacy in global contexts.

This report examines how global arms transfers, while serving strategic interests, often destabilize fragile democracies by fueling repression, corruption, and conflict. It argues that without strong oversight and institutional support, these transfers risk undermining the very stability and democratic norms they intend to protect.