Should governments talk to terrorists? Do they have any choice? In Terrorists at the Table, Jonathan Powell argues that we will never end armed conflict without allowing for negotiation with terrorists. In his book, Mr. Powell draws upon his own experiences negotiating peace in Northern Ireland and talks to the major players from the last thirty years--terrorists, Presidents, secret agents and intermediaries, exposing the subterranean world of secret exchanges between governments and armed groups.

In August 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned, yet the boundary between Indian and Pakistani culture remained porous and intersecting. In The Sky Below, award winning filmmaker Sarah Singh explores the painful memories and powerful issues arising from the partition. Shot on both sides of the Indo-Pak border, with a strong local ethos communicated through the music, the language and the people, the film provides unique perspective upon the partition and its aftermath.

In June 2014, ISIS seized Mosul, the anchor of northern Iraq and home to more than two million. Twelve days before the city fell, President Obama speaking at West Point failed to mention ISIS at all, having earlier dismissed them as a “jayvee team.” What happened? How could the President so misjudge things? Can we recover from this? What does a coherent strategy look like after this disastrous year? In his essay "Blood Year: Terror and the Islamic State," published in Quarterly Essay (Australia), Dr.

As January 2016 and the deadline to open all combat roles to women approaches, much has been discussed about women could do and are capable of. Much less attention has been given to what women already have done on the battlefield.

With the U.S. withdrawing from Afghanistan and a new Afghan government having assumed power, what kind of future do Afghan women face? In her new book, Contested Terrain: Reflections with Afghan Women Leaders, Sally L. Kitch explores the crisis in contemporary Afghan women's lives by focusing on the stories of Judge Marzia Basel and Ms. Jamila Afghani from 2005 through 2014, providing an oft-ignored perspective on the personal and professional lives of Afghanistan's women.

In 2014, ISIS shocked the world with their brutality and the speed with which they took a large swath of Iraqi and Syrian territory. One year later, most countries, including the United States, are still trying to figure out what is driving this group and how best they can be defeated.

Drone warfare has quickly become the norm. Since taking office, President Obama has carried out 300 more covert strikes than President Bush did in Pakistan alone, and he has opened new fronts in Yemen and Somalia. Meanwhile armed drones are taking on Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, alongside manned aircraft. These new campaigns present importation questions about the way governments are using drones, where they are using them, and who is being affected. For instance, are drone strikes truly ‘risk free’? And are they lowering the threshold for war?

In 2014, ISIS shocked the world with their brutality and the speed with which they took a large swath of Iraqi and Syrian territory. One year later, most countries, including the United States, are still trying to figure out what is driving this group and how best they can be defeated.

Hostage-taking, particularly the capture of Westerners, has emerged as a prominent jihadist tactic in recent years. In Syria and Iraq, ISIS has executed four Americans it took hostage. In Pakistan, Al Qaeda has held Warren Weinstein, a 73-year-old aid worker and contractor, hostage since 2011. Many European countries have agreed to pay the demanded ransoms for their kidnapped citizens, while the United States refuses to do so. With the Obama administration conducting a months-long review of American hostage policy, what can be done to return Americans held hostage abroad?

In July 1997, Thomas E. Ricks wrote an article for the Atlantic that detailed the widening gap between the U.S. military and the American public. After following a platoon of Marine recruits through basic training and their post-graduation leave, he found that many of them felt alienated from their families and their friends – indeed, the very society they had sworn to defend.