Category Archives: National Security

The Concentration of Power: Book Review

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Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 13, No. 2, February 2025

Concentration of Power Cover - Anders Corr.jpg

Concentration of Power Cover.jpg

By John Gardner

The Concentration of Power: Institutionalization, Hierarchy & Hegemony
By Anders Corr
291 pp. Optimum Publishing International. $19.95

I believe the present and future are best interpreted through the lens of the past. Dr. Anders Corr’s book, The Concentration of Power: Institutionalization, Hierarchy & Hegemony, is that lens for those devoted to a broader understanding of historical hierarchies and their effects on the rise and fall of civilizations. This dissection of the “enduring conflict between those at the bottom who seek freedom, those in the middle who seek to protect the benefits of their own position at the top of sub-hierarchies, and those at the top of meta-hierarchies seeking to institutionalize and aggregate (power),” is worthy brain food for big-thinkers.

Dr. Corr’s work on “the steady institutionalization of power over time” delves deep into how the power structures of civilization, good or bad, form; and acts as a road map and warning for mankind. It is a profound thought on human nature to ask why humans typically seek to expand their institutions and power, even when that power is no longer necessary. Why did the French Revolution, which started with admirable ideals, turn barbaric while the American Revolution did not? Relinquishing the grip on power is the answer from Dr. Corr, but that is antithetical to human nature. Growing up, my dad told me numerous times of how Americans wanted George Washington to be “President for life,” but he declined to, and in that “set an example for future Presidents”. My dad admired his integrity.  Continue reading →

Amodei’s AI Plan To Democratize China

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Image of US and Chinese flags painted on computer chip.

Flags of the USA and China on a semiconductor. William Potter.

Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2025

By Anders Corr

A new strategy that could peacefully democratize China and other autocratic states was published recently. By ensuring a democratic lead in artificial intelligence (AI), its benefits could be used to incentivize autocracies into nonaggression against democracies. Then, AI could unblock information and defeat autocratic censorship, ultimately improving education in autocracies to the point that Chinese people themselves would successfully drive and achieve democratic reforms. 

While using the stick of military AI to deter autocracies has long been discussed, the idea of using the carrots from AI to buy peace with autocracies, and then using the same technology to defeat censorship and achieve democratization in those countries, had not, to the best of this author’s knowledge, been published before October. Continue reading →

Leadership Reaffirmed: A Blueprint for America’s Global Strategy toward China

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Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 12, No. 11, November 2024 

By Yan Bennett

Donald Trump poses for his official White House portrait

Donald J. Trump. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.

Dear President-elect Trump,

Congratulations on your recent victory. The American people have reaffirmed your leadership, granting you a renewed mandate to continue advancing the policies that prioritize the security, prosperity, and strength of our nation. This victory represents an endorsement of your commitment to putting America first and underscores the opportunity to build on the significant strides made during your first administration.

As stated in your first National Security Strategy (NSS), your administration laid out “a strategic vision for protecting the American people and preserving our way of life, promoting our prosperity, preserving peace through strength, and advancing American influence in the world” (NSS, 2017 ii). The American people have placed their confidence in your ability to navigate these immense challenges with steady strength and assertiveness.   Continue reading →

It’s Past Time to Secure the Internet

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Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 12, No. 11, November 2024 

The image depicts a world globe focusing on America.

Nick Aldwin via Flickr

By Tim Sell

If we’ve learned anything in the last three years, it’s that open borders don’t work. They put American citizens at risk. Why haven’t we learned, over the last thirty years, that an open Internet causes the same problems? I read about problems everyday from Russian hackers and Iranian agents creating election havoc and stealing identities and money. About a year ago, I experienced bank fraud and identity theft. When I reported this to my local police department, I was told nothing could be done,
as the attack came from “overseas” on the Internet.

Continue reading →

Why the UN Fails to Prevent Mass Atrocities

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Violent Incidents and Reporting Bias in the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2017 to 2022

Journal of Political Risk, Vol. 10, No. 8, August 2022

The image depicts UN forces alongside military equipment and vehicles in Minembwe in South Kivu, DRC.

UN forces in Minembwe, South Kivu taken on 2 April 2019. Source: Delphin Ntanyoma.

Delphin Ntanyoma
Erasmus University

Fidele Sebahizi
Liberty University

Prosper Baseka wa Baseka
Bircham International University

1. Introduction

This study includes preliminary analysis of 324 violent incidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded by Kivu Security Tracker (KST) and 29 reports of the United Nations Peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Mission de Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation du Congo (MONUSCO).[1]

Since its creation and deployment in 1999, MONUSCO is now facing unprecedented protests as local populations in Eastern DRC are demanding its immediate withdrawal. Between July 25 and July 26, 2022, protesters from the main cities in North Kivu and South Kivu stormed MONUSCO bases in Beni, Butembo, Goma, and Uvira to express their anger at the 22-year-long UN mission’s failure to stabilize the region.  Following these incidents, including the one that took place at the Uganda-DRC border, it is believed that 32 civilians and 4 peacekeepers died. Continue reading →