Truman National Security Project

On April 14, 2013, Venezuela held a special election after the death of former president Hugo Chavez. The election gained international attention for its narrow results and for claims of voting irregularities and subsequent demands for an audit from the defeated party.  Further, human rights groups voiced objections that the Chavista Government intimidated voters and [...]

Lyndon Johnson’s famous 1964 “Daisy” campaign ad depicts a little girl picking the petals of a daisy while a missile launch counts down.  The screen zooms in to her, then to black, and then to the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.  President Johnson ominously warns, “These are the stakes!” Daisy aired only once, and though [...]

What are the top-10 most popular posts in Doctrine history? See what made the cut!

It’s here: the “sequester” – the $85 billion across-the-board federal budget cuts – is going into effect.  With the White House and Congress unable to avoid the draconian cuts, it begs the question: how will these cuts, called “sequestration”, affect not just only Washington, but local communities? When you look at the fine print, the big picture [...]

Nearly 365 years ago, more than 100 warring diplomats and princes got together in the cities of Münster and Osnabrück, in what is now northwestern Germany. There they signed a set of treaties that became the basic framework for our modern world: the Peace of Westphalia. Thanks to these dignitaries, we have territorial sovereignty: nation-states, [...]