Shashank Joshi
@shashj.bsky.social
Defence Editor at The Economist.
Visiting Fellow at Department of War Studies, KCL. For speaking engagements: https://chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/shashank-joshi
Visiting Fellow at Department of War Studies, KCL. For speaking engagements: https://chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/shashank-joshi
Pinned
Shashank Joshi
@shashj.bsky.social
· Feb 13
Our cover story this week: reforming the Pentagon. www.economist.com/briefing/202...
'After drones...appeared near Belgian military bases & airports...Defense Minister Theo Francken said some...were “deliberately mapping infrastructure...That’s espionage, likely carried out by professional pilots on behalf of countries like Russia”' www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Europe Is in a Gray Zone Between War and Peace
The continent’s leaders suspect Russia of being behind an intensifying barrage of increasingly disruptive attacks.
www.wsj.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:19 AM
'After drones...appeared near Belgian military bases & airports...Defense Minister Theo Francken said some...were “deliberately mapping infrastructure...That’s espionage, likely carried out by professional pilots on behalf of countries like Russia”' www.wsj.com/world/europe...
For anyone in Oxford, I am speaking to the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology (Changing Character of War) Centre (SST-CCW) at All Soul's today at 1.30pm, on the topic of how we can best make sense of US foreign & defence policy.
www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/events/2025/...
www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/events/2025/...
Reflections on American foreign and defence policy by Shashank Joshi — The Changing Character of War Centre
Tuesday 11 November, 13.30 Old Library, All Souls
www.ccw.ox.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:11 AM
For anyone in Oxford, I am speaking to the Strategy, Statecraft, and Technology (Changing Character of War) Centre (SST-CCW) at All Soul's today at 1.30pm, on the topic of how we can best make sense of US foreign & defence policy.
www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/events/2025/...
www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/events/2025/...
"Gabbard’s agency, which coordinates among the different elements of the intelligence community, is advocating for legislation that would transfer significant authority over counterintelligence to her office and away from an FBI that her staff has portrayed as the home of a traitorous deep state"
Deep State still alive and kicking, ODNI says. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1... New w/ @qjurecic.bsky.social.
Tulsi Gabbard’s Quest to Bring the ‘Deep State’ Under Her Control
A memo circulating within the federal government lays out her office’s reasoning for wanting to transfer counterintelligence work away from the FBI.
www.theatlantic.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:56 AM
"Gabbard’s agency, which coordinates among the different elements of the intelligence community, is advocating for legislation that would transfer significant authority over counterintelligence to her office and away from an FBI that her staff has portrayed as the home of a traitorous deep state"
What makes a satellite a legitimate military target? Fascinating ICRC analysis. "a particular location in the GEO belt may have strategic significance during an armed conflict, as GEO facilitates continuous coverage over a particular area on earth" international-review.icrc.org/articles/hum...
November 7, 2025 at 1:44 PM
What makes a satellite a legitimate military target? Fascinating ICRC analysis. "a particular location in the GEO belt may have strategic significance during an armed conflict, as GEO facilitates continuous coverage over a particular area on earth" international-review.icrc.org/articles/hum...
Ukraine's strike campaign v Russian oil. "Refineries are still running, but with deferred maintenance, rushed emergency repairs, and a mounting backlog of safety and efficiency issues. The result is not collapse, but quiet degradation." www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/slow-...
The Slow Death of Russian Oil
Why Ukraine’s campaign against Moscow’s energy sector is working.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Ukraine's strike campaign v Russian oil. "Refineries are still running, but with deferred maintenance, rushed emergency repairs, and a mounting backlog of safety and efficiency issues. The result is not collapse, but quiet degradation." www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/slow-...
Military medicine as a force multiplier. "A cross-national analysis of conventional wars since 1900 probes the plausibility of the argument and suggests a positive association between physician-to-population ratios and improved battlefield performance" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Military Medicine and Military Effectiveness
Despite extensive scholarship on military effectiveness, the role of military medicine remains largely untested. We argue that robust medical capabilities improve effectiveness by preserving manpow...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Military medicine as a force multiplier. "A cross-national analysis of conventional wars since 1900 probes the plausibility of the argument and suggests a positive association between physician-to-population ratios and improved battlefield performance" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
"Western governments seem to be trending in the direction of recruiting young people to intelligence professions at younger and younger ages. For example, the CIA has a clandestine officer internship for students as young as 18" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Smart new world: adapting human intelligence for the digital age
This article considers the impact of digital advances on clandestine Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations. Despite the arrival and advancement of disruptive technologies, classical HUMINT tradecr...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:35 AM
"Western governments seem to be trending in the direction of recruiting young people to intelligence professions at younger and younger ages. For example, the CIA has a clandestine officer internship for students as young as 18" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
"In another alarming example of cover identities under threat, one elite special forces operator ... received a routine piece of mail at his home that had his correct physical address but was addressed to a cover alias that he had used abroad" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Smart new world: adapting human intelligence for the digital age
This article considers the impact of digital advances on clandestine Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations. Despite the arrival and advancement of disruptive technologies, classical HUMINT tradecr...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:34 AM
"In another alarming example of cover identities under threat, one elite special forces operator ... received a routine piece of mail at his home that had his correct physical address but was addressed to a cover alias that he had used abroad" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
"The authors argue that while emerging digital technologies present both new opportunities and challenges, they do not obviate the need for classical HUMINT. Instead, a fusion of traditional HUMINT tradecraft and emerging digital technologies is essential." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Smart new world: adapting human intelligence for the digital age
This article considers the impact of digital advances on clandestine Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations. Despite the arrival and advancement of disruptive technologies, classical HUMINT tradecr...
www.tandfonline.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:33 AM
"The authors argue that while emerging digital technologies present both new opportunities and challenges, they do not obviate the need for classical HUMINT. Instead, a fusion of traditional HUMINT tradecraft and emerging digital technologies is essential." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Should the US use tactical nuclear weapons to deter conventional attacks on Taiwan? "It is highly unlikely that such a conflict would remain limited after U.S. nuclear use." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Should the US use tactical nuclear weapons to deter conventional attacks on Taiwan? "It is highly unlikely that such a conflict would remain limited after U.S. nuclear use." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
'America’s actions are strangely contradictory. If Venezuela is a terrorist state, why has the United States ended the “temporary protected status” of some 600,000 Venezuelan asylum-seekers and sent some back to the narco-jihadists?' www.economist.com/the-americas...
War looms in Venezuela as Trump tests an “Americas First” doctrine
A gathering armada risks repeating the mistakes of the “war on terror”
www.economist.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
'America’s actions are strangely contradictory. If Venezuela is a terrorist state, why has the United States ended the “temporary protected status” of some 600,000 Venezuelan asylum-seekers and sent some back to the narco-jihadists?' www.economist.com/the-americas...
What the what now. "The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters." www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
What the what now. "The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters." www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Reposted by Shashank Joshi
I think the really odd thing is believing that you need hyper-expensive and comprehensive missile defenses to guarantee a second strike capability. Are you telling me he believes that in their absence, the US does *not* have such a capability? Hard to believe they really think this.
November 6, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I think the really odd thing is believing that you need hyper-expensive and comprehensive missile defenses to guarantee a second strike capability. Are you telling me he believes that in their absence, the US does *not* have such a capability? Hard to believe they really think this.
Reposted by Shashank Joshi
In confirmation hearing for VADM Correll as new STRATCOM head, part of mission of Golden Dome missile defense is to “guarantee a second strike capability.” A tall order since China’s current nuke buildup is already partly a response to such defenses. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
November 6, 2025 at 10:25 AM
In confirmation hearing for VADM Correll as new STRATCOM head, part of mission of Golden Dome missile defense is to “guarantee a second strike capability.” A tall order since China’s current nuke buildup is already partly a response to such defenses. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
Great debate on "gulf" between academic community that believes in "theory of the nuclear revolution, strategic stability, counter-population or minimum deterrence & US gov't...who saw enduring value in damage limitation strategies or counterforce" strategicsimplicity.substack.com/p/debating-d...
Debating Damage Limitation
Charlie Glaser joins us to reprise a recent debate on damage limitation
strategicsimplicity.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Great debate on "gulf" between academic community that believes in "theory of the nuclear revolution, strategic stability, counter-population or minimum deterrence & US gov't...who saw enduring value in damage limitation strategies or counterforce" strategicsimplicity.substack.com/p/debating-d...
We wrote this week on Golden Dome, about which we still know relatively little. What's clear is that cost will be sensitive to the number of space-based interceptors. And that depends on the basic question: what scope of threat is this meant to tackle?
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.economist.com/interactive/...
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 AM
We wrote this week on Golden Dome, about which we still know relatively little. What's clear is that cost will be sensitive to the number of space-based interceptors. And that depends on the basic question: what scope of threat is this meant to tackle?
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.economist.com/interactive/...
"a more likely scenario is that China gives US firms preferential access to rare earths to pacify Trump while keeping the Europeans on a tightly controlled drip-feed." email.gmfus.org/rv/ff00f8c46...
Watching China in Europe with Noah Barkin—November 2025 Edition
email.gmfus.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:08 PM
"a more likely scenario is that China gives US firms preferential access to rare earths to pacify Trump while keeping the Europeans on a tightly controlled drip-feed." email.gmfus.org/rv/ff00f8c46...
Reposted by Shashank Joshi
Dick Cheney, among other things, directed the single largest drawdown of nuclear weapons in US history at the end of the Cold War www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/D...
November 4, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Dick Cheney, among other things, directed the single largest drawdown of nuclear weapons in US history at the end of the Cold War www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/D...
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 3, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Great addition to the seaside arcades in Scarborough. I've asked it about Venezuela plans but no luck. They are currently clean on OPSEC.
November 1, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Great addition to the seaside arcades in Scarborough. I've asked it about Venezuela plans but no luck. They are currently clean on OPSEC.
Reposted by Shashank Joshi
Hi folks! A few thoughts on this essay, and the questions that we *should* be asking, rather than the ones this Army officer seems inclined to answer. I haven’t done a CMR thread in a while so I’m overdue. 🧵
Hard to imagine a more sinister & dangerous argument, couched in euphemism & high-minded language. "This essay does not argue liberalism will collapse, only that [US] military officers should be intellectually (and spiritually) prepared for alternatives." warontherocks.com/2025/10/the-...
The American Military Officer After Liberalism
Across academia, government, and Silicon Valley, on social media, and in leading journals, intellectuals and political leaders are openly debating what
warontherocks.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Hi folks! A few thoughts on this essay, and the questions that we *should* be asking, rather than the ones this Army officer seems inclined to answer. I haven’t done a CMR thread in a while so I’m overdue. 🧵
Reposted by Shashank Joshi
One thing I recently updated: US supercomputing zoomed past the benchmark established for stockpile stewardship (100 tflops) and also China has too. The Chinese have the computers to design new weapons, but what they don't have is the data from nuclear testing -- yet.
October 30, 2025 at 3:32 PM
One thing I recently updated: US supercomputing zoomed past the benchmark established for stockpile stewardship (100 tflops) and also China has too. The Chinese have the computers to design new weapons, but what they don't have is the data from nuclear testing -- yet.
Hard to imagine a more sinister & dangerous argument, couched in euphemism & high-minded language. "This essay does not argue liberalism will collapse, only that [US] military officers should be intellectually (and spiritually) prepared for alternatives." warontherocks.com/2025/10/the-...
The American Military Officer After Liberalism
Across academia, government, and Silicon Valley, on social media, and in leading journals, intellectuals and political leaders are openly debating what
warontherocks.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Hard to imagine a more sinister & dangerous argument, couched in euphemism & high-minded language. "This essay does not argue liberalism will collapse, only that [US] military officers should be intellectually (and spiritually) prepared for alternatives." warontherocks.com/2025/10/the-...
Drove past RAF Fylingdales in the beautiful north Yorkshire moors today. Our little corner of future Golden Dome.
October 30, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Drove past RAF Fylingdales in the beautiful north Yorkshire moors today. Our little corner of future Golden Dome.
"Black service members represent roughly 15 percent to 16 percent of the active-duty force, yet they account for 66 percent of those holding shaving waivers, Military.com reports." www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
October 29, 2025 at 8:50 AM
"Black service members represent roughly 15 percent to 16 percent of the active-duty force, yet they account for 66 percent of those holding shaving waivers, Military.com reports." www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...