Survival: December 2025-January 2026

Survival, the IISS’s bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment.

In this issue:

• Michael Carpenter discusses the deepening contest between democratic and authoritarian models of governance and their role in today’s international alignments
• Michael O’Hanlon observes that, on most core matters of security, Donald Trump’s second term as US president has so far been less egregious than expected
• Jonathan D. Caverley and Ethan B. Kapstein argue that despite fears about the viability of NATO, a new equilibrium between the US and European NATO is emerging and could produce a stronger and more balanced alliance
• Emile Hokayem considers the challenges facing interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the path to a new Syria
• And ten other thought-provoking pieces, as well as our regular Book Reviews and Noteworthy column.

To read free articles from the journal, please visit its homepage at https: //www.tandfonline.com/journals/tsur20.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a registered charity with offices in Washington, London, Manama, Singapore and Berlin, is the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict. It is the primary independent source of accurate, objective information on international strategic issues. Publications include The Military Balance, an annual reference work on each nation’s defence capabilities; The Armed Conflict Survey, an annual review of the world’s active conflicts; Survival, a bimonthly journal on international affairs; Strategic Comments, an online analysis of topical issues in international affairs; and the Adelphi series of books on issues of international security.