Sean Monaghan

is a visiting fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he focuses on European security and defense. His career as a civil servant in the UK Ministry of Defence has focused on international defense policy, including NATO, the European Union, and the United States. In recent years, his work as a policy analyst has seen him contribute to the United Kingdom's Integrated Review and lead multinational research projects.

Opinion / Strategy

Bad Idea: Integrated Deterrence as Strategy

The 2022 NDS aims to “strengthen U.S. deterrence” to defend the status quo against America’s adversaries. But this strategy neglects the limits of deterrence. Instead, U.S. defense strategy should embrace an expanded concept of integrated influence with a broader focus on coercion and persuasion.

Opinion / Strategy

Bad Idea: Winning the Gray Zone

The next U.S. National Defense Strategy will be about winning the strategic competition with China (and to a lesser extent, Russia). Much of this will play out short of armed conflict, in the ”gray zone” between peace and war. But trying to “win” gray zone competition is a bad idea.