In war, there are rules. Some were written long ago in treaties. Others are found in binding customs written in volumes of commentary compiled over time. The point is that these rules can all be found in written form to cite and to reference. They can be used to describe who can be targeted in conflict and explain why hospitals and cultural property are largely off limits in war. They draw lines for when states can attack other states and what threshold determines when an attack has crossed the line. Importantly for civilians, these rules describe when a civilian loses the protection of these rules and may be targeted for taking direct participation in hostilities. As technology has evolved, transforming weapons from missiles to malware, no one bothered to write down what rules might apply to the new face of modern warfare; until now.

On Thursday, March 21, 2013, the Atlantic Council and NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) organized a workshop on NATO’s military partnerships.

Cyber Statecraft Initiative Director Jason Healey writes in US News & World Report that America does not face an existential cyber threat today, despite recent warnings. He argues that our cyber vulnerabilities are undoubtedly grave and the threats we face are severe, but far from comparable to nuclear war.

Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel joins BBC World News to discuss the US missile defense announcement by Secretary Hagel.

Please join the Atlantic Council on March 20 for the concluding event of its NATO’s Global Partnerships Task Force, which was launched by the Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security in August 2012.

On March 20, 2013, the Atlantic Council held an event to launch the newest report by Atlantic Council Distinguished Fellow Franklin D. Kramer entitled “NATO Global Partnerships: Strategic Opportunities and Imperatives in a Globalized World.”

On March 19, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security held a conference call on the implications of the Obama administration’s March 15 announcement regarding changes to US missile defense plans and deployments.

China’s new leadership takes office amid growing questions about China’s internal direction and its assertive foreign policy. Conventional wisdom portrays China in the mode of Sun Tzu, far-sighted strategists looking decades ahead. But thus far, it appears that China’s leaders have strategic goals, but no apparent strategy for how to achieve them. This Atlantic Council brief-authored by Robert A. Manning and Banning Garrett-assesses the challenges China faces–worsening pollution, corruption, and a growth model that needs sweeping reforms and examines the difficulties Beijing faces in addressing them.

Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel discusses the state of ground-based US missile defense with Al Jazeera English.

Missile defense cooperation stands among the most prominent dimensions of the strategic relationship between the United States and Poland.  Both Washington and Warsaw have been strong advocates of missile defense within NATO.  Poland has enthusiastically accepted US requests to base missile interceptors on its territory, and recently made the acquisition of air and missile defense capability its top military procurement priority. Yet, what should be a unifying pillar of US-Poland security cooperation has too often been an irritant.