Survival: December 2025January 2026

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