The links between security and globalization were highlighted by the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, and the subsequent long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lingering poverty, inequality, religious extremism and war can sow discontent and resentment as unprecedented global mobility lends access to education and travel in other countries. Despite use of drones, cyber-warfare and other advanced weapons technology to mount counterterrorist attacks, the marginalized can strike out at vulnerable urban or economic centers. Annual global defense spending exceeds $1.6 trillion. Containing the trade in weapons, whether nuclear bombs or assault rifles, and preventing them from falling into the wrong hands remain a challenge.

The Saudi Connection: Wahhabism and Global Jihad

Saudi wealth spreads fundamentalist ideology
Carol E. B. Choksy and Jamsheed K. Choksy
May 14, 2015

Calls to Punish China Grow

US officials struggle how to respond to aggression in the South China and East China seas
Josh Rogin
May 13, 2015

An Uneasy Friendship

The crisis in Ukraine and western sanctions drive Russia closer to China
May 11, 2015

Displaced Again and Again, Some African Migrants Had No Plan to Land in Italy

Conflict traps migrants in Libya
Jim Yardley
May 5, 2015

Islamic State Faces a Complex Web of Militant Groups and Violence in Pakistan

Groups compete for recruits and influence in Pakistan
Samira Shackle
May 4, 2015