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  Creating the KGB and CIA: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  The KGB is one of the most famous abbreviations of the 20th century, and it has become synonymous with the shadowy and often violent actions of the Soviet Union’s secret police and internal security agencies. In fact, it is often used to refer to the Soviet state security agencies throughout its history, from the inception of the inception of the Cheka (Extraordinary Commission) in 1917 to the official elimination of the KGB in 1992. Whether it’s associated with the Russian Civil War’s excesses, Stalin’s purges, and even Vladimir Putin, the KGB has long been viewed as the West’s biggest bogeyman during the second half of the 20th century. However, the KGB did not appear out of thin air. Naturally, the earliest Soviet leaders utilized intelligence agencies that collected information both abroad and within the Soviet Union, targeting foreign opponents and domestic opponents alike. Lenin did not imagine the scale of the opposition he would have to face after the revolution, and he quickly came to the conclusion that "a special system of organized violence" must be created to implement the dictatorship of the proletariat. 
  Though it might be hard to believe, the Americans did not have a covert operations organization when they joined World War II, and like the British, it took them some time to realize it could be a powerful tool. As a result, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was not established until June 13, 1942, six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This would all chart a path for the early days of America’s most famous intelligence agency, the CIA. Although plagued by its own share of problems in its early existence during World War II and the early Cold War years, the agency’s early problems, smoothed over by a string of tenured presidents, paled in comparison to those it would face in the coming decades.

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  The Dunning-Kruger Effect - Why...

  William Rands

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  The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that leads individuals with limited knowledge or ability in a particular area to overestimate their competence. Named after psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, who first identified this phenomenon in 1999, the effect reveals a paradox in human cognition: the less people know, the more likely they are to believe they know everything. Conversely, experts in a field tend to underestimate their abilities, assuming that others possess the same level of expertise. This bias is not only fascinating from a psychological standpoint but also carries significant implications for personal, professional, and societal development. 
  At the core of the Dunning-Kruger effect is the misjudgment of one’s capabilities, which stems from a lack of metacognitive awareness—the ability to assess one’s own knowledge and skills accurately. Incompetent individuals, lacking the expertise required to recognize their deficiencies, are unable to discern how little they know. This lack of insight leads them to overestimate their abilities and make decisions based on flawed reasoning. As a result, they may unknowingly engage in behaviors that exacerbate their incompetence, further reinforcing their false sense of expertise. 
  One of the most compelling aspects of the Dunning-Kruger effect is its broad applicability across various fields. From everyday social interactions to high-stakes decision-making in professional environments, this cognitive bias affects people at all levels. In the workplace, for example, leaders with limited knowledge in a specific domain may make decisions that negatively impact their teams, while employees with expertise may remain silent or defer to those who appear more confident. In education, students and teachers alike may fall victim to this effect, with the former believing they fully understand a topic despite limited comprehension, and the latter overestimating their teaching efficacy.

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  The Unity Blueprint - Aligning...

  W. Jeff Williams

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  What if the greatest achievements in your organization, community, or life weren't dependent on your brilliance alone but on your ability to unite people around shared purpose? In The Unity Blueprint, W. Jeff Williams draws from decades of leadership experience to show how intentional unity creates extraordinary results.

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  Rangers Scouts and Raiders -...

  Michael F. Dilley

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  Throughout history there has always been a need, in military forces, for special units. In the past, these units have usually been ad hoc formations that were disbanded after their mission was complete. It has only been since the early 1950s that such units have remained active, but even in recent times special purpose, special mission units have been organized and used for a period of time or for a specific mission and then either deactivated or replaced by other units. 
   
   
   
  This unique approach to the history of American special forces examines their development through a number of operations, ranging from the French and Indian War in the eighteenth century through to the Vietnam War. From the Son Tay raid to the Force at la Difensa and Rogers' Rangers, the operations are diverse in both organization and purpose, but all contributed to the overall mission of their theater or larger organization, thus proving the continuing need for special units throughout history and even today.

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  GeopOlympics - English version -...

  Kévin Veyssière

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  Why have the Olympic Games always been a geopolitical event in their own right? How did the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968, Moscow in 1980 and Barcelona in 1992 reflect international tensions, despite the Olympics' political neutrality? In2024, what are the stakes for France in the Paris Olympics, against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian and Russian-Ukrainian conflicts? Why have new powers such as China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia made the organization of the Games an objective of their influence strategy?
  
  In his fourth book, Kévin Veyssière invites sports fans, geography buffs and the curious to explore the history of our world through the Olympic Games. From Athens in 1896 to Paris in 2024, he unveils the most striking geopolitical backdrops to a theater of 206 nations, where sporting performances and power games come together.

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  The Rise of Fragmentation - A...

  Alessandro Gili, Filippo Fasulo

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  Multiple crises have shaken the foundations of the global economy, and the resulting instability has yet to recover. Instead, it has led to increasing fragmentation along political and ideological lines. The current geoeconomic order is increasingly defined by the use of advanced trade defense and economic security tools, such as tariffs, trade barriers, sanctions, and export restrictions, which have become more sophisticated. Major economies are adapting to this new reality by shaping their own definitions of economic security, particularly to safeguard critical and high-tech sectors. The EU, the US, and China are each calibrating their economic security strategies, seeking a balance between openness and protection that maximizes their respective advantages. However, in this shifting international landscape, new actors are emerging with the potential to influence the global balance of power.
  What type of "new globalization" is emerging? Could economic security tools become the new normal in the global economy? What are the key economic security strategies adopted by the world's leading economies?

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