At The Boundary

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Corruption, dysfunction, and the hidden weaknesses behind Putin’s security state.
What happens when an intelligence system becomes consumed by corruption, fear, and loyalty to the regime instead of truth? In this episode of At the Boundary, former CIA operations officer Sean Wiswesser argues that the dysfunction inside Russia’s intelligence services is not an exception to the system – it is the system.
Discussing his new book, Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War, Wiswesser explains how the FSB and SVR have become organizations shaped by cronyism, politicized analysis, and institutional decay. He and Dr. Jeff Rogg examine how those failures contributed to Russia’s disastrous assumptions before the invasion of Ukraine and why authoritarian intelligence systems struggle to deliver honest assessments to political leaders.
The conversation also explores Russian active measures, disinformation campaigns targeting democracies, and the growing role of intelligence services in sustaining Putin’s rule.
This is a candid examination of how secret police culture, corruption, and information warfare continue to define Russia’s confrontation with the West.

Links from the Episode:
Sean Wiswesser's Book: Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War

GNSI Video Series: Former Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs, John Hyten
GNSI Research Initiative: The Price of Credible Peace, Episode 3
GNSI Student Research Fellows Applications for Fall 2026
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At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

Look for our other publications and products on our website publications page.

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you!
In this episode of At The Boundary, GNSI Senior Director Jim Cardoso sits down with former USAID Senior Foreign Service Officer Greg Howell to discuss the Global Fragility Act (GFA), its bipartisan origins, and what the proposed Global Fragility Reauthorization Act could mean for the future of U.S. engagement abroad.
Drawing on more than two decades of international development experience across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Howell explains how the GFA sought to integrate diplomacy, defense, and development into a coordinated “3D” approach to conflict prevention and stabilization.
The episode explores why the GFA was created, U.S. efforts to counter violent extremism in West Africa, and the evolving future of foreign assistance. Howell and Cardoso also examines how prevention-focused investment and long-term strategic engagement may help reduce future conflict costs while advancing broader U.S. national security interests.
Links from this episode:
• Student Research Fellows Program
• CIA article:
• Strategy Competition article
• Wiswesser’s book
GNSI on X
GNSI on Linkedin
GNSI on YouTube

At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

Look for our other publications and products on our website publications page.

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you!
In this episode of At the Boundary, the Global and National Security Institute (GNSI) at the University of South Florida takes you inside the GNSI DC Experience. A program designed to give USF students interested in national security careers a chance to tour capitol hill and meet professional mentors in policy and defense.  
Host Jim Cardoso is joined by USF Future Strategist Program (FSP) students Dontavious Ellis and Santiago Zambrano, along with GNSI events planner Sophia Montero, to discuss how this unique program connects students directly with the U.S. national security ecosystem. They also discuss the trip itinerary and personal goals to check out while they are there. 
Checkpoints include Capitol Hill and the Pentagon along with visiting a few leading think tanks and intelligence professionals. The DC Experience offers unparalleled exposure to real-world decision-making, policy development, and strategic leadership.
Links from the Episode:
• GNSI Announces Student Cohort for DC Experience 
• Tad and Guido’s article
GNSI on X
GNSI on Linkedin
GNSI on YouTube

At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

Look for our other publications and products on our website publications page.

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you!
What happens when a military power relies on troops made of coerced recruits and convicts?
In this episode of GNSI At the Boundary podcast, Drs. Guido Rossi and Tad Schnaufer join the show to unpack their latest research paper on Russia’s flawed mobilization strategy in the Ukraine war. Drawing from their article in the Journal of Strategic Security, they explore how Russia’s early assumptions of a short, low-intensity conflict with minimal resistance collapsed into a prolonged, high-intensity war requiring mass manpower.
Facing constraints on full mobilization, the Kremlin turned to alternative sources of fighters, these being conscripts, convicts, contractors, and coerced recruits, or also known as “ersatz soldiers.” The result of such recruits is a fragmented force structure, mounting casualties, and growing long-term social and strategic risks.
Links from the Episode:
 • Conscripts, Convicts, and Contractors: Ersatz Soldiers and Russia's Total Mobilization Workarounds – By Drs. Tad A. Schnaufer and Guido Rossi
• GNSI Announces Student Cohort for ISI Programme 
• USF Article on Calvin Pham’s grandfather
GNSI on X
GNSI on Linkedin
GNSI on YouTube

At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

Look for our other publications and products on our website publications page.

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you!
In the beginning of this episode of “At the Boundary”, host Jim Cardoso shares some highlights of the first ever GNSI International Security Experience Strategy Competition. This includes a short interview with a member of the winning team, UCF’s Canon Wesley, about the experience. This competition is the first of its kind at USF, and is a unique learning opportunity of undergraduate students interested in the national security field.  
Then for the main interview, GNSI’s Tad Schnaufer, PhD, is joined by Gregory Leighton, author of “Ideology and Holy Landscape in the Baltic Crusades” to explore why medieval history still shapes today’s global security landscape.
What began as a discussion of the Baltic Crusades quickly reveals deeper insights into how ideology, narrative, and identity influence modern conflicts, including NATO strategy, Russia’s worldview, and the war in Ukraine.
Links from the Episode:
• GNSI Announces Student Cohort for DC Experience
• Tad and Guido’s article
GNSI on X
GNSI on Linkedin
GNSI on YouTube

At the Boundary  from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida,  features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.

The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.

Look for our other publications and products on our website publications page.