307720-1491992576
Focused on Strategy with Impact
307720-1491992576
Committed to Deep Analysis
307720-1491992576
Oriented to the Future
307720-1491992576
Committed to Public Duty
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What We Do

America is entering an era of great power competition for which it is not prepared. How to secure American freedom and prosperity in this more competitive age is the organizing national security question of our time.

The mission of The Marathon Initiative is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies the nation will need to navigate a protracted competition with great power rivals.

Marathon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization. It is funded by private individuals and foundations, as well as by grants from or contract work for the U.S. Government. Marathon does not seek or accept funding from corporations or from foreign sources.

To preserve America’s prosperity, security, and democratic way of life in an era when they are threatened by the return of great power competition.

Who We Are

Elbridge Colby

Elbridge Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development.

Wess Mitchell

Dr. A. Wess Mitchell is co-founder and principal at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Jakub Grygiel

Dr. Jakub J. Grygiel is a Senior Advisor at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State.

Edward Luttwak

Dr. Edward N. Luttwak is a Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as a consultant to the U.S. government.

Matt Pottinger

Matt Pottinger is a Senior Advisor at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor.

Our Work

Two Fronts, One Goal: Euro-Atlantic Security in the Indo-Pacific Age

Luis Simón, Daniel Fiott, and Octavian Manea

This paper outlines how Europe can contribute to alleviating the “two-front” predicament in U.S. global strategy. It shows how Europeans can help free up the United States’ strategic bandwidth in Europe so as to enable a proper U.S. prioritization of China without weakening Europe’s deterrence architecture. The paper also shows how Europeans can contribute to U.S.-led efforts to uphold deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
Read the Report

Strategic Sequencing: How Great Powers Avoid Multi-Front War

by A. Wess Mitchell

This paper examines how four great powers in history have handled simultaneity. Byzantium, Venice, Habsburg Austria, and the British Empire were all confronted, at important moments in their life cycles as empires, with the appearance of new threats both more powerful and different in kind than anything they had previously encountered.
Read the Report

Classics and Strategy

by Jakub Grygiel 

Classic texts – whether by Roman historians such as Tacitus or Greek tragedians such as Aeschylus or Florentine diplomats such as Francesco Guicciardini – give us important, and even unusual, insights into strategy. They certainly do not supply a ready-made strategy that could be applied to a specific security problem we face now. But they can open for us new or forgotten ways of thinking about threats and the competitive security environment, offering a perspective that is missing in modern intellectual and educational circles. Free of technical jargon and without abstractions, classics favor simplicity over simplification, privilege practical insights over abstraction, and elevate the role of individuals over impersonal trends and institutions. And they describe the motivations and the drivers behind men’s actions, the core of any strategy. This book brings back some of these classic writers, examining their thoughts on strategy and politics.
Read the Report

The Strategy of Denial

by Elbridge Colby 

The most informed and in-depth reappraisal of America’s defense strategy in decades, this book outlines a rigorous but practical approach, showing how the United States can prepare to win a war with China that we cannot afford to lose—precisely in order to deter that war from happening.
Get the book
bridge-chinese-officials
September 19, 2023

Hou Youyi quietly met with former U.S. military and national security officials. The dinner scene of Washington D.C. was exposed”// 侯友宜悄密會美軍方、國安前官員 華府晚宴畫面曝光

TBS News Network/Yahoo | Hou Youyi, the presidential candidate of the Kuomintang, met with former government officials and military personnel such as the National Security Council,........
biden-un
September 18, 2023

World Events Are Not Going America’s Way

The Spectator | There is a foreign policy strategy to manage this much more dangerous era, one proceeding from a sober-minded focus on our core national interests and prioritizing dealing with our prime great power rival, China......
counter-balance-podcast
September 14, 2023

Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Dawn of Great Power Competition

Heritage Foundation | On this episode, Peter is joined by Wess Mitchell, co-founder and principal of the Marathon Initiative who previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe from 2017-2019....
taiwan-military2
September 14, 2023

Delfeld: The Military Strategy of ‘Deterrence by Denial,’ Rightly Understood

National Review | Strictly speaking, a strategy of deterrence by denial is about preventing a war in the Pacific, particularly over Taiwan, by first achieving a favorable balance of allied military power that will enable conditions for détente.......
ukraniansoldier
September 14, 2023

In Ukraine, the focus is the fighting, but are negotiations possible?

NPR | Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official, supports U.S. help for Ukraine, though he thinks European nations should be in the lead. ........
seoul-Chosun-Ilbo
September 9, 2023

First-term Trump defense official: “US diplomacy is not ‘charity’…// 트럼프 1기 국방관료 “美 외교는 ‘자선’ 아니다…

Chosun Ilbo | The United States is engaged in a 'global struggle' with China over the future of the world order,” said Elbridge Colby, a former deputy deputy deputy secretary of strategic power development.....
G20-italy-biden
September 7, 2023

Photo Ops Aren’t the Same Strategy as Strength

Fox Business | Elbridge Colby speaks with ‘The Bottom Line’ on Fox Business regarding Biden heading to India for the G-20........
capitol-american-flag
September 7, 2023

Washington Life: 2023 Power List

Washington Life | The top influencers and key decision makers of 2023 in Washington, including Elbridge Colby, who is featured on “The China Issue”......
elbridge-colby-zeit
September 6, 2023

What happens if this American gets power?// Was passiert, wenn dieser Amerikaner Macht bekommt?

Die Zeit | Hardness against China, out of Ukraine aid: How Elbridge Colby, formerly in the service of the Trump administration, is preparing for the next Republican presidency.....
Taiwan-Island-
September 5, 2023

Il Foglio: “’Asia first’ Republicans are a trouble for Ukraine” // I repubblicani “Asia first” sono un guaio per l’Ucraina

Il Foglio | China is the protagonist of the international system, not Russia,' says conservative Elbridge Colby // “La Cina è la protagonista del sistema internazionale, non la Russia”, dice il conservatore Elbridge Colby....
USS-California-1941
September 5, 2023

Elbridge Colby: This reminds me of what the Japanese were doing before Pearl Harbor

Fox News | Elbridge Colby and Isaac Stone Fish react to a report claiming Chinese nationals have accessed U.S. military bases as many as 100 times in recent years on 'The Ingraham Angle’........
Archs-of-Xi’an-Old-Town
August 31, 2023

Experts “China considers US-Korea-Japan solidarity ‘public blockade’… South Korea should pursue dignified diplomacy”

VOA Korea | Elbridge Colby, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Forces, diagnosed to VOA on the 30th that China "views the US-Korea-Japan summit as part of a containment strategy against China.".......
trump-biden-signs
August 25, 2023

Paul Poast: Biden’s Foreign Policy Looks an Awful Lot Like Trump’s

World Politics Review | If there is one foreign policy legacy of Biden’s Democratic Party predecessor in the White House, Barack Obama, it is the lack of a foreign policy legacy.........
Jörg-Wolle
August 24, 2023

“Stay hungry, even when the fridge is full”: The chairman of the logistics group Kühne+Nagel on the USA-China conflict

Bilanz | Newly ascended into the SMI, dark clouds over free trade as a result of increasing tensions between the USA and China, plus the Ukraine war:.........
japan-usa-skorea
August 21, 2023

U.S. Elbridge Colby Representative “Korea-U.S.-Japan Cooperation Agreement, Historic Milestone” [Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit] // 美 엘브리지 콜비 대표 “한미일 협력 골격 짰다, 역사적 이정표” [한미일 정상회담]

The JoongAng | Colby gave the meaning of "The camp David meeting made the framework of cooperation between the three countries by regularizing the talks of the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, industry, and finance, and institutionalizing regional security and high-tech cooperation.......
putin-aug-2023
August 16, 2023

The Dangerous Partnership Between Russia and China // Det Farliga Partnerskapet Mellan Ryssland Och Kina

Fokus | The war in Ukraine benefits China's interests. The Russian-Chinese friendship pact poses a greater threat to the Western world than we realize. // Kriget i Ukraina gynnar Kinas intressen.......
xi-speaking
August 10, 2023

Xi is much more dangerous than Putin”// “Xi ist viel gefährlicher als Putin

Spiegel | Republican adviser Elbridge Colby demands that Europeans bear the burden of the Ukraine war alone. The USA would need all the resources to prepare for a war with China.........
nayv-ocean
August 8, 2023

“Taiwan War Game” A KBS Documentary // 타이완 워게임 [풀영상]

KBS | The Taiwan issue is also closely related to Korea. At stake are security issues related to the recruitment of US forces in Korea and economic issues surrounding the Taiwan Strait.......
Flag-Germany-symbol-of-NATO
August 4, 2023

Europe and the good times with Joe” // “Europa und die schöne Zeit mit Joe

Seud Deutsche | NATO allies enjoying time with Biden. Ignore them: Going forward, America will have to focus on China. If they don't get it, they're headed for disaster.......
Hwacheon-gun,-Gangwon-do,-South-Korea
August 4, 2023

“We must repel Chinese provocations to contain North Korea… USFK should also consider Chinese threats” // “중국 도발 격퇴해야 북한 억제… 주한미군도 중국 위협 고려해야”

Hankoo Kilbo | ...former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby pointed out that "militarily repelling Chinese provocations can deter North Korea, but conversely, deterring North Korea does not prevent Chinese aggression.......

Contact

For press inquiries, please email us at press@themarathoninitiative.org.

For all other inquiries, please email us at inquiries@themarathoninitiative.org.

307720-1491992576
Focused on Strategy with Impact
307720-1491992576
Committed to Deep Analysis
307720-1491992576
Oriented to the Future
307720-1491992576
Committed to Public Duty
previous arrow
next arrow

What We Do

America is entering an era of great power competition for which it is not prepared. How to secure American freedom and prosperity in this more competitive age is the organizing national security question of our time.

The mission of The Marathon Initiative is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies the nation will need to navigate a protracted competition with great power rivals.

Marathon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization. It is funded by private individuals and foundations, as well as by grants from or contract work for the U.S. Government. Marathon does not seek or accept funding from corporations or from foreign sources.

To preserve America’s prosperity, security, and democratic way of life in an era when they are threatened by the return of great power competition.

Who We Are

Elbridge Colby

Elbridge Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development.

Wess Mitchell

Dr. A. Wess Mitchell is co-founder and principal at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Jakub Grygiel

Dr. Jakub J. Grygiel is a Senior Advisor at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State.

Edward Luttwak

Dr. Edward N. Luttwak is a Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as a consultant to the U.S. government.

Matt Pottinger

Matt Pottinger is a Senior Advisor at The Marathon Initiative and formerly served as the U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor.

Our Work

Two Fronts, One Goal: Euro-Atlantic Security in the Indo-Pacific Age

Luis Simón, Daniel Fiott, and Octavian Manea

This paper outlines how Europe can contribute to alleviating the “two-front” predicament in U.S. global strategy. It shows how Europeans can help free up the United States’ strategic bandwidth in Europe so as to enable a proper U.S. prioritization of China without weakening Europe’s deterrence architecture. The paper also shows how Europeans can contribute to U.S.-led efforts to uphold deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
Read the Report

Strategic Sequencing: How Great Powers Avoid Multi-Front War

by A. Wess Mitchell

This paper examines how four great powers in history have handled simultaneity. Byzantium, Venice, Habsburg Austria, and the British Empire were all confronted, at important moments in their life cycles as empires, with the appearance of new threats both more powerful and different in kind than anything they had previously encountered.
Read the Report

Classics and Strategy

by Jakub Grygiel 

Classic texts – whether by Roman historians such as Tacitus or Greek tragedians such as Aeschylus or Florentine diplomats such as Francesco Guicciardini – give us important, and even unusual, insights into strategy. They certainly do not supply a ready-made strategy that could be applied to a specific security problem we face now. But they can open for us new or forgotten ways of thinking about threats and the competitive security environment, offering a perspective that is missing in modern intellectual and educational circles. Free of technical jargon and without abstractions, classics favor simplicity over simplification, privilege practical insights over abstraction, and elevate the role of individuals over impersonal trends and institutions. And they describe the motivations and the drivers behind men’s actions, the core of any strategy. This book brings back some of these classic writers, examining their thoughts on strategy and politics.
Read the Report

The Strategy of Denial

by Elbridge Colby 

The most informed and in-depth reappraisal of America’s defense strategy in decades, this book outlines a rigorous but practical approach, showing how the United States can prepare to win a war with China that we cannot afford to lose—precisely in order to deter that war from happening.
Get the book
bridge-chinese-officials
September 19, 2023

Hou Youyi quietly met with former U.S. military and national security officials. The dinner scene of Washington D.C. was exposed”// 侯友宜悄密會美軍方、國安前官員 華府晚宴畫面曝光

TBS News Network/Yahoo | Hou Youyi, the presidential candidate of the Kuomintang, met with former government officials and military personnel such as the National Security Council,........
biden-un
September 18, 2023

World Events Are Not Going America’s Way

The Spectator | There is a foreign policy strategy to manage this much more dangerous era, one proceeding from a sober-minded focus on our core national interests and prioritizing dealing with our prime great power rival, China......
counter-balance-podcast
September 14, 2023

Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Dawn of Great Power Competition

Heritage Foundation | On this episode, Peter is joined by Wess Mitchell, co-founder and principal of the Marathon Initiative who previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe from 2017-2019....
taiwan-military2
September 14, 2023

Delfeld: The Military Strategy of ‘Deterrence by Denial,’ Rightly Understood

National Review | Strictly speaking, a strategy of deterrence by denial is about preventing a war in the Pacific, particularly over Taiwan, by first achieving a favorable balance of allied military power that will enable conditions for détente.......
ukraniansoldier
September 14, 2023

In Ukraine, the focus is the fighting, but are negotiations possible?

NPR | Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official, supports U.S. help for Ukraine, though he thinks European nations should be in the lead. ........
seoul-Chosun-Ilbo
September 9, 2023

First-term Trump defense official: “US diplomacy is not ‘charity’…// 트럼프 1기 국방관료 “美 외교는 ‘자선’ 아니다…

Chosun Ilbo | The United States is engaged in a 'global struggle' with China over the future of the world order,” said Elbridge Colby, a former deputy deputy deputy secretary of strategic power development.....
G20-italy-biden
September 7, 2023

Photo Ops Aren’t the Same Strategy as Strength

Fox Business | Elbridge Colby speaks with ‘The Bottom Line’ on Fox Business regarding Biden heading to India for the G-20........
capitol-american-flag
September 7, 2023

Washington Life: 2023 Power List

Washington Life | The top influencers and key decision makers of 2023 in Washington, including Elbridge Colby, who is featured on “The China Issue”......
elbridge-colby-zeit
September 6, 2023

What happens if this American gets power?// Was passiert, wenn dieser Amerikaner Macht bekommt?

Die Zeit | Hardness against China, out of Ukraine aid: How Elbridge Colby, formerly in the service of the Trump administration, is preparing for the next Republican presidency.....
Taiwan-Island-
September 5, 2023

Il Foglio: “’Asia first’ Republicans are a trouble for Ukraine” // I repubblicani “Asia first” sono un guaio per l’Ucraina

Il Foglio | China is the protagonist of the international system, not Russia,' says conservative Elbridge Colby // “La Cina è la protagonista del sistema internazionale, non la Russia”, dice il conservatore Elbridge Colby....
USS-California-1941
September 5, 2023

Elbridge Colby: This reminds me of what the Japanese were doing before Pearl Harbor

Fox News | Elbridge Colby and Isaac Stone Fish react to a report claiming Chinese nationals have accessed U.S. military bases as many as 100 times in recent years on 'The Ingraham Angle’........
Archs-of-Xi’an-Old-Town
August 31, 2023

Experts “China considers US-Korea-Japan solidarity ‘public blockade’… South Korea should pursue dignified diplomacy”

VOA Korea | Elbridge Colby, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Forces, diagnosed to VOA on the 30th that China "views the US-Korea-Japan summit as part of a containment strategy against China.".......
trump-biden-signs
August 25, 2023

Paul Poast: Biden’s Foreign Policy Looks an Awful Lot Like Trump’s

World Politics Review | If there is one foreign policy legacy of Biden’s Democratic Party predecessor in the White House, Barack Obama, it is the lack of a foreign policy legacy.........
Jörg-Wolle
August 24, 2023

“Stay hungry, even when the fridge is full”: The chairman of the logistics group Kühne+Nagel on the USA-China conflict

Bilanz | Newly ascended into the SMI, dark clouds over free trade as a result of increasing tensions between the USA and China, plus the Ukraine war:.........
japan-usa-skorea
August 21, 2023

U.S. Elbridge Colby Representative “Korea-U.S.-Japan Cooperation Agreement, Historic Milestone” [Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit] // 美 엘브리지 콜비 대표 “한미일 협력 골격 짰다, 역사적 이정표” [한미일 정상회담]

The JoongAng | Colby gave the meaning of "The camp David meeting made the framework of cooperation between the three countries by regularizing the talks of the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, industry, and finance, and institutionalizing regional security and high-tech cooperation.......
putin-aug-2023
August 16, 2023

The Dangerous Partnership Between Russia and China // Det Farliga Partnerskapet Mellan Ryssland Och Kina

Fokus | The war in Ukraine benefits China's interests. The Russian-Chinese friendship pact poses a greater threat to the Western world than we realize. // Kriget i Ukraina gynnar Kinas intressen.......
xi-speaking
August 10, 2023

Xi is much more dangerous than Putin”// “Xi ist viel gefährlicher als Putin

Spiegel | Republican adviser Elbridge Colby demands that Europeans bear the burden of the Ukraine war alone. The USA would need all the resources to prepare for a war with China.........
nayv-ocean
August 8, 2023

“Taiwan War Game” A KBS Documentary // 타이완 워게임 [풀영상]

KBS | The Taiwan issue is also closely related to Korea. At stake are security issues related to the recruitment of US forces in Korea and economic issues surrounding the Taiwan Strait.......
Flag-Germany-symbol-of-NATO
August 4, 2023

Europe and the good times with Joe” // “Europa und die schöne Zeit mit Joe

Seud Deutsche | NATO allies enjoying time with Biden. Ignore them: Going forward, America will have to focus on China. If they don't get it, they're headed for disaster.......
Hwacheon-gun,-Gangwon-do,-South-Korea
August 4, 2023

“We must repel Chinese provocations to contain North Korea… USFK should also consider Chinese threats” // “중국 도발 격퇴해야 북한 억제… 주한미군도 중국 위협 고려해야”

Hankoo Kilbo | ...former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby pointed out that "militarily repelling Chinese provocations can deter North Korea, but conversely, deterring North Korea does not prevent Chinese aggression.......

Contact

For press inquiries, please email us at press@themarathoninitiative.org.

For all other inquiries, please email us at inquiries@themarathoninitiative.org.