NEW FDD BOOK WARNS OF GROWING “AXIS OF AGGRESSORS” THREAT TO U.S. SECURITY 

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 27, 2026 — China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in “multifaceted, growing, and increasingly consequential” cooperation across economic, cyber, technology, and military domains that is threatening U.S. security and raising the odds of simultaneous major wars for which Americans are not prepared. Those are some of the findings of a major new book published today by the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).  
“Axis of Aggressors: Countering the Cooperation of China, Russia, Iran & North Korea” is the most rigorous, comprehensive analysis available to date of how America’s authoritarian adversaries are cooperating, why it matters, and how the United States should respond. 

“The United States now confronts one of the most dangerous geostrategic environments since 1945,” write authors Bradley L. Bowman, Elaine K. Dezenski, and Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery based on decades of national security experience and a two-year research project. They say that Axis cooperation makes many current policies and longstanding assumptions in Washington dangerously outdated. 

In June 2025, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine warned Congress that Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang are “pursuing unprecedented levels of cooperation.” He reiterated that concern on July 21 in testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Our adversaries are aligning in their interests, creating simultaneous challenges across multiple domains,” he cautioned Congress. “They are sharing intelligence, combat capabilities, and technology.” 

Yet many Americans don’t understand what that means. This book provides answers, including details, insights, and outcome-focused recommendations.  

The book has drawn praise from national security leaders across the political spectrum. 

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) said it “provides a clear understanding of this Axis of Aggressors, as well as the urgent steps our nation must take to deter our adversaries.” 

Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta said the authors “make clear that there are four adversaries — China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea — cooperating around shared domestic and foreign policy goals, united in shared hostility toward the United States, its interests, and its allies.” 

Among the book’s key findings: 

Axis economic cooperation could allow them to increasingly insulate themselves from Western sanctions: Economic collaboration helps Axis governments build military capabilities, wage aggression, and better withstand Western economic pressure. Relatively nascent Axis-led economic and financial networks could increasingly enable members to insulate themselves from Western sanctions. Should these financial networks mature and grow, the consequences for American power and security could be serious. 

Axis cybercriminals are attacking U.S. interests while often avoiding the consequences: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are cooperating in the cyber and technology domains to further solidify power at home, better employ offensive cyberattacks and information operations abroad, and increase technological capabilities through growing research and development (R&D) collaboration. 

Compelling evidence of an Axis: Researchers developed a dataset documenting 616 instances of Axis state security cooperation from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2025, across the five categories of weapons development, arms transfers, military exercises and deployments, intelligence sharing, and military exchanges. The data presents compelling evidence for the existence of an Axis and the implementation of a long-articulated Chinese- and Russian-led geostrategy for Eurasia that has consequences for vital U.S. interests at home and abroad. 

Axis security cooperation is perpetuating a brutal war in Europe, and increasing the chances for a potentially even worse war in the Pacific: The likelihood that the United States could confront simultaneous major wars in Eastern Europe and the Pacific is growing. 

Russia and China are making Iran more lethal and resilient: The Islamic Republic of Iran is down but not out. Security assistance from other members of the Axis has contributed to Tehran’s resilience and may play a pivotal role in increasing the lifespan of the regime, its ability to launch further aggression, and its lethality in the next war. While the United States and Israel have seriously degraded Iran’s military capabilities, Washington and Jerusalem should avoid overconfidence because Russian and Chinese security assistance for Iran is growing. Moscow has augmented its past support for Iran’s air and missile defenses and nuclear program by helping Tehran launch satellites and providing Tehran information to target U.S. troops. China has sent several shipments of chemical precursors needed for Iran’s ballistic missiles.

Moscow’s security assistance to Pyongyang has improved the combat preparedness of the North Korean military and eroded the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula: North Korea is increasingly powerful and a leading reason is the support Pyongyang has received from other Axis members, especially Russia. The result is heightened threats to South Korea, Japan, and the United States, reduced willingness on the part of Kim Jong Un’s to negotiate, and potentially a greater chance of war. 

This book is a wake-up call, essential to understanding shifting geopolitical threats, their implications, and the grand strategy Washington must adopt to strengthen the United States, bolster allies and partners, and weaken the Axis of Aggressors.

“The growing cooperation among the Axis of Aggressors represents a significant challenge to American interests and national security… The future may depend on the degree to which Americans take the Axis of Aggressors seriously — and act accordingly,” the authors conclude. 

A full executive summary of the book and additional endorsements are here: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/axis-of-aggressors/

FDD is a nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. 

To schedule an interview with the authors, contact FDD media relations at [email protected].

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About the Foundation for Defense of Democracies:

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies is a Washington, DC-based non-partisan policy institute focusing on foreign policy and national security. For more information, please visit fdd.org. Follow FDD on X @FDD.