The Axis of Upheaval Goes to War: How Battlefield Cooperation Is Binding Together America’s Adversaries

Foreign Affairs · Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Richard Fontaine · 2026-10-16 08:00 UTC

Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Richard Fontaine, former members of the National Security Council, argue that the members of what they call the “axis of upheaval”—Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—are deepening their cooperation. Meanwhile, Washington is creating friction with many of its own partnerships. If these developments continue unabated, the United States will squander the strength of its network just as its adversaries learn to make the most of theirs.

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Tanks burning after an Iranian attack, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 2026Pleiades Neo / Reuters

ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR is Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. From 2015 to 2018, she was Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council.

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