Research Brief
What Climate-Related Conflict Could Mean for U.S. Central Command
Climate change will hit the Middle East and Central Asia especially hard, with effects on both personal well-being and regional stability. It will likely create increased demand for stabilization operations, non-combatant evacuation operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Mischief, Malevolence, or Indifference? How Competitors and Adversaries Could Exploit Climate-Related Conflict in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility
This report presents an analysis of how U.S. competitors and adversaries — China, Russia, and Iran — could attempt to exploit climate-related conflict in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in future decades.
Nov 29, 2023
Commentary
From the Ashes of Hamas-Israel War, Can Economics Drive Peace?
The economic costs of the violence in Gaza threaten Israel's economic future. For the Palestinians, the costs may be so large that they undermine the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. But the magnitude of these economic losses may, paradoxically, forge a new pathway toward peace once the fighting stops.
Nov 28, 2023
Commentary
BBC's Gaza Service Demonstrates Power of Radio During Conflict
Radio has long been used during conflicts to relay news and information when all other means of communication are knocked out of service. The U.S. Agency for Global Media could follow the lead of the BBC World Service and establish a pop-up station to provide safety and supply updates, emergency medical information, and news to the people in Gaza.
Nov 28, 2023
Commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Nov 22, 2023
Report
International approaches to police performance measurement
This study is an international review of approaches to police performance measurement which examines how police performance is measured in a selection of countries and assesses how police performance measurement in the Netherlands could be improved.
Nov 21, 2023
Blog
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.
Nov 17, 2023
Commentary
The West's Incoherent Critique of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The battlefield geography of Gaza means that any operation there would turn into a bloody, highly destructive ground operation, with a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire. While Israel can mitigate some of these effects, neither Israel nor any other military can prevent them entirely. In this war, there is no happy medium.
Nov 16, 2023
Commentary
Why the Oct. 7 Attack Wasn't Israel's 9/11
There are some basic strategic lessons to be learned from the U.S. response to 9/11 that are applicable to Israel's unfolding operation in Gaza. But in many key ways, the two conflicts couldn't be further apart.
Nov 13, 2023
Blog
Supporting Veterans, Israel-Hamas War, AI and Geopolitics: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on supporting America's veterans, what Israel's ground offensive in Gaza can and cannot accomplish, how AI might affect the rise and fall of nations, and more.
Nov 10, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2023
Features explore the use of psychedelics to address depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders among veterans, and the prevalence of food insecurity among active-duty military families and veterans.
Nov 9, 2023
Commentary
What Israel's Ground Offensive Can—and Cannot—Accomplish
Weeks after terrorist attacks left 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel has started its much-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza. But what can such an operation hope to achieve, and why launch such a campaign now?
Nov 6, 2023
Commentary
Terror and the Secondary Trauma of Social Media
As graphic images from Israel and Gaza proliferate on social media, it is likely that these images are having significant negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of many. Mitigating their impact on global mental health might require making hard choices and doing the work to forge community bonds that prioritize everyone's well-being.
Nov 4, 2023
Commentary
The History of Hostage Negotiations Tells Us Empathy Isn't Enough
History offers no prescriptions on how to bargain for human life. The circumstances of each case differ, but lessons can be learned.
Nov 3, 2023
Blog
Disinformation Amid the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. Gun Policy, Cannabis: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the information war may play out between Israel and Hamas, what the evidence says (and doesn't say) about U.S. gun policy, supply models for recreational cannabis, and more.
Nov 3, 2023
Commentary
Lies, Misinformation Play Key Role in Israel-Hamas Fight
At the strategic level, the war in Gaza is about perception, telling a story about who is the victim and who is the aggressor. Lies, mistruths, and disinformation will play a key and continuing role in this fight.
Oct 31, 2023
Blog
Israel-Hamas War, AI and Gene Editing, Social Media Regulation: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the Israel-Hamas war, the convergence of machine learning and gene editing, regulating social media while protecting free speech, and more.
Oct 27, 2023
Commentary
What North Korea Is Learning from the Hamas-Israel War
South Korea and the United States should rein in North Korean nuclear weapon production and prepare to respond to escalated North Korean coercion. While Kim Jong-un probably won't resort to a Hamas-style attack, he certainly shares Hamas' goal of cultivating U.S. reluctance to get involved militarily in the region.
Oct 24, 2023
Commentary
The Four Questions the U.S. Military Should Be Asking About Operation Swords of Iron
The war in Gaza, much like previous Israeli wars, will likely yield a host of lessons for American military planners. It's not too early to identify the right questions to be asking as the conflict unfolds.
Oct 23, 2023
Commentary
Sparing Civilian Lives in Gaza
How do you protect innocent civilians while conducting effective urban military operations against an enemy who is integrated into the civilian population and entrenched in a location's infrastructure? Despite the ferocity of the Hamas attack and the Israeli response, the moral obligation to reduce civilian harm cannot be ignored.
Oct 21, 2023