2009-11-05T15:07:00Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:0A39BA42-F6D5-11DD-8200-12D538788F35 urn:uuid:25F7E200-CD17-11DD-96DD-0C0F39788F35 2008-12-17T03:00:00Z 2008-12-17T03:00:00Z

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may lose the June 2009 presidential election. And a more pragmatic figure... may assume power. But no one, especially in the United States, should count on a dramatic change in Iran's policies, even if Ahmadinejad loses, writes Alireza Nader.

urn:uuid:E674E4A4-C611-11DD-8E26-52C038788F35 2008-12-09T03:00:00Z 2008-12-09T03:00:00Z

As the last Mumbai sites were being cleared of terrorists, grim signs emerged of the challenges that face India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, beginning to know what the Mumbai attack was -- and what it was not -- only augurs more violence for India. At least three factors are at play, writes Christine Fair.

urn:uuid:B40627D4-C7DE-11DD-A404-52C038788F35 2008-12-08T03:00:00Z 2008-12-08T03:00:00Z

The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, are part of a disturbing trend across the Muslim world of groups that target civilians in the name of Islam. Less visible to Western eyes, but potentially just as significant, is a growing backlash among Muslims who condemn such attacks as unethical, writes Seth Jones.

urn:uuid:2C14F110-A5B6-11DD-87D2-FDCC38788F35 2008-11-25T03:00:00Z 2008-11-25T03:00:00Z

The Kefaya Movement, an indigenous effort for political reform organized in Egypt, provides policymakers with an example of the challenges grassroots organizations in the Arab world face as they try to implement democracy and political reform. In late 2004, Kefaya was able to mobilize wide segments of Egyptian society.

urn:uuid:02AD667A-BB48-11DD-A912-51C038788F35 2008-11-25T03:00:00Z 2008-11-25T03:00:00Z

The international community is at something of a loss as to how to respond to the increasingly audacious nature of piracy off the Horn of Africa.... What's needed is a less dramatic and more nuanced approach, one with a greater focus on the land-based violence in Somalia, home of the pirates, writes Peter Chalk.

urn:uuid:8F06A52C-B01D-11DD-98D6-5DFE38788F35 2008-11-11T03:00:00Z 2008-11-11T03:00:00Z

As new U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus got a firsthand look at the worsening security situation in Afghanistan last week, he heard from some U.S., British and Afghan officials that the best way forward is to engage in peace talks with the Taliban. Such talks have already even tentatively begun. This is a bad idea.

urn:uuid:062E9D12-991C-11DD-833C-58C038788F35 2008-10-31T03:00:00Z 2008-10-31T03:00:00Z

Education and labor market initiatives are under way in four Arab nations -- Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates -- to address the challenges of developing the human capital of their populations for the 21st century global economy, though better evaluation of the implemented reforms will be needed to determine their efficacy.

urn:uuid:9647951C-88A4-11DD-BF65-58C038788F35 2008-10-15T03:00:00Z 2008-10-15T03:00:00Z

David Aaron, a veteran U.S. diplomat and director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, has compiled a wide range of writings by Islamic terrorists that offer an unusual window into their mentality. The book, "In Their Own Words: Voices of Jihad," is a virtual encyclopedia of jihadist rhetoric written by the terrorists themselves.

urn:uuid:C08BA642-7FFD-11DD-AB10-58C038788F35 2008-09-24T03:00:00Z 2008-09-24T03:00:00Z

Democratic political reforms can marginalize extremists and undermine support for political violence, but cosmetic reforms and backtracking on democratization can exacerbate the risk of terrorism.

urn:uuid:DCADA8DE-9BBE-11DD-B1FC-58C038788F35 2008-08-07T03:00:00Z 2008-08-07T03:00:00Z

A significant emphasis has been placed on female suicide bombers' tactical success, and efforts to determine why they kill focus on al-Qaida's recruitment of women. But little attention is paid to the personal motivation women have for killing themselves and dozens of innocents around them, writes Farhana Ali.

urn:uuid:530FC050-63AE-11DD-BD88-DAEA38788F35 2008-07-29T03:00:00Z 2008-07-29T03:00:00Z

Current U.S. strategy against terrorist organization al Qaida has not been successful at limiting the group's capabilities. Since Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaida has been involved in more terrorist attacks than ever before, spanning an increasingly broader range of targets.

urn:uuid:96CCA1EE-3D63-11DD-BBA4-E1BD38788F35 2008-07-10T03:00:00Z 2008-07-10T03:00:00Z

The United States should pursue a mixed strategy toward Iran, using a variety of means to promote favorable social developments within the country and at the same time exploiting vulnerabilities in the nation's political, economic and demographic conditions.

urn:uuid:75C455A4-3166-11DD-9C3F-AF0039788F35 2008-06-23T03:00:00Z 2008-06-23T03:00:00Z

While Muslim-majority Turkey may be the linchpin to promoting liberal Islam worldwide, relationships between the nation’s secular government and religious forces have shifted in the past decade, with implications for the future of Islam in the region and the world.

urn:uuid:B8813698-0B26-11DD-B4C9-E1BD38788F35 2008-05-23T03:00:00Z 2008-05-23T03:00:00Z

A DVD is now available of a conference RAND sponsored to build awareness of popular media initiatives in the Islamic world that are successfully combating extremist agendas.

urn:uuid:D74B5F4A-1139-11DD-BEBB-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-22T03:00:00Z 2008-04-22T03:00:00Z

The time may come to start contemplating whether Syria might follow the example of Libya and make its way off the axis of evil, write Cheryl Benard and Ed O'Connell.

urn:uuid:983E1F0A-FB44-11DC-A4B5-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-21T03:00:00Z 2008-03-21T03:00:00Z

Like two years ago, last week's rage in Pakistan over reprints of cartoons and a forthcoming Dutch film that insult Islam's holy book once again entangles Muslims and the West in a fury over freedom of speech, writes Farhana Ali.

urn:uuid:6AC20F7A-0718-11DD-8DDA-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-19T03:00:00Z 2008-03-19T03:00:00Z

Cheryl Benard and Ed O'Connell write about their time in Syria discovering creative outlets in media, such as how a director in a country known for defending terrorism could produce "entertainment" that portrayed quite the opposite.

urn:uuid:9E0811E0-D64E-11DC-A3B0-E1BD38788F35 2008-02-27T03:00:00Z 2008-02-27T03:00:00Z

Women's participation in post-conflict nation-building is an important ingredient in achieving an equitable, peaceful and more prosperous society. Leaders should include women in the earliest economic reconstruction activities.

urn:uuid:F437D30A-C057-11DC-9984-281039788F35 2007-12-16T03:00:00Z 2007-12-16T03:00:00Z

Today, tens of thousands of Iraqis are in grave danger, targeted because they have worked with the United States. Many have been murdered. Others have fled their homes because of attacks or threats… Many want to come to America, and we should welcome them, writes Olga Oliker.

urn:uuid:9C35C4AC-6542-11DC-8627-14BF38788F35 2007-10-02T03:00:00Z 2007-10-02T03:00:00Z

Although the emergent and ever-deepening conflict between Iran and the U.S. is often framed in the rhetoric of "clash of civilizations," a review of data from the World Values Survey found considerable common ground in the values of the American and Iranian peoples.