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Center for Global Risk and Security

The RAND Center for Global Risk and Security (CGRS) reflects the need for a focal point for cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary research and analysis on the increasingly complex issue of global security. It draws on RAND’s unparalleled breadth of related expertise – from strategy to health to technology and criminal justice – and expands upon RAND’s long history of excellence in informing security policy by exploring innovative new areas of inquiry that cut across traditional perspectives. Led by an advisory board of distinguished individuals from varied angles of vision on security and risk, the Center will develop a better understanding of the variety of security threats, and then decide on deeper research dives where RAND’s special range of competences can make a difference in framing categories of possible response.

CGRS in the NewsMore »

Iran's Growing State of Civil Disobedience — Sep 8, 2011

A typical Iranian has many reasons to disobey the government, whether he or she is young, an ethnic minority, a poor teacher or laborer, or a struggling student, writes Alireza Nader.

Commentary

Five Myths about 9/11 — Sep 2, 2011

Fear has made al-Qaeda the world's top terrorist nuclear power, yet it possesses not a single nuke. This is a lesson in how terrorism works, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Commentary

Is it Time to Consider a New Approach to Airline Security? — Sep 1, 2011

It may be possible that the development and deployment of improved security technologies and reconfigurations of security checkpoints will keep security one step ahead of terrorist adversaries, but it also may be an appropriate time to explore fundamentally new approaches, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Commentary

Quake a Disaster 'Drill' D.C. Flunked — Aug 29, 2011

Fortunately for the nation's capitol, Hurricane Irene and the East Coast earthquake proved to be relatively minor events, as far as disasters go. But before everyone breathes a sigh of relief, it would be wise to reflect on how people responded to what were essentially dress rehearsals for much bigger events, write Lynn E. Davis and Arthur L. Kellermann.

Commentary

Commanding Democracy in Egypt: The Military's Attempt to Manage the Future — Aug 25, 2011

The SCAF's attempts to curtail dissent and the democratic process have fueled doubts about its true intentions. Will the military fulfill its promise to support democracy? Or will it seek to replace Mubarak's rule with its own or that of a friendly autocrat? write Jeffrey Martini and Julie Taylor.

Commentary

Libyan Nation Building After Qaddafi — Aug 23, 2011

If Libya is to have a chance of replacing Qaddafi with something better, the United States, its allies, and the rest of the international community will need to pivot very quickly from the rather straightforward requirements of war fighting to taking seriously the complex and demanding tasks of peace building, write James Dobbins and Frederic Wehrey.

Commentary

The Case for Keeping U.S. Troops in Northern Iraq — Aug 3, 2011

Both Iraqi and Kurdish officials have expressed concern that ethnic violence will break out in the north once U.S. troops withdraw. Though many state publicly that the U.S. "occupation" must end, some of these same officials say privately that they would like U.S. troops to remain as a go-between, writes Larry Hanauer.

Commentary

The Long Shadow of 9/11: Author Interviews — Jul 26, 2011

Interviews with a selection of RAND's leading experts offer a distinctively farsighted perspective to the national dialogue on 9/11's legacy. Their insights assess the military, political, fiscal, social, cultural, psychological, and even moral implications of U.S. policymaking since 9/11.