The Proliferation Security Initiative consists of 91 countries seeking to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction between states or non-state actors that would thereby pose a serious threat to global or regional security. This report assesses the perspectives of the five "hold-out" nations and how to possibly gain their affiliation.
Since the 1970s, federal officials have faced increasing pressure to reduce the size of the federal government and to privatize services traditionally provided by government, a trend that increased under George W. Bush and has harmed government's ability to carry out the nations' business.
The Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX) program provides income assistance to unemployed veterans as they search for work, a number that increased by about 75 percent between 2002 and 2004, raising concerns that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having difficulty finding civilian jobs.
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.
As military compensation is a fundamental tool for recruiting and retaining an all-volunteer force, it is reviewed every four years to make sure it can meet the U.S. military's objectives. This research examines the value and effectiveness of the current retirement system and possible alternatives, drawing on military personnel career data.
Many of the goods and services purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense are from industries that are often better suited to larger companies rather than smaller ones, complicating efforts to meet goals that about one-fourth of prime-contract dollars be awarded to small businesses.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies on the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model (EHCPM) to project the amount and cost of veterans' use of VA health care services. This study evaluates the EHCPM and assesses the risks and benefits posed by the VA's reliance on the model for budgeting and planning.
The United States' 2006 reversal of its 2002 proclamation that deterrence was irrelevant to most future national security strategies is bolstered by research which shows that deterrence will likely play an ongoing role in U.S. efforts to manage a variety of threats, including both near-peer competitors and terrorist organizations.
In the wake of 9/11, Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate whether the U.S. needs a dedicated domestic intelligence agency, separate from law enforcement, to deter terrorism. DHS asked RAND not to offer specific recommendations, but to make clear what should be considered in the creation of such an agency.
In preparing for possible future military interventions, the United States needs to shift substantial resources to the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, and military-civilian efforts must be integrated from top to bottom.
The U.S. military should reassess its child care system to look for ways to make it better fit the needs of military families and more effectively meet recruitment, readiness and retention goals.
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.
The likely costs and implications of alternative national defense strategies should be assessed through disciplined analyses that examine whether the primary agents of the strategy, U.S. combatant commands, have the ability to meet the strategy's expectations, rather than by merely allowing external events, time constraints, or politics to direct the strategy and inflate its costs.
The foreign policy success of incoming presidents, particularly in the early years of a presidency, is largely determined by how well the new administration learns from the successes and failures of the outgoing president.
The Russian invasion of Georgia has sent shock waves throughout the West and the former Soviet space - especially Ukraine. Indeed, Ukraine could be the next potential crisis, writes F. Stephen Larrabee.
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