National Security Research Division

Featured Research

Cover: The War Within

The War Within: Preventing Suicide in the U.S. Military— 2011

Rajeev Ramchand, Joie Acosta, Rachel M. Burns, Lisa H. Jaycox, Christopher G. Pernin

Since late 2001, U.S. military forces have been engaged in conflicts around the globe, exacting a substantial toll that goes beyond the casualty figures. This includes the stress that repetitive deployments can have on the individual servicemember and his or her family, manifested as increased divorce rates, spouse and child abuse, mental distress, substance abuse, and one of the most troubling: suicide. This report details a study, requested by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, that evaluates the efforts underway within the DoD to deal with the suicide rates and recommends ways to ensure that these reflect state-of-the-art prevention science.

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Resources for Veterans, Their Families, and Policymakers — Nov 9, 2011

In honor of Veterans Day and Military Family Month, RAND has created a special web resource with a variety of research-based materials on issues critical to veterans and their families.

Catalog Analyzes DoD-Sponsored Programs that Address Psychological Health — Nov 9, 2011

The U.S. Department of Defense sponsors many programs for servicemembers and their families. RAND compiled a searchable online catalog of 211 programs that address psychological health and traumatic brain injury.

Tracking Public Sentiment in Iran After the Contested 2009 Election with Twitter — Oct 26, 2011

Social media was used in the 2009 protests to organize and communicate under government censorship. In this interactive tool, messages from Twitter taken during the protests have been analyzed and placed on an timeline, and the frequency of terms and types of language shows opinion over time.

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.

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.

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.

Al Qaeda's Efforts to Recruit Homegrown Jihadists in America Remain Largely Ineffective — Aug 31, 2011

Despite al Qaeda's increasing use of the Internet to attempt to radicalize and recruit homegrown terrorists in the United States, the turnout has been tiny and mostly inept.

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.

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.

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.