2012-02-13T16:27:29Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/pubs/online/international-affairs.html http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1161.html 2012-01-17T07:30:00.000-05:00 2012-01-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

In the months after the contested Iranian presidential election in June 2009, Iranians spoke out about the election using Twitter — a social media service that allows users to send short text messages, called tweets, with relative anonymity. This research analyzed more than 2.5 million tweets discussing the Iran election that were sent in the nine months following it, drawing insights into Iranian public and mood in the post-election period.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP360.html 2012-01-10T09:30:00.000-05:00 2012-01-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Climate change, water scarcity, and pandemics are examined for their national security implications and impacts on the global commons. This paper describes four clusters of policy approaches for these complex, interconnected issues and uses suggestive examples to build the case for policy evolution away from fixing problems and toward innovative alternatives, such as anti-fragile systems, that actually benefit from change and uncertainty.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120008.html 2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-05:00 2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Many scholars and pundits have concluded that the noticeable downturn in U.S.-China relations in 2010 was merely an intermittent low in the broader "high-low" dynamic that characterizes the relationship. This article argues that recent tensions can also be understood as part of larger, macro-level suspicions stemming from the disparate identities that pervade bilateral relations.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/corporate_pubs/CP22-2011-12.html 2012-01-13T17:00:00.000-05:00 2012-01-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

Stories discuss world demographic trends, Afghan peace prospects, U.S. health care spending, California prisoner reentry, Latin American inequalities, global health, veterans' mental health, highway investments, teacher bonuses, and charter schools.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1143.html 2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-05:00 2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Israel and Iran have come to view each other as direct regional rivals. The two countries are not natural rivals; they have shared geopolitical interests, which led to years of cooperation both before and after the 1979 Islamic revolution. But their rivalry has intensified recently, particularly with the rise of fundamentalist leaders in Iran and the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran posing grave strategic and ideological challenges to Israel.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR878.html 2011-12-22T11:30:00.000-05:00 2011-12-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

Explores how to evaluate future nuclear forces and postures and makes recommendations.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9627.html 2011-12-16T11:30:00.000-05:00 2011-12-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Helps to develop an integrated strategy for building partner capacity for stability operations through an analysis of key strategic elements within the context of BPC and stability operations guidance as well as ongoing security cooperation programs.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF293.html 2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00 2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

The June 2011 conference titled "Gulf Security in a Region of Dramatic Change: Mutual Equities and Enduring Partnerships" included discussion of the Arab Spring, the prospects for and implications of a more-unified Gulf Cooperation Council, how Gulf militaries and their relationships with the United States may be affected by political changes, how present-day events may influence or alter the threat posed by Iran, and how CENTCOM may be affected.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1163.html 2011-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00 2011-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

This report explores the impact of information and communication technologies in the Middle East and North Africa region. It provides a series of analyses and inputs to the World Bank that intended to help frame their thinking about ICT use in MENA.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1154.html 2011-11-28T11:00:00.000-05:00 2011-11-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Some time in the coming decade, Iran will probably acquire nuclear weapons or the capacity to quickly produce them. This monograph provides a midterm strategy for dealing with Iran that neither begins nor ends at the point at which Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon capability. It proposes an approach that neither acquiesces to a nuclear-armed Iran nor refuses to admit the possibility — indeed, the likelihood — of this occurring.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG903.html 2011-11-21T08:30:00.000-05:00 2011-11-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

During stability operations, coalitions must incorporate participation by government agencies other than the military, the indigenous government, and its population more than is expected during conventional combat operations. This book investigates challenges confronting coalitions today and considers potential solutions that include questioning the conception of what constitutes a coalition in today's world.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD290.html 2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-05:00 2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

Employs an expected utility model to predict how Iranian policy is developing on several key issues and explores US strategy and policy options for influencing their development.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9615.html 2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00 2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Designed to help U.S. Army personnel more effectively use economic assistance to support economic and infrastructure development.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD288.html 2011-11-04T13:15:00.000-04:00 2011-11-04T13:15:00.000-04:00

Tests the hypothesis that development and reconstruction actors can feasibly implement sound development and reconstruction across a relatively wide spectrum of conflict, but varying levels and natures of violence can affect its delivery.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP354.html 2011-10-26T10:45:00.000-04:00 2011-10-26T10:45:00.000-04:00

Globalization, consolidation, information technology, and litigation financing are changing the way legal services are provided in the United States. This paper offers a framework for examining recent and ongoing innovations in U.S. legal services to aid policymakers in understanding the likely effects of innovations and the role of policy in promoting or deterring innovation, and to provide criteria that policymakers might use to decide whether the advantages of an innovation justify loosening existing restrictions.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1125.html 2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00 2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

A RAND team conducted a Delphi expert elicitation exercise, the results of which offer an assessment of the contemporary security situation in Mexico through the lens of existing RAND research on urban instability and unrest, historical insurgencies, and defense-sector reform. Assessment scorecards from these projects were used to obtain input from the expert panel and to guide the resulting discussion.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1078.html 2011-10-13T07:45:00.000-04:00 2011-10-13T07:45:00.000-04:00

Security force assistance is central to the counterinsurgency campaign of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The outcome will hinge on the effectiveness of the assistance provided to the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and other security forces. This report provides an overview of Soviet efforts to improve and facilitate the training and development of Afghan security forces.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1119.html 2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-04:00 2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Governments intervening in post-conflict states find themselves beset with numerous challenges and profound dilemmas: It is often unclear how best to proceed because measures that may improve conditions in one respect may undermine them in another. This volume reviews and integrates the scholarly social-science literature relevant to stabilization and reconstruction, with the goal of informing strategic planning at the whole-of-government level.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP344.html 2011-10-10T00:01:00.000-04:00 2011-10-10T00:01:00.000-04:00

This paper presents some scenarios that, if they were to come to pass, could result in military conflict with China over the next thirty years. The authors begin by exploring different plausible sources of conflict — whether it be the collapse of North Korea, possible dwindling relations between Taiwan and China, or other contingencies involving Japan or India. They discuss the operational implications each might present the United States and then turn to the requirements for defense and deterrence.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR972.html 2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-04:00 2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

Several key U.S. allies engage in security cooperation, albeit on a smaller scale than the United States. To see what the U.S. Air Force can learn from these efforts, the authors examined how and why three allies — Australia, France, and the United Kingdom — provide security cooperation and highlight three key areas that could benefit from further collaboration: staff talks, exercises, and training followed by exercises.