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Defence and Security Research

The RAND Europe Defence & Security team conducts a broad range of research for policy makers in Europe and beyond. The RAND Corporation has long been recognized for its contributions to defence and security policy. RAND Europe furthers this tradition by offering a dedicated research team with wide-ranging expertise, covering key defence issues such as equipment acquisition and personnel policy, and security issues ranging from those in the domestic and in the international spheres. The RAND Europe Defence and Security team is structured to assist policy and decision makers in facing the composite challenges generated by today's security environment, and where appropriate can leverage the contacts and knowledge of other RAND offices worldwide. The team provides expertise in Defence, Security and Counter-Terrorism, and International Security and Development.

Current ProjectsMore »

SAFIRE Seeks to Draw Lessons for European Counter-terrorism

RAND Europe is working alongside nine other partners from across Europe on a 3.5 year-long study of radicalisation for the European Commission. The project, SAFIRE, aims to review the evidence base and pilot an intervention in order to draw lessons for European counter-terrorism. RAND Europe is responsible for the review and quantification of the literature on radicalisation, clarifying what we know and how reliable it is. It will also be running a workshop with frontline workers in order to identify indicators of radicalisation and it will compare these with the evidence found in the literature.

Addressing Key European Defence Technologies

It is important for Europe to understand and manage how its critical defence technologies depend upon foreign suppliers. RAND Europe — along with partners in Sweden (FOI) and France (ONERA) — is researching the extent of these 'dependences' to better understand critical risks and how they might be best managed. The results of the study will assist the European Defence Agency (EDA) in defining a roadmap to address key issues.

Completed ResearchMore »

Information Exchange Among CERTs Must Be Encouraged — 09 Jan 2012

Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) work like digital fire brigades, responding to and mitigating cyber security incidents. The European Network and Information Security Agency asked RAND Europe with partners time-lex to explore the legal, regulatory, and operational aspects of information exchange between CERTS in Europe. Their study found that uncertainty over data protection regimes, amongst others, are an important factor influencing cross-border information exchange.

Can Individuals' Patterns of Behaviour Predict Violent Jihadist Actions? — 25 Jul 2011

To determine whether it may be possible to identify and disrupt individuals and groups engaged in planning a terrorist attack, RAND Europe researchers analysed the pre-attack behaviours of the most significant Jihadist terrorist groups in the UK. The research demonstrates that there are certain distinctive behavioural characteristics displayed as a result of planning, preparing, and implementing an act of terrorism, but more research will be needed to identify "signal indicators."

Full Document

Advancing the State of the Art in Monitoring and Evaluation of Stabilisation Interventions — 06 Apr 2011

Unstable and violent political environments often give rise to a range of complex problems for peaceful development. An examination of best practices in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of stabilisation efforts points to the importance of an integrated approach that allows monitors to retain flexibility and adapt indicators when necessary. It also highlights the role that theories of change and contribution stories can play in helping M&E interventions be more effective.