The NATO alliance served its participants well in countering the strategic threat once posed by the Soviet Union, but the rise of other regional powers and coalitions since end of the Cold War has prompted a reevaluation of existing alliances. RAND research has provided policymakers with essential information on how best to forge new defense cooperation agreements and strengthen old alliances to counter emerging security threats.
Commentary
The countries in a possible "second wave" of Arab revolutions have dim prospects for consolidated democracies. Other than tribes, Libya essentially has no civil society, and it has a long-isolated educated class. Yemen has civil society organizations but fewer well-educated individuals, writes Julie Taylor.
Commentary
The long-term objective of a train-and-equip program for the Libyan revolutionary government would be to create a professional military force in a post-Qaddafi Libya that could support democratic institutions free of extremist elements, writes Angel Rabasa.
Commentary
What has been happening in North Africa this year, in what seems to be the leading edge of a great wind of change sweeping the Arab world, will require the Europeans (along with the U.S. and others) to be deeply and durably engaged there — economically, politically and in humanitarian terms, writes Robert E. Hunter.
Report
Can military forces get their messages across more effectively? RAND Europe examines NATO's new Strategic Communication concept.
Commentary
The question, then, is whether stopping the fighting—which could also require forcibly removing Qaddafi—is worth the price of deep military engagement and responsibility for Libya's postwar future, writes Robert E. Hunter.
Report
Identifies and describes the knowledge, skills, and abilities that enable Army officers to succeed in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational contexts.
Commentary
Russia's proposal for joint missile defense represents a potential game-changer for the Kremlin's relations with the West, writes Andrew Weiss.
Report
Evaluates existing Air Force capacity to conduct assessments of its security cooperation and building partnerships programs, makes the case for improving assessment efforts, and describes a framework for doing so.
Report
The "Americanization" of NATO's mission in Afghanistan may prove crucial to the future of Afghanistan, but the alliance could suffer long-term harm by being relegated to the position of junior partner to the United States.
News Release
The "Americanization" of NATO's mission in Afghanistan may prove crucial to the future of Afghanistan, but the alliance could suffer long-term harm by being relegated to the position of junior partner to the United States.
Report
The lack of a comprehensive tool to assess a country's defense sector and its ability to counter a range of internal security threats led to the development of the Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool, which can be customized for a variety of goals.
Report
The Afghan government and NATO can improve security in Afghanistan by leveraging traditional policing institutions in rural villages and mobilizing the population against insurgents. However, action needs to happen quickly to take advantage of a growing amount of local resistance against the Taliban across Afghanistan.
Report
The rising number of terrorist plots in the United States with links to Pakistan—most recently the failed car-bombing in New York City—is partly a result of an unsuccessful strategy by Pakistan and the U.S. to weaken the range of militant groups operating in Pakistan.
Report
While most U.S. government officials working in Iraq believe the use of armed private security contractors has been a useful strategy, many worry that the contractors have not always had a positive effect on U.S. foreign policy objectives.
Report
The U.S. must determine how best to promote long-term security and stability in the Persian Gulf region while seeking to reduce the risks and costs imposed by its role as a permanent regional power—particularly vis-à-vis Iraq's future, the role of Iran, asymmetric threats, regional tensions, and the roles of other external actors.
Report
Although building partner capacity (BPC) and stability operations are receiving a good deal of attention in official strategy and planning documents, insufficient attention is being paid to the details of an integrated strategy.
Past Event
A panel of RAND experts will discuss Engaging Iran: Opportunities and Obstacles on June 8, 2009.
Past Event
A panel of RAND experts will discuss Pakistan and Afghanistan:
Allies of the United States? on May 18, 2009.
Commentary
In the wake of President Obama's recent European trip, hopes for a rejuvenation of transatlantic security cooperation continue to rise. This means resolving some old problems and avoiding new pitfalls, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
Report
Created a framework of 14 categories of cross-cultural performance, developed a survey to confirm the importance of the categories, and analyzed the results to clarify what cross-cultural training should enable Air Force personnel to do.
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