Nuclear weapons, the means of producing them, and their potential use play significant roles in international relations and homeland security. Throughout its history, RAND has provided detailed analyses and recommendations for defense planners and helped policymakers make informed national security decisions with regard to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the nuclear activities of India, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Iran, and other nations.
Report
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.
Commentary
Given American concerns about nuclear proliferation and the possibility of nuclear terrorism, tying U.S.-Russian cooperation in the nuclear domain with the current Russia-Georgia quarrel may amount to shooting ourselves in the foot in a misguided attempt to punish Russia, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Report
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.
Report
In a conference cohosted by RAND and the Center for Naval Analyses Corporation, members of the U.S. defense community discussed approaches to meeting the challenges of a demanding future security environment.
Commentary
America is uniquely susceptible to nuclear terror. Beneath our characteristic national optimism lie seams of anxiety, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Commentary
Will terrorists go nuclear? It is a question that worried public officials and frightened citizens have been asking for decades. It is no less of a worry today, as we ponder the seventh anniversary of 9/11, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
News Release
In a new book, "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?," leading terrorism expert Brian Michael Jenkins explores both the risks and history of nuclear terrorism, and warns that terrorists may not even need to acquire such weapons to order to perpetrate "nuclear terror."
Report
Historical examples and the analysis of two modified Delphi exercises augment an examination of approaches to escalation management within the demands of today’s security environment and its attendant threats involving not only long-standing nuclear powers, but also insurgent groups and terrorists.
Report
According to a British intelligence report leaked to the press in 2007, al Qaida operatives are planning a large-scale attack "on par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki." But just how likely is such an attack?
Report
The United States is heavily invested – diplomatically, economically, and militarily – in Iraq and Afghanistan. Based on this, the United States must clarify its long-term intentions to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the surrounding regions.
Research Brief
This research brief describes a study of nuclear-armed regional adversaries, which suggests that U.S. policymakers and commanders will want to field improved capabilities that can prevent (rather than deter) an enemy's use of nuclear weapons.
Report
The unanticipated costs and unpredictable outcomes of the War on Terror necessitate a reevaluation of national security strategy, including a shift away from policies of preemption and democratization and towards nation-building with its consequent need for a rebalancing of political and military power.
Report
The United States should pursue a mixed strategy toward Iran, using a variety of means to promote favorable social developments within the country and at the same time exploiting vulnerabilities in the nation's political, economic and demographic conditions.
Commentary
Opponents of war with Iran who take their stand on the grounds that Washington should talk to Tehran first are in danger of finding themselves trapped within a broadening national consensus that could lead to an unwinnable war, writes James Dobbins.
Report
North Korea's test of a nuclear weapon in 2006 shows that such weapons are within reach of determined regional powers. Thus, defense planners in the United States and elsewhere must begin now to confront the new security challenges posed by nuclear-armed regional adversaries.
Report
In testimony presented before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Roger C. Molander discusses confronting the prospects of a nuclear attack.
Commentary
[T]he United States should leave no one in doubt: participation or complicity in a WMD attack will trigger "overwhelming" and searching retaliation, writes Elbridge Colby.
Commentary
Over the last five years, the South Korean government has tried to downplay the military threat posed by North Korea. However North Korea still poses a serious military threat to South Korea, writes Bruce Bennett.
Report
Policymakers should take a measured approach to responding to possible terrorist use of "novel" weapons such as cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. This approach should be built on a foundation of investments in broader counterterrorism and law enforcement capabilities.
Report
An unprecedented joint report by researchers from the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and South Korea recommends a new approach to promoting the modernization of North Korea, as well as a "tool kit" to enable North Koreans to create their own modernization plans.
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