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.
A new book by the late French scholar Thérèse Delpech provides a critical review and update of nuclear deterrence theory, focusing a critical eye on nuclear issues during the Cold War, examining the lessons of past nuclear crises, and outlining ways in which these lessons apply to major nuclear powers and nuclear pretenders today.
An attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States or Israel would make it more, not less difficult to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. The sympathy aroused for Iran would make containment of Iranian influence much more difficult for Israel, for the U.S., and for the Arab regimes currently allied with Washington.
Through a variety of policies and actions — and most recently in a new military doctrine adopted in February 2010 — Russia has indicated the types of situations and threats that might cause it to resort to using nuclear weapons. This volume examines Russia's evolving framework for nuclear deterrence and its implications for U.S. military operations in Europe.
Examines how the United States Air Force can sustain sufficient nuclear skills and experience within the Air Force Nuclear Enterprise.
Dissuading Iran from developing nuclear weapons faces major obstacles, but it's too soon to give up trying as it may still be possible to influence the outcome of Iran's internal political debate.
Analyzes North Korea's Decision-making process regarding its nuclear programs with two choice models -- Rational Choice and Cognitive Choice -- and suggest effective/adaptive/robust deterrence strategy for the ROK-US combined forces.
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.
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.
North Korea has denied the United States information about its nuclear weapon program, resulting in a high degree of uncertainty about the number and character of its nuclear weapons, how they might be used, and what impact they might have.
The ability of the United States to forge a broad yet effective relationship with Pakistan depends on likely developments in its internal and external security environment over the coming decade as well as Pakistan's national will and capacity to solve its problems.
The U.S. military training system is the envy of many countries around the world, but the militaries of China, France, the UK, India, and Israel can help the U.S. identify different approaches to readiness, adaptability, and operational issues.
In testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, James Dobbins explains why further international sanctions will probably not compel a change in Iran's nuclear policies nor cause a halt to those programs, but should nevertheless be pursued.
Starting in 2008, the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy conducted a series of exercises to help the new U.S. administration address the challenges of the Arab-Israeli conflict (and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular) as a key component of the broader effort to secure stability in the Middle East.
While relations between China and Taiwan are warmer now than in recent years, China still feels entitled to use force to prevent Taiwan from becoming independent. Meanwhile, the modernizing of China's military may call into question the U.S.' ability to defend Taiwan against a large-scale Chinese attack.
Will the current global economic recession have long-term geopolitical implications? Assuming that economic recovery begins in the first half of 2010, lasting structural alterations in the international system — a substantial change in U.S.-China relations, for example — are unlikely. This is because economic performance is only one of many geopolitical elements that shape countries' strategic intent and core external…
In testimony presented before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, C. Christine Fair examines challenges at hand in helping Pakistan achieve stability through a civilian-controlled state, with U.S. involvement responsive to Pakistani preferences.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long been rivals in the Middle East, but the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the ongoing war in Iraq have increased tensions between the two states. This study analyzes the Saudi-Iranian struggle for influence in Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Lebanon and Palestine and its implications for U.S. interests.
This RAND National Defense Research Institute study outlines and then applies a four-step process for developing regional approaches to working with appropriate partner countries around the world in order to compensate for limited resources and knowledge in confronting weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.
The Proliferation Security Initiative consists of 91 countries seeking to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction between states or non-state actors that would thereby pose a serious threat to global or regional security. This report assesses the perspectives of the five "hold-out" nations and how to possibly gain their affiliation.
Lieutenant General Glenn A. Kent, a uniquely acute analyst and developer of American defense policy in the second half of the twentieth century, summarizes the dozens of national security issues in which he was personally engaged in his 33-year career in the Air Force and his more than 20 years as one of the leading analysts at RAND.
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