RAND is a world leader in research on terrorism, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and homeland security—topics that affect a wide variety of policy areas and challenge individuals and nations worldwide. As a public service, RAND disseminates all its unclassified research online or in printed documents.
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.
While al Qaeda's capacity for large-scale attacks has been drastically reduced and the organization seriously weakened, the United States can expect to continue its battle with the terrorist group for many years to come.
Despite al Qaeda's increasing use of the Internet to attempt to radicalize and recruit homegrown terrorists in the United States, the turnout has been tiny and mostly inept.
A new collection of essays by experts from the RAND Corporation examines America in the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing a critical eye on the nation's actions since the attacks and outlining changes in strategy needed to improve efforts against jihadist groups.
Although most European terrorism plots of jihadist inspiration over the last five years appear to have been conducted independently, the most serious ones have tended to involve operational connections to groups operating outside of Europe.
Communities can build resilience to disasters through efforts such as joint planning of government and non-governmental organizations and the development of community networks.
If the U.S. military increases its use of alternative fuels, there will be no direct benefit to the nation's armed forces.
Deradicalizing Islamist extremists may be even more important than getting them to simply disengage from terrorist activities.
Law enforcement agencies in areas where terrorist threats are considered to be high have expanded their focus beyond traditional crime prevention and investigation to include counterterrorism and homeland security operations.
A panel of retired senior U.S. military officers, former Members of Congress, National Guard generals and academics with expertise in responding to domestic disasters today delivered to the Congress and the secretary of defense a far-reaching report that details how defense officials can better support the nation's response to a major disaster on United States soil.
Good counterinsurgency practices tend to run in packs and whether a campaign includes more good practices than bad ones is a strong predictor of the outcomes of campaigns historically.
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.
Effective intelligence gathering and a Muslim community unsympathetic to calls to violence have discouraged homegrown jihadist terrorism in the United States.
Armed conflict between the government of Yemen and an opposition movement in the nation's north has spilled across its borders into Saudi Arabia, posing a potential threat to U.S. interests.
From the lessons of the Vietnam War to the recent downfall of the Tamil Tigers in Southeast Asia, conflicts between insurgencies and governments tend to follow certain patterns as they arc toward their endings.
NATO is rethinking its future direction for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a process that could redirect the Cold War alliance toward contemporary security issues like cyberthreats and piracy, and strengthen its commitment to fragile states like Afghanistan.
Because it will be difficult to prevent cyber attacks on critical civilian and military computer networks by threatening to punish attackers, the United States must focus its efforts on defending these networks from cyber attack.
The valuable roles that nongovernmental organizations can play in helping communities recover from disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are not well-defined in federal, state or local policies. Changing emergency planning rules to make nongovernmental organizations a key component of recovery efforts could get them involved earlier and speed the full recovery of communities after disaster strikes.
At the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Coalition forces classified the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a militant organization from Iran with cult-like elements that advocates the overthrow of Iran's current government, as an enemy force. A new study looks at how coalition forces handled this group following the invasion.
Researchers from the RAND Corporation have launched an in-depth study of people who lived in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to gain a better understanding of how they were affected by the hurricane and its aftermath.