Researchers collaborate across disciplines at RAND to evaluate terrorist, military, nuclear, cyber, and other threats to U.S. national security — identifying emerging threats, scrutinizing known risks, and evaluating potential strategic and tactical responses. Recent studies have included examinations of al Qaeda, the Afghan insurgency, and Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Report
Presents a methodology to design strategies for detecting terrorist weapon development and shows how it might be used to detect development of improvised explosive devices and radiological dispersal devices.
Report
Because terrorism is not confined to national boundaries, it puts pressure on the U.S. both at home and abroad, forcing intelligence and law enforcement—the CIA and the FBI—to work together in new ways. This requires new means of sharing not just information but also analysis across the federal system.
Report
This brochure describes ''Policy Analysis Techniques for Homeland Security Professionals'', a five-day course hosted by RAND to be held in Arlington, VA on November 16-20, 2009.
Report
Building on prior RAND research, this study examined the historical roots of militancy in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia; the development of extremist ideological frameworks; and national and international government response efforts.
Report
Presents a framework for force planning that would help guide Air Force leaders as they make the difficult decisions necessary to manage risk across multiple possible missions and between current and future priorities.
News Release
While on a net basis the United States imports nearly 60 percent of the oil it consumes, this reliance on imported oil is not by itself a major national security threat. The economic costs of a major disruption in global oil supplies—including higher prices for American consumers—pose the greatest risk to the United States.
Report
An approach for assessing novel or emerging threats and prioritizing which merit specific security attention and which can be addressed as part of existing security efforts.
Commentary
For India, the development of a conducive environment on its western flank for groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad has already resulted in sophisticated terrorist attacks on Indian soil. While there is good reason for India and its neighbors to be concerned, there is considerable misunderstanding of the threat, writes Seth Jones.
Research Brief
Summarizes a project that examines how the United States can better coordinate its approach to enhance partners' border security, detection, and interdiction capacity to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
News Release
The Mumbai terrorist attacks in India suggest the possibility of an escalating terrorist campaign in South Asia and the rise of a strategic terrorist culture.
Commentary
The 9/11 tragedy was a catalyst that accelerated the pace of the changes in the UK security model that were already occurring due to the waning threat of terrorism from the IRA and the growing threat from those who espoused an ideology of violent jihadism. The changes took place in three main areas, writes Lindsay Clutterbuck.
News Release
One lesson of 9/11 is that the signs of the attack were not assembled into a warning that might have made it possible to prevent the disaster. In the wake of that failure, one question on the U.S. agenda is whether the country needs a dedicated domestic intelligence agency – separate from law enforcement – to address the U.S. terrorist threat.
Commentary
America is uniquely susceptible to nuclear terror. Beneath our characteristic national optimism lie seams of anxiety, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Research Brief
This research brief discusses the pros and cons of creating a new domestic intelligence agency, separate from law enforcement, to address the threat of terrorism and describes a technique called break-even analysis that can help inform the debate.
Multimedia
Offering insights into vital questions of national security, presidential decisionmaking, and terrorist motives, world-renowned terrorism expert Brian Michael Jenkins examines how terrorists think about nuclear weapons and nuclear terror.
News Release
Acts of piracy and terrorism at sea are on the rise, but there is little evidence to support concerns from some governments and international organizations that pirates and terrorists are beginning to collude with one another.
Research Brief
This research brief summarizes RAND's analysis of recent trends in piracy and maritime terrorism, which pose a significant threat. The United States has taken only limited steps to enhance maritime security; broader measures are required.
Commentary
The United States can and should move beyond a "one size fits all" approach to sizing military forces toward a construct that shapes each service for the types of operations it is actually expected to conduct in the future, write Andrew Hoehn and David Ochmanek.
Report
For several types of attacks, examines cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles from an adversary's perspective and assesses defensive options to address this and other asymmetric threats.
Journal Article
This article presents a method for the assessment of cities' vulnerability to large-scale urban unrest. Results include a tool that will allow users to rank cities on their vulnerability to large-scale urban unrest.
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