Elizabeth M. Bartels

@elliebartels on Twitter

Codirector, RAND Center for Gaming; Associate Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; M.S. in political science, MIT; B.A. in political science, University of Chicago

One Page Bio

Overview

Elizabeth (Ellie) Bartels (she/her) is the codirector of the RAND Center for Gaming and an associate policy researcher. She is a specialist in national security policy analysis gaming, and her work explores a wide range of strategic and operational concerns. Other research includes work on defense planning, force development, and measures short of armed conflict (including long-term competition, gray zone, hybrid warfare, and irregular warfare). Prior to joining RAND, Bartels was a senior associate at Caerus Associates and a research analyst at the National Defense University’s gaming center. Her PhD is from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where her work focused on how to apply social scientific practices to the design of games for policy analysis. She also has a M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. from the University of Chicago in political science.

Research Focus

Commentary

Wargames as an Educational Tool
The benefits of games for military education are well documented. But harnessing the potential of games to foster innovation may require a commitment to sustain gaming over the years needed to explore a problem space and develop and stress-test new ideas.
Feb 8, 2021 The Forge
Wargaming the Department of Defense for Strategic Advantage
Defense acquisition, personnel, and management systems have long been seen as areas in need of reform, as costs and man-hours continue to increase over the years. Gaming new policies that govern these areas can offer early insights into potential stumbling blocks and provide leaders valuable feedback on decisions before major costs are incurred.
Aug 3, 2020 War Room
Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution
How does the Department of Defense imagine the future of war and make long-term investments to confront the challenges ahead? On issues ranging from potential conflicts with Russia to the future of transportation and logistics, senior leaders have increasingly turned to wargames to imagine potential futures.
Nov 15, 2018 War on the Rocks
Is Iron Dome a Poisoned Chalice? Strategic Risks from Tactical Success
While Iron Dome's past success in defending Israel makes it a tempting solution to future challenges, it does have shortcomings. This becomes even more serious when considering using the system in Korea, where the threat posed is substantially greater, and the targeted terrain substantially harder to defend.
Nov 29, 2017 The Strategy Bridge
Adding Shots on Target: Wargaming Beyond the Game
Figuring out what the future may look like—and what concepts and technology we should invest in now to prepare—is hard. How can the wargaming community build a cycle of research to help understand what these paths might be?
Oct 9, 2017 War on the Rocks
Getting the Most Out of Your Wargame: Practical Advice for Decisionmakers
While some famous historical cases offer a compelling narrative of what wargames can be at their best and worst, they cannot illustrate the full range of contemporary wargaming that leaders should strive to achieve. A better understanding of how wargames can be helpful — or how they can backfire — is critical.
Jan 26, 2016 War on the Rocks

Publications

Report
Brain-Computer Interfaces: U.S. Military Applications and Implications, An Initial Assessment
Emerging brain-computer interface technologies may be used to monitor a soldier's cognitive workload, control a drone swarm, or link with a prosthetic, but policy, safety, legal, and ethical issues must be evaluated first.
Aug 27, 2020
Report
Opportunities for Including the Information Environment in U.S. Marine Corps Wargames
An examination of requirements, principles from military theory, current doctrine, and wargaming practices points to solutions and changes to game mechanics to better incorporate the information environment into wargames.
Jul 1, 2020
Report
Building a Broader Evidence Base for Defense Acquisition Policymaking
This report summarizes the case for a broader evidence base for defense acquisition policymaking. It also describes a prototype policy game focused on Middle-Tier Acquisition that researchers developed to enrich the available evidence base.
May 19, 2020
Dissertation
Building Better Games for National Security Policy Analysis: Towards a Social Scientific Approach
Proposes an approach to game design grounded in logics of inquiry from the social sciences.
Apr 7, 2020
Report
Next-Generation Wargaming for the U.S. Marine Corps: Recommended Courses of Action
The authors evaluate wargaming tools as the U.S. Marine Corps invests in its next-generation wargaming concept. The authors describe wargaming processes, facilities, and skill sets and recommend courses of action.
Oct 16, 2019
Research Brief
Will to Fight: Returning to the Human Fundamentals of War
This brief argues for the importance of improving our understanding of what influences will to fight, and it describes two models for doing so: one for analyzing a military unit's will to fight, and one for analyzing a nation's will to fight.
Sep 13, 2019
Report
OCEANS 17 Tabletop Exercise: Findings and Recommendations
In December 2017, the RAND Corporation conducted a tabletop exercise on air operations across the boundaries between geographic combatant commands. This report describes the exercise's design, key insights from our analysis, and recommendations.
May 9, 2019
Report
Do Differing Analyses Change the Decision? Using a Game to Assess Whether Differing Analytic Approaches Improve Decisionmaking
In this report, RAND researchers use a structured comparison game to examine the value proposition of different analytic inputs (scenario-based versus Robust Decision Making) on a sample U.S. Department of Defense decision about force structure.
Apr 8, 2019
Report
Conceptual Design for a Multiplayer Security Force Assistance Strategy Game
The authors explain the conceptual underpinnings and basic rules for a RAND-designed security force assistance strategy game. The game is a tool to explore the potential benefits and risks of different security force assistance strategies.
Feb 7, 2019
Report
What Might Happen if Palestinians Start Voting in Jerusalem Municipal Elections? Gaming the End of the Electoral Boycott and the Future of City Politics
To examine possible consequences of Jerusalem's Palestinians ending their electoral boycott, a team from the RAND Corporation conducted a seminar-style game in Jerusalem in partnership with the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research.
Oct 25, 2018
Research Brief
Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
This brief summarizes a RAND report that explores lessons that the U.S. Army and the Joint force can draw from Israel's military operations in Gaza from 2009 to 2014 and how Israel adapted to hybrid adversaries in complex urban terrain.
Oct 18, 2017
Report
From Cast Lead to Protective Edge: Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
This report describes how the Israel Defense Force fought an adaptive hybrid adversary in a dense urban setting under intense public scrutiny during its wars in Gaza and draws lessons from the Israeli experience for the U.S. Army and the joint force.
Jul 26, 2017