Cortez A. Cooper III

Getting to Know the Competition

Americans are facing a new reality in global great power relations that will define the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy for the foreseeable future. Understanding China's threat perceptions, while remaining clear-eyed regarding differences in objectives, is essential to developing strategies to deter conflict.

Experts, Scholars Evaluate Chinese Strategic Thinking

On April 30, experts, scholars, and government analysts gathered at RAND Corporation offices in Arlington, Va., to evaluate changing Chinese strategic thinking on threat perceptions, doctrine, and strategic concepts for employing military power to advance national goals.

Report

Options for Strengthening ROK Nuclear Assurance

Many in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are not feeling assured by the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The authors propose options for strengthening that assurance, including enhancing strategic clarity and committing U.S. nuclear weapons to support the ROK.

Report

Conference Proceedings on Indian and U.S. Security Cooperation: Defense Production, Indo-Pacific Region, and Afghanistan

A two-day conference explored Indian and U.S. views on security across the Indo-Pacific, informed by six papers discussing bilateral security cooperation, Russian arms sales to India, and the challenges posed by China to regional security.

Report

Preparing for Great Power Conflict: How Experience Shapes U.S. and Chinese Military Training

The authors examine how different direct and indirect experience has shaped the way the U.S. military and the People's Liberation Army approach training and whether these training approaches adequately prepare both militaries for great power conflict.

Report

Simulating Chinese Gray Zone Coercion of Taiwan: Identifying Redlines and Escalation Pathways

This paper shares the results of an exercise hosted by the RAND Corporation to explore the risk of escalation from Chinese activities in the gray zone to conventional war. The results showed an overall low risk of Taiwanese escalation.

Research Brief

The Aftermath of a Great Power War

RAND researchers drew on historical great power wars to develop four scenarios illustrating how hypothetical wars between the United States and either China or Russia could produce unanticipated consequences — even for the state that is victorious.

Report

Alternative Futures Following a Great Power War: Volume 1, Scenarios, Findings, and Recommendations

RAND researchers generated four plausible near-term great power war scenarios and assessed how they could shape the postwar strategic environment.

Research Brief

Managing the Escalation Risks of U.S. Military Activities in the Indo-Pacific

This brief describes how the United States can select and shape its military activities in the Indo-Pacific region to deter Chinese aggression against U.S. allies and partners while also limiting the risks of escalatory Chinese reactions.

Report

Managing Escalation While Competing Effectively in the Indo-Pacific

This report assesses how China may react to U.S. military activities in the Indo-Pacific. It provides a framework of factors likely to determine Chinese responses and advises how the characteristics of activities may affect the risk of escalation.

Report

Anticipating Chinese Reactions to U.S. Posture Enhancements

This report provides a framework of key factors to aid U.S. policymakers in assessing how China may react to shifting U.S. posture in the Indo-Pacific. The authors apply the framework to hypothetical posture enhancements to offer insights.

Report

Democracy in the Asia-Pacific Region

In this report, RAND researchers study democratization and the factors that influence it among small Asian states, identify policies that can support democratization, and examine how external actors can help countries democratize.

Report

Regional Responses to U.S.-China Competition in the Indo-Pacific: Singapore

In this report, the authors assess the impact of the changes in China's strategic behavior and U.S.-China relations over the past decade on Singapore in terms of its security policies and relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.

Report

Regional Responses to U.S.-China Competition in the Indo-Pacific: Study Overview and Conclusions

The authors define U.S.-China competition for influence and assess competition in nine countries across the Indo-Pacific to gain insight into how the United States could work more effectively with allies and partners in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Research Brief

U.S. Versus Chinese Powers of Persuasion: Does the United States or China Have More Influence in the Indo-Pacific Region?

This brief assesses U.S.-China competition for influence in countries across the Indo-Pacific.

Report

People's Liberation Army Operational Concepts

In this report, authors assess China's military theory, strategy, and guiding principles, in addition to doctrinal or operational concepts, to help U.S. strategists and planners formulate responses to China's evolving military strategy and doctrine.

Report

Chinese Views of Big Data Analytics

The authors of this report use Chinese primary-source materials to provide a preliminary analysis of China's expectations for the use of big data analytics and the country's plans and strategies for development of big data analytic capabilities.

Report

China's Grand Strategy: Trends, Trajectories, and Long-Term Competition

To explore what extended competition between the United States and China might entail out to 2050, the authors of this report assessed how successful China might be at implementing its grand strategy goals over the next three decades.

Testimony

PLA Military Modernization: Drivers, Force Restructuring, and Implications

Testimony presented before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on February 15, 2018.

Report

Transformation of Taiwan's Reserve Force

Assesses Taiwan's current reserve force and discusses steps that Taiwan can take to enhance the role of the reserves in deterring and, if necessary, defending against a cross-Strait invasion.

Report

The PLA and China's Rejuvenation: National Security and Military Strategies, Deterrence Concepts, and Combat Capabilities

This study describes China's national and security strategies and its approach to war and escalation control; summarizes its military capabilities developments; and reviews its concepts for deterrence in strategic and conventional domains.

Brochure

China, Inside and Out: A Collection of Essays on Foreign and Domestic Policy in the Xi Jinping Era

This collection of essays explore some of the realities of China's overriding philosophies.

Journal Article

China's Aircraft Carrier Program: Drivers, Developments, Implications

This paper examines first the drivers, the operational capabilities, and then the future trajectory of China's carrier program. We evaluate the implications of the carrier program for the balance of maritime power in the western Pacific and beyond.

Testimony

Joint Anti-Access Operations: China's "System-of-Systems" Approach

Testimony presented before the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission on January 27, 2011.

Testimony

The PLA Navy's "New Historic Missions": Expanding Capabilities for a Re-emergent Maritime Power

Testimony presented before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on June 11, 2009.