Previous Disasters Provide Important Lessons for Central America's Recovery from Hurricanes
As the global community works together to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, experiences from other recent disaster recovery efforts offer some helpful lessons, both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.
Jan 11, 2021 The National Interest
A New Way to Manage the Growing Global Refugee Situation
As of 2020, a full 1 percent of humanity is living in displacement—as refugees, internally displaced persons, or asylum-seekers—because of conflict or persecution. The world's existing strategies for managing the displaced are no longer sufficient, but the next U.S. administration has an opportunity to lead the world in creating a new way forward.
Dec 17, 2020 Foreign Policy
The Syrian Forever War Has Created Forever Refugees
Without a formal peace agreement that commits to safety for returnees and creates a foundation for investment in Syria's demolished infrastructure, Syrians will not go home. They fear returning because of reports of returnees being arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.
Nov 24, 2020 The National Interest
Community College Enrollment Is Way Down. That Could Be Bad for Economic Recovery
Enrollment at America's community colleges is down by nearly 10 percent compared with before the pandemic, leaving community colleges in a perilous financial position. Without intervention, these institutions may not weather the storm.
Nov 17, 2020 The RAND Blog
Schools Need to Be Planning for the Next 9 Months, Not the Next 9 Weeks
Schools cannot simply wait out this pandemic, nor will short-term planning and ad-hoc infrastructure get them successfully through this academic year. If schools are to minimize educational losses, large-scale investments should be made now.
Sep 8, 2020 The Hill
How to Reopen Schools: Q&A with RAND Experts
The debate over opening U.S. schools is growing more heated by the day. In this Q&A, RAND researchers discuss the different approaches for reopening, how online learning went in the spring, ways to help disadvantaged students, and more.
Jul 23, 2020 The RAND Blog
How to Help Refugees and Host Countries Combat COVID-19
Having escaped conflict and persecution, refugees now risk illness and death from COVID-19. That risk is heightened by a policy regime that focuses largely on refugees in camps, not the almost two-thirds who live in urban areas. But the crisis could provide an opportunity to reform a broken system for the benefit of refugees and host countries alike.
May 18, 2020 The National Interest
Syrian Refugees Won't Be Going Home Any Time Soon
Active fighting in Syria is dwindling. But Syria remains divided in a frozen conflict and empty peace, unstable and unlikely to attract the investment in reconstruction, public institutions, job creation, and local reconciliation efforts needed to motivate Syrians in large numbers to return home.
Apr 19, 2019 The National Interest
Jobs Can Improve the Lives of Syrian Refugees and Their Host Communities—and Support Stability in the Middle East
Host governments, international development agencies, and donor countries like the United States could take several steps to improve Syrian refugee employment. This would increase self-reliance among Syrian refugees and ease pressures on host communities.
Mar 11, 2019 Foreign Policy
Does Nuon Chea Still Have No Regrets?
Nuon Chea was convicted of genocide in a tribunal in Phnom Penh in November for his role in the Cambodian genocide. Shelly Culbertson relays the story of her trip to interview him at his home in Pailin in 2003.
Dec 19, 2018 The Diplomat
Europe's Five Strategies for Coping with Migration Pressure
Migration will likely continue to be a long-term challenge for European politics, institutions, governments, and values. Even with a drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage migration, the European Union still has important tasks ahead of it.
Dec 3, 2018 The National Interest
Louisiana's Education System Is Evolving: Here's What Parents Need to Know
Louisiana has taken big steps to improve its education policies and the education of the state's children, from birth to grade 12. Parents can help their children benefit from the reforms by being informed about the changes and knowing how to take advantage of new resources.
Sep 12, 2018 The Advocate
If We Don't Get the Peace Right, Iraq Will Slide Back into the Morass
Actions taken now by the United States, the Iraqi government, and private parties could determine the war-torn country's future. The message the Sunnis receive in these next six months will determine whether Iraq is on the path to stability.
Feb 12, 2018 Newsweek
How the U.S. Can Help Resolve the Rohingya Crisis
By accepting responsibility for reintegrating the Rohingya refugees, Myanmar has provided an opening to prevent an epic tragedy. Will the United States and the international community take advantage of it?
Jan 5, 2018 Foreign Affairs
Keeping Americans on the Job in a Changing Economy
Despite calls to bring back U.S. coal mines and factories, the real issue isn't a lack of family-sustaining jobs, it's a mismatch between workers and available jobs.
Oct 20, 2017 U.S. News & World Report
Female Drivers Can Put Saudis on Road to Enhanced Growth
Allowing women to get behind the wheel will likely lead to significant long-term changes in Saudi Arabia's economy and the participation of women in the labor force.
Sep 29, 2017 The Hill
Addressing Europe's Migrant Crisis Takes More Than Stopping the Boats from Libya
Treating migration from Libya as a border security issue has reduced migration across the Mediterranean. But efforts to keep migrants in Libya are fraught with risks, exacerbate a massive human rights problem, and do not address Libya's long-term economic and political stabilization.
Sep 25, 2017 Foreign Policy Concepts
The Post–Arab Spring Experience: Q&A with Shelly Culbertson
It's too early to say whether the Arab Spring will turn out to be a success or not. The Arab Spring was about people deciding what they did not want and rising up against it, but they hadn't worked out what they did want. Many of them still have hope.
Aug 23, 2017
Moving Beyond Mosul
The Islamic State group has been defeated in Mosul. But this military routing isn't enough to ensure lasting stability, either in Mosul or in Iraq more broadly. What comes next will require careful planning, diplomacy, implementation, and coordination.
Jul 18, 2017 U.S. News & World Report
The Urgent Need for an Education Plan in Mosul
In addition to restoring Mosul's damaged infrastructure, efforts to stabilize the city must include a plan to rebuild education. Students need to make up years of missed K-12 and university education, and ISIS indoctrination needs to be undone.
Mar 27, 2017 Fox News Channel
Stabilizing Mosul After the Battle Against ISIS
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have retaken the east bank of Mosul and are planning to take the west soon. The military operations that oust ISIS are crucial to the city's liberation but failing to get the civilian response right risks a widening civil war.
Feb 9, 2017 Newsweek
It's Too Soon to Write Off the Arab Spring as a Failure
Pessimistically declaring the Arab Spring a failure in 2016 would be as naive as optimistically declaring it a success in 2011. Something comes next—but what?
Jun 15, 2016 Newsweek
A Different Kind of Refugee Crisis
In Jordan and Lebanon, middle-income countries with robust public sectors where a significant Syrian population may be present for years to come, solutions should be more about supporting the expansion of existing national public services, rather than creating new, internationally run parallel services.
May 16, 2016 U.S. News & World Report
Tunisia Is an Arab Spring Success Story
Tunisia has not unraveled into civil war like Syria or Libya. It has not undergone a counter-revolution that returned it to the autocracy of its pre-revolution days, like Egypt has. Tunisia is fragile, but its success is vital to the long-term stability and societal health of the Middle East.
Apr 21, 2016 Observer
Solutions for Educating Young Syrian Refugees
Approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees are school-age children. They face a slew of struggles, not the least of which is the lack of education that they need to move forward in life. What can be done to improve the access to and quality of refugee education?
Apr 21, 2016 Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Battered by War, Syrian Refugee Kids Need to Be Taught
More than 700,000 Syrian refugee children are not receiving formal education. Host countries are struggling to create enough spaces to accommodate them in schools, and there are no formal programs to teach children who have missed years of instruction.
Jan 15, 2016 Newsweek
Syrian Refugees: All You Need to Know
The world can only absorb so many millions of refugees. The civil war in Syria demands a political solution facilitated by international leadership that will bring stability and enable refugees to return to home.
Sep 17, 2015 Newsweek
Help Syria Avoid a 'Lost Generation'
Young Syrian refugees are brimming with potential, but lack the educational and livelihood pathways through which to channel their energy and aspirations. As the international community looks for ways to end the violence in the region, it must not overlook the plight or the potential of these children.
Jul 17, 2015 U.S. News & World Report
Syria's Simmering Crisis
At least half of Syrian refugee children aren't in school. Those who are face risks to the quality of education they receive, a risk they share with host-country children. But by making long-term investments, the international community can help ensure education isn't another casualty of the war.
Jan 21, 2015 CNN
Building a Sound Technical and Vocational Education and Training System
Technical and vocational education and training in India has expanded significantly over the past two decades. But quality and relevance remain significant issues. What may be learned from other countries' experiences?
Dec 31, 2014 EduTech Magazine
America's Great Yellow School Buses
One of the things taken for granted in the United States is the vast network of school buses—about 26 million children ride 480,000 buses every day. But in other parts of the world, getting millions of children to and from the right school, on time, safely, and for a reasonable cost is a significant challenge.
Sep 9, 2013 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Signs of New Life in Northern Iraq
For a region that has seen decades of strife, Kurdistan is emerging as “the other Iraq,” a place where progress is marked by the opening of new shopping malls and the pouring of concrete at countless construction sites.
Aug 9, 2013 U.S. News & World Report
The Middle East's Science Revolution?
Even as conflict rages, a wave of research and innovation in Arabian Gulf countries is bringing with it significant investment in science and research infrastructure — and even U.S.-style universities, writes Shelly Culbertson.
Jun 27, 2013 CNN
Putting the Spring in the Arab Spring
Qatar has a salsa scene. Dubai hosted the big international Fujairah Latin Festival. The Oman Salsa Festival took place in March. Jordan and Cairo both have a salsa scene. What makes this so conversation-worthy is that it is indicative of a growing cultural openness in parts of the Middle East.
Jun 17, 2013 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
