Report
Adaptive Engagement for Undergoverned Spaces: Concepts, Challenges, and Prospects for New Approaches
Jul 13, 2022
Paul K. Davis
Adjunct Principal Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Santa Monica Office
Education
Ph.D. in chemical physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.S. in chemisty, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Media Resources
This researcher is available for interviews.
To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.
More ExpertsOverview
Paul K. Davis is an adjunct principal researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research interests include strategic planning and methods for improving it, decisionmaking theory, deterrence theory, counterterrorism, advanced methods of analysis, modeling, and gaming, and heterogeneous information fusion. He has authored or coauthored widely read books on defense planning, capabilities-based planning, portfolio analysis, and deterrence and influence theory, as well as an integrative review on social science for counterterrorism. Before joining RAND, Davis was a senior executive in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). He has served on numerous national panels for DoD, the National Academy, and the Intelligence Community; he is also a regular reviewer of several professional journals. Davis received his Ph.D. in theoretical chemical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Research Focus
Pardee RAND Graduate School Courses
Previous Positions
Senior Executive, Office of the Secretary of DefenseRecent Projects
- Inflluencing Adversary States
- Priorities for Social-Behavioral Modeling
- Deterrence and Stability on the Korean Peninsula
- Heterogeneous Fusion
- Social Science for Counterterrorism (and follow-ons)
Selected Publications
Paul K. Davis, Angela O'Mahony, Christian Curriden, and Jonathan Lamb, Influencing Adversary States: Quelling Perfect Storms, RAND (RR-A161-1), 2021
Paul K. Davis, Angela O'Mahony, and Jonathan Pfautz (eds.), Social Behavioral Modeling for Complex Systems, Wiley & Sons, 2019
Paul K. Davis, Analysis to Inform Defense Planning Despite Austerity, RAND Corporation (RR-482-OSD), 2014
Paul K. Davis and Angela O'Mahony, A Computational Model of Public Support for Insurgency and Terrorism: a Prototype for More-General Social-Science Modeling, RAND Corporation (TR-1220-OSD), 2013
Paul K. Davis and Kim Cragin, Social Science for Counterterrorism: Putting the Pieces Together, RAND Corporation (MG-849), 2009
Paul K. Davis, Russell D. Shaver, and Justin Beck, Portfolio-Analysis Methods for Assessing Capability Options, RAND Corporation (MG-662-OSD), 2008
Paul K. Davis and Brian Michael Jenkins, Deterrence and Influence in Counterterrorism, RAND Corporation (MR-1619), 2002
Paul K. Davis (ed. and author), New Challenges for Defense Planning: Rethinking How Much Is Enough, RAND Corporation (MR-400-RC), 1994
Honors & Awards
- Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, Secretary of Defense
