Alexandra T. Evans

@AlexandraTEvans on Twitter

Associate Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in history, University of Virginia; M.A. in history, University of Virginia; B.A. in history, Vassar College

Overview

Alexandra T. Evans is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor of policy analysis in the Pardee RAND Graduate School for the 2021–22 academic year. Her research focuses on strategic competition, political-military dynamics, and decisionmaking, with a particular interest in the Middle East. Prior to joining RAND, she was an Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy with the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin.

Evans received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in history from Vassar College.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Frank G. Klotz, Alexandra T. Evans, Modernizing the U.S. Nuclear Triad: The Rationale for a New Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, RAND Corporation (PE-A1434-1), 2022

Becca Wasser, Stacie L. Pettyjohn, Jeffrey Martini, Alexandra T. Evans, Karl P. Mueller, Nathaniel Edenfield, Gabrielle Tarini, Ryan Haberman, Jalen Zeman, The Air War Against the Islamic State: The Role of Airpower in Operation Inherent Resolve, RAND Corporation (RR-A388-1), 2021

Commentary

Thinking in (Napoleonic) Times: Historical Warnings for an Era of Great-Power Competition
Over the last several years, great-power competition has become a major topic of discussion, prompting policymakers, scholars, and pundits alike to look to the past for lessons to explain the emerging contest between the United States and China. Considering how a variety of historical powers have faced rising challengers can aid our understanding of the challenges ahead.
Dec 18, 2020 War on the Rocks
Carter's Compromise: Cowardice or Calculation?
Jørgen Jensehaugen's Arab-Israeli Diplomacy Under Carter is a valuable addition to the literature on American peacemaking efforts that deepens our understanding of the difficult choices future administrations will confront in their effort to defuse the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Dec 20, 2019 Texas National Security Review
Bad Idea: Assuming the Small Wars Era Is Over
The national security community doesn't need to deny the potential for future great power conflict—or neglect to prepare for it—in order to acknowledge the enduring reality of asymmetric threats. Containing, resolving, and even preventing smaller conflicts is essential to avoiding bigger ones.
Dec 18, 2019 Center for Strategic and International Studies

Publications

Testimony
Extremist Use of Online Spaces
Testimony submitted to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on April 25, 2022.
Apr 27, 2022
Report
How Extremism Operates Online: A Primer
In this Perspective, the second in a RAND Corporation series on online extremist material, the authors explore how the internet affects extremist activities and how exposure to or consumption of such content influences the behavior of internet users.
Apr 12, 2022
Report
Modernizing the U.S. Nuclear Triad: The Rationale for a New Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
This Perspective describes the role of the Triad in U.S. nuclear weapons policy and the arguments for and against continuing the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
Jan 3, 2022
Report
The Online Extremist Ecosystem: Its Evolution and a Framework for Separating Extreme from Mainstream
The authors describe white supremacists' and other extremists' use of the internet and introduce a framework for internet users to categorize virtual platforms and understand their potential to encounter extreme content online.
Dec 2, 2021
Report
A History of the Third Offset, 2014–2018
The authors describe the Third Offset -- a U.S. strategy centered on the potential of technology to offset Chinese and Russian military advances and that shaped the 2018 National Defense Strategy -- focusing on efforts to effect institutional change.
Mar 31, 2021
Research Brief
The Role of U.S. Airpower in Defeating ISIS
The United States used airpower in Syria and Iraq to halt ISIS's momentum and help defeat the organization, without committing a large number of ground forces.
Feb 12, 2021
Report
The Air War Against the Islamic State: The Role of Airpower in Operation Inherent Resolve
Airpower played a pivotal role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State from 2014 to 2019 and contributed to the success of Operation Inherent Resolve, but airpower alone would not have been likely to defeat the militant organization.
Feb 5, 2021
Report
The Evolution of U.S. Military Policy from the Constitution to the Present, Volume II: The Formative Years for U.S. Military Policy, 1898–1940
The authors show that there is no such thing as a "traditional" U.S. military policy. Rather, the laws that authorize, empower, and govern the U.S. armed forces emerged from long-standing debates and legislative compromises between 1903 and 1940.
Jun 23, 2020
Report
The Evolution of U.S. Military Policy from the Constitution to the Present, Volume IV: The Total Force Policy Era, 1970–2015
The authors show that there is no such thing as a "traditional" U.S. military policy. Rather, the laws that authorize, empower, and govern the U.S. armed forces emerged from long-standing debates and legislative compromises between 1903 and 1940.
Jun 23, 2020
Report
Tracking and Disrupting the Illicit Antiquities Trade with Open Source Data
The sale of illicit goods provides an important funding source for terrorist organizations, organized crime, and rogue states. The authors of this report use open-source data to examine these networks and guide future policy to disrupt the trade.
May 12, 2020