Alexandra T. Evans

Protecting Free Speech Compels Some Form of Social Media Regulation

Given the profound challenges posed by social media, corrective measures need to go beyond “deplatforming” bad apples. But how can the United States make such a structural change without compromising the democratic tradition of free speech?

The Promise—and Pitfalls—of Researching Extremism Online

How big of a problem is extremism in the United States and around the world? Is it getting worse? Are social media platforms responsible, or did the internet simply reveal existing trends? We have few answers because this research is easy to do poorly and hard to do well.

When Mass Shooters Are Seeking Fame

What motivates mass shooters? And what might break the cycle of violence? Developing an effective policy response first requires better understanding of the factors that drive would-be attackers to kill.

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.

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.

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.

Report

Development as a Tool of Economic Statecraft: A Net Assessment of U.S. and Chinese Approaches

The authors conduct a net assessment of U.S. and Chinese approaches to development assistance and cooperation, using a data-driven comparison to reveal opportunities for the United States to better compete with China in the developing world.

Commentary

The Drivers of and Outlook for Russian-Iranian Cooperation

The authors of this Perspective assess the factors that drive Russian-Iranian cooperation, examine the role of the Ukraine war in deepening the countries’ ties, and identify indicators to assess Russian-Iranian cohesion in the coming years.

Report

Future U.S. Peacetime Policy Toward Russia: Exploring the Benefits and Costs of a Less-Hardline Approach

Using four historical case studies, the authors found that limited less-hardline approaches can lead to durable but narrow gains. However, issues left unaddressed by these approaches may still undermine the relationship over the long term.

Research Brief

What Should Future U.S. Policy Toward Russia Be in Peacetime? Evaluating Trade-Offs of a Less-Hardline Approach

Using four historical case studies, the authors found that limited less-hardline approaches can lead to durable but narrow gains. However, issues left unaddressed by these approaches may still undermine the relationship over the long term.

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.

Report

Alternative Futures Following a Great Power War: Volume 2, Supporting Material on Historical Great Power Wars

To inform a project on the aftermath of great power wars, the author examined ten conflicts since 1853. This volume presents brief historical summaries and assesses past forecasts of the duration, intensity, stakes, and consequences of each war.

Report

Staying the Unfavorable Course: National Security Council Decisionmaking and the Inertia of U.S. Afghanistan Policy, 2001–2016

The authors examined the reasons behind the inertia of the U.S. policy objective in Afghanistan through interviews with the senior leaders involved in policy deliberations between 2001 and 2016.

Report

Operation Inherent Resolve: U.S. Ground Force Contributions

This report, which outlines four battles within Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and reviews U.S. ground force contributions to those battles, is intended to address gaps both in analysis and in the common understanding of OIR.

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.

Commentary

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.

Commentary

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.

Commentary

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.