James A. Thomson

The North Korea Standoff: Have We Been Here Before?

How the United States responded to China's nuclear weapons program last century can provide lessons for today's debate about North Korea. For instance, the conclusion that the only option is deterrence is still sound.

Is Geographic Clustering Driving Political Polarization?

The ideological gap separating the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress has grown dramatically wider in recent decades. An analysis of the presidential vote in congressional districts over the last 60 years finds that the degree to which most districts are different from the 'average' district has grown, supporting the theory that polarization stems from geographic clustering.

Step It Up, Europe

Despite the latest sanctions on Russia, the European Union will need to do more to achieve its objectives in Ukraine. In addition to much tougher economic sanctions, NATO could help Ukrainians by providing military assistance, weapons, training, and intelligence, and deploying air and naval forces closer to the conflict.

A House Divided: Polarization and Partisanship

Certainly, ideology should play a role in public policy decisions. But when many policies—regardless of their merits—are simply off-limits for ideological reasons, then the nation as a whole has a problem, writes James A. Thomson.

RAND Finds Pittsburgh Grand; Research Nonprofit Marks 6 Years With New Offices and Commitment to Make the City and Region Better

Published commentary by RAND staff: RAND Finds Pittsburgh Grand; Research Nonprofit Marks 6 Years With New Offices and Commitment to Make the City and Region Better, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In Political Analysis, Just the Facts, Please

Published commentary by RAND staff: In Political Analysis, Just the Facts, Please, in The Hill.

The Mysteries of the American Electoral College

Published commentary by RAND staff

Why U.S. History Holds a Lesson for Europe

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Atlantic Monthly and RAND View the Future

The Atlantic Monthly Magazine features a compilation of ten short essays written by experts at RAND, collectively titled Headlines Over the Horizon. The RAND authors examined developments in international and military affairs drawing little attention today that are expected to be major issues in the next three to five years.

Atlantic Monthly and RAND View the Future

The July/August 2003 issue of The Atlantic Monthly Magazine features Headlines Over the Horizon, a compilation of ten essays by RAND experts. The RAND authors examined developments in international and military affairs drawing little attention today that are expected to be major issues in the next three to five years.

Report

Are Changing Constituencies Driving Rising Polarization in the U.S. House of Representatives?

This report addresses whether the American electorate has become more geographically clustered with respect to party voting and socioeconomic attributes and whether this process has contributed to polarization in the House of Representatives.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 35, No. 2, Summer 2011

Stories discuss America after 9/11, Afghan-based solutions, Al Qaeda's narrative, air passenger security, victim compensation, military families, health insurance, entrepreneurship, unemployment, sex, Katrina families, Arab Spring, and a new RAND.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 35, No. 1, Spring 2011

Stories discuss gays in the military, police recruitment, home health care, breast cancer, health insurance exchanges, alternative fuels, refinery taxes, alcohol prices, outer space debris, mental illness, diplomatic trends, and health care costs.

Brochure

2010 Year in Review

In the context of the RAND Corporation's mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis, the Year in Review offers an assessment of RAND's achievements in 2010.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 34, No. 3, Winter 2010-2011

Stories discuss Haitian recovery, transportation finance, teacher accountability, childhood psychological problems, aging Americans, military savings, U.S. space systems, Middle East peace, the Wallace Foundation, and Politics Aside 2010.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2010

Features discuss retirement patterns of baby boomers, marijuana legalization, drug enforcement in Europe, and No Child Left Behind; news items cover the Gulf coast, food allergies, the U.S. health reform law, police benefits, and Pakistani militants.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 34, No. 1, Spring 2010

Features discuss energy strategies for Israel, the economic recession, and Iran's leadership; other items discuss the KC-10 fleet, air pollution and hospital costs, no-fault insurance, silica litigation, poverty reduction, and political polarization.

Report

A House Divided: Polarization and Its Effect on RAND

Discusses the increase in political polarization within the U.S. electorate and Congress since the 1970s, the effects of increased polarization on public policy decisionmaking, and the implications for RAND.

Brochure

2009 Year in Review

In the context of the RAND Corporation's mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis, the Year in Review offers an assessment of RAND's achievements in 2009.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring 2009

Feature stories discuss government cost controls, health information technology, and negotiations with Iran; other stories discuss climate change, soft power, charter schools, meth use, Hispanic enlistments, Mumbai terrorism, and Jeremy Azrael.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 32, No. 3, Fall 2008

The cover story offers 12 suggestions for the new U.S. president; other pieces discuss education and health in China and India, health policy models, the U.S. Postal Service mailbox monopoly, a green U.S. Army, and political reform in the Arab world.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 32, No. 2, Summer 2008

The cover story contains 11 essays that forecast 11 ''issues over the horizon''; other articles discuss the invisible wounds of war, visions of the future, colleges in prisons, and nuclear deterrence for the modern age.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 2008

The cover story compares neonatal services across the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Sweden; other features discuss water resources management, U.S. policies in Asia, and political polarization.

Brochure

2007 Year in Review

In the context of the RAND Corporation's mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis, the Year in Review offers an assessment of RAND's achievements in 2007.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 31, No. 3, Fall 2007

The cover story issues a midterm report card for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Other features discuss prescription drug benefit plans for the elderly and different types of ungoverned territories around the world.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer 2007

Feature stories discuss the precarious posture taken by the world toward Afghanistan, lessons for the U.S. National Guard from Hurricane Katrina, and competing claims stoked by the RAND Health Insurance Experiment.

Brochure

2006 Year in Review

In the context of the RAND Corporation's mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis, the Year in Review offers an assessment of RAND's achievements in 2006.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 2007

Three stories highlight the advantages of policies that have been downplayed in recent years -- in defense, education, and health. Additional articles address antisocial behavior in Britain and problems within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2006

The cover story reports on how the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina can give rise to a better morning. Other articles discuss the all-volunteer force, better ways to improve health in developing countries, and lessons from counterinsurgency research.

Brochure

2005 Year in Review

In the context of the RAND Corporation's mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis, the Year in Review offers an assessment of RAND's achievements in 2005.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 30, No. 2, Summer 2006

The cover story warns that Americans have succumbed too much to fear, forsaking the things for which they are fighting; related essays discuss suicide attacks, lessons from Algeria, protection for emergency responders, and public health preparedness.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 30, No. 1, Spring 2006

Addresses a set of shortfalls in U.S. performance in Iraq and identifies options for improvement, particularly with respect to sustaining army forces, promoting reenlistments, and rebuilding Iraqi security.

Brochure

Colorado ACLU Speech

RAND Corporation President and CEO James Thomson spoke to the ACLU in 2005 on the value of fact-based analysis, offering several examples of how a tension between effective policy and fairness or equity pervades the world of policy analysis.

Report

Three Years After: Next Steps in the War on Terror

Three years after 9/11, the RAND Corporation held a conference to share results from recent terrorism studies with government officials, military officers, congressional staff, foundations and NGOs, foreign embassy representatives, and the public.

Report

Must All Join? America, 1788; Europe, 2004

Describes parallels between constitutional ratification in the European Union and the United States and suggests that U.S. history may provide a relevant lesson for the EU.

Report

The Haskins Lectureship in Science Policy, November 15, 2002: Bioterrorism: A Clear and Present Danger

Dr. Tony Fauci speaks about bioterrorism at the 2002 Haskins Lectureship on Science Policy held on November 15, 2002.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 26, No. 2, Summer 2002

Surveys RAND research conducted since Sept. 11, 2001, that examines the dimensions of the terrorist threat and potential responses to it, and issues such as global priorities, oversees deployments, homeland security, and state and local initiatives.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 25, No. 3, Fall 2001

Presents eight commentaries outlining complementary strategies for the long-term war against terrorism; also discusses how American arts organizations can adapt to shifting audiences and how improvements in depression care pay for themselves.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 24, No. 1, Summer 2000

Special presidential election issue offers recommendations regarding several domestic and foreign policy issues that will play a crucial role in this year's presidential election.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 23, No. 1, Spring 1999

Argues that to be successful, the European-American partnership can no longer depend on a lopsided military relationship, and that Europe must shoulder more of the burden and America must share leadership; also discusses U.S. defense planning.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 22, No. 1, Fall 1998

Special commemorative issue celebrates 50 years of cutting-edge RAND research, how RAND diversified into social welfare research, and identifies important ways in which RAND research will continue to serve the crucial needs of the future.

Report

RAND Graduate School Commencement Exercises

On July 15, 1995, the RAND Graduate School held its ninth commencement exercises in Santa Monica, California.

Report

RAND Graduate School Commencement Exercises: July 10, 1993

On July 10, 1993, the RAND Graduate School held its eighth Commencement exercises in Santa Monica, California.

Report

RAND Graduate School Commencement Exercises, July 17, 1991

This paper contains the July 17, 1991, RAND Graduate School commencement address given by Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc., and former U.S. National Security Adviser and Secretary of State.

Report

Implications of the Gorbachev Force Cuts

Discusses the military and political implications of the unilateral force reductions recently announced by the Soviet Union and East European countries, including the implications of the force cuts for the conventional balance.

Report

An Unfavorable Situation: NATO and the Conventional Balance

This Note describes the essential features of the balance of conventional forces in Central Europe and presents the author's view of the consequences of an analysis of these features.

Report

The Arms Control Challenge to the Alliance

This paper was originally presented as an address to the North Atlantic Assembly in Plenary Session, The Storting, Oslo, Norway, on September 25, 1987.

Report

Conventional Arms Control Revisited: Objectives in the New Phase

This Note examines the relationship between conventional defense and arms control planning and assesses the conditions under which arms control can help NATO meet its conventional defense requirements.

Report

The Promise of Passive Defenses

This paper reviews the capabilities of Soviet tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) and considers passive defense measures such as hardening, redundancy, dispersal, and mobility, that NATO might use against them.

Report

NATO's Strategic Choices: Defense Planning and Conventional Force Modernization

This paper reviews NATO's present strategy; examines broad strategic alternatives, and concludes that NATO's recourse is to seek modest improvements in conventional capabilities.

Report

The Military Significance of Restrictions on Strategic Nuclear Force Operations

This Note examines some problems associated with the application of the concept of confidence building to strategic nuclear force operations.

Report

Strategic Defense and Deterrence

The author addresses technology options, the issues of offense vs. defense in an arms race, crisis stability, and extended deterrence.

Report

The Future of Nuclear Arms Control

The postwar security framework that has kept the peace for 35 years depends on nuclear weapons.

Report

NATO: Agenda for the Next Four Years

This report documents the proceedings of a Ford Foundation-sponsored workshop on NATO held in RAND's Washington office, June 10-11, 1981.

Report

Planning for NATO's Nuclear Deterrent in the 1980s and 1990s

NATO's defense planners face critical issues about the future of NATO's nuclear deterrent, but the intense political controversy over the impending deployment of new Long-Range Theater Nuclear Forces in Europe has submerged these issues.