The RAND Blog

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In Reckoning with Today's Truth Wars, Look to America's Past

The declining regard for factual evidence may be a defining characteristic of our current age. Previous eras suggest it is within society's power to restore respect for objective facts. Humankind just needs to put it on the agenda.

Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich, Jennifer Kavanagh

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What If Autonomous Vehicles Actually Make Us More Dependent on Cars?

Cities across Europe are taking steps to become increasingly car free. Mayors, supported by their officials and planners, should start leading a debate now about how self-driving vehicles can best serve the needs of residents and visitors, and help deliver wider goals for their cities.

Mark Kleinman, Charlene Rohr

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Politics in India—Not Business as Usual

India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has suffered recent, self-inflicted electoral setbacks. But it is still the best-organized and richest political party in the country. Can opposing alliances defeat the BJP?

Rafiq Dossani

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Toy Drones and Twitter: The Ability of Individuals to Wreak Large-Scale Havoc

Lone wolves or small groups could use drones, virtual currencies, encrypted communications, and artificial intelligence for nefarious purposes. The threat is even greater when these technologies are used in conjunction with disinformation spread over social media.

Colin P. Clarke

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Why Children Need to Be Shielded from Marijuana Ads

By design, advertising is aimed at persuading us to want something. In the case of marijuana, that something is definitely not good for teenagers.

Elizabeth J. D'Amico

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Maintaining Europol Security Ties After Brexit

Europol is a highly effective organization that is essential to addressing transnational crime in today's interconnected world. Britain could make continuing membership in Europol one of its highest priorities during Brexit negotiations.

Antonia Ward

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The Quad: Second Verse, Same as the First?

Members of “the Quad”—an informal collaborative arrangement among the United States, Japan, India, and Australia—have proven incapable of adopting either a shared understanding of or unified policies toward China.

Ali Wyne

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From Florida's Farm Fields, Lessons for #MeToo and Other Movements

Organizers who want to bring about social change would do well to look to Florida farmworkers. They took on the low wages, physical abuse, and vulnerability that have long characterized agricultural labor in the United States—and won, changing the culture for the better.

Susan L. Marquis

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Millennials Worry Less About National Security Than Baby Boomers Do—for Now

Millennials are not as concerned as baby boomers are about national security. But these attitudes may be more about being young than being millennials.

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Why This Wasn't Kim's Father's—or Grandfather's—Summit

This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down a path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. The difference now is that Trump and Kim have committed themselves earlier on in the process and more publicly than their predecessors did.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

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Why Russia Should Not Rejoin the G7

Even were it to disgorge the parts of Ukraine that it seized in 2014, Russia still would not qualify for reentry into the G8. An aspirational case for Russian membership might be made, but only if Russia's leadership aspires to democratic government and an open free market economy. At the moment there is no sign of such an aspiration.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

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Consider The E-Tool

We generally trust the entrenchment tool. In a peacetime hike, we might only need a polycarbonate trowel, but in a future war, we might really need full-size picks and shovels. However ingeniously designed, two pounds of metal origami cannot replace a full-size pick and a shovel.

James T. Quinlivan

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Difficulties Integrating North Korean Defectors Suggest Challenges in Reunifying Korea

Despite expansive government aid, North Korean defectors in South Korea remain a nation within a nation, co-existent yet separate. If South Korea cannot fully adopt and assimilate 30,805 North Korea defectors, how will South Korea ever embrace roughly 25 million North Koreans in the event of reunification?

Sebastian Joon Bae

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Kim-Trump Summit Rife with Opportunity for U.S.

The growing costs of planning for Korean military contingencies place a burden on U.S. defense resources. If Tuesday's summit becomes a step toward eventual guarantees against aggression, the U.S. could remove a major Korean conflict from the top rungs of its defense planning roster, freeing resources for other worries.

Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr

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FEMA's Transformation

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's strategic plan shows several shifts in U.S. disaster relief policy. Redirecting longer-term recovery operations to state and local authorities would allow FEMA to concentrate its assets on the catastrophic disasters it is uniquely designed to handle.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein