The RAND Blog

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America's Overwhelmed Immigration System

The Trump administration's options to deal with the surge of asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border appear to be limited. What policies could help address the problem?

Blas Nunez-Neto

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Navigating Cannabis Legalization 2.0

As the next round of states debate marijuana legalization, they would do well to contemplate allowing state governments to control the wholesale prices and linking the price of cannabis to its potency.

Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer, Mark A. R. Kleiman

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Europe's Five Strategies for Coping with Migration Pressure

Migration will likely continue to be a long-term challenge for European politics, institutions, governments, and values. Even with a drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage migration, the European Union still has important tasks ahead of it.

Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Charles P. Ries @charles_ries

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Evidence Synthesis—Behind the Scenes

The Royal Society and RAND Europe recently published an evidence synthesis on the impacts of ammonia emissions from agriculture on biodiversity. As well as aiming to provide a useful summary of the evidence to inform ongoing policy discussions, the study was intended to test the Royal Society's recently developed principles for good evidence synthesis for policy.

Sarah Giles, Susan Guthrie, et al.

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Military Spouses, Exercise Incentives, Libraries: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on a scholarship program for military spouses, a wellness program that uses the Apple Watch, how libraries can improve public health, and more.

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Overlapping Environmental Disasters Put a Strain on Gulf Communities

For Gulf Coast residents, dealing with the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is challenging enough. With the Taylor Energy spill, they may face an even more daunting recovery, one that could take decades. Acknowledging the extent and complexity of recovery is the first step toward supporting coastal communities to build their resilience in the face of overlapping disasters.

Melissa L. Finucane

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What Role Should Schools Play in Teaching Pupils to Spot Fake News?

Since social media is not regulated in the same way as traditional news media, anyone can convey information with little fact-checking. So how do we help children develop critical literacy skills to enable them to interpret the media correctly?

Asha Carpenter

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Suppressing Motivation, Legitimacy Can Help Avoid Political Violence

The threat of political violence is real and growing, but there are concrete things that can be done to reduce the risks. Solutions might include repeated statements from leaders that fear of people because of their ethnicity, religion, party, or social grouping is wrong and that violence against them is illegitimate and against American values.

John S. Hollywood @JohnS_Hollywood

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China's Military Has No Combat Experience: Does It Matter?

China's military has an impressive high-tech arsenal, but its ability to use these weapons and equipment remains unclear. The one asset that the People's Liberation Army lacks is combat experience. But there is no consensus—either within Chinese military circles or among foreign analysts—on how much that matters.

Timothy R. Heath

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Congress Can Save Arms Control

The Trump administration is seeking agreements with North Korea and Iran to eliminate their nuclear arms potential. Success may hinge on cooperation between the White House and Congress.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Greg Thielmann

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Why North Korea Sanctions Relief Is Inappropriate at This Time

In early 2018, Kim Jong Un signaled that he was ready to negotiate abandoning North Korea's nuclear weapons with the United States. But since then, Pyongyang hasn't taken steps to denuclearize. The DPRK's actions speak louder than its words.

Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett

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How America Can Test North Korea's True Intentions

While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested he may be prepared to abandon his nuclear ambitions, there has been no proof that he is serious. The United States could take steps to discover Kim's true intentions.

Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett

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And, By the Way, They Were All Women: RAND Hosts Forum on 21st-Century Warfare Honoring Roberta Wohlstetter

National security experts, flag officers, and decisionmakers attended the Roberta Wohlstetter Forum on National Security at RAND's Washington office on October 24. The featured speakers, moderators, organizers, donor, and namesake for the event were all women.

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Saudi Arabia, Border Troops, China's Military: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how to deter aggression abroad, examining the need for U.S. troops at the border, China's aerospace capabilities, and more.

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Measuring Progress Toward a Culture of Health... at the Library

Libraries can provide much more than books and internet access. Libraries across the United States are evolving to play a bigger role in community health. Many offer nutrition programs, mental health support, and even free bike-shares.

Carolyn Miller, Anita Chandra