The RAND Blog

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Four Steps That Could Stabilize the Health Insurance Market

Congress will soon discuss options to stabilize the individual market and ensure that all Americans have access to affordable coverage. Policymakers could encourage enrollment, make targeted investments to lower premiums, fund cost-sharing reductions, and enforce the individual mandate.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

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'Game of Thrones' Dragons, Nuclear Weapons, and Winning Whatever the Cost

HBO's hit series “Game of Thrones” may be fantasy, but it explores many challenges that are familiar to real-world leaders. The military use of dragons and the dilemma these beasts pose is one recent example.

Michael Shurkin

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What Afghanistan Needs to Move Forward: A Political Solution

Although the U.S. military's role in maintaining stability has been crucial, a real solution needs to consider Afghan politics first. The United States and the international community should push for parliamentary elections to build confidence between the government and the people.

S. Rebecca Zimmerman

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Gaming Policy in Cyberspace

Hacked devices and intellectual property theft are a rich hunting ground for policy development. The challenge posed by Internet-connect devices is only getting worse as the number of online devices continues to grow.

Michelle Price, Igor Mikolic-Torreira

q&a

The Post–Arab Spring Experience: Q&A with Shelly Culbertson

It's too early to say whether the Arab Spring will turn out to be a success or not. The Arab Spring was about people deciding what they did not want and rising up against it, but they hadn't worked out what they did want. Many of them still have hope.

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Trump's New Afghanistan Strategy: Governing from the Center?

The president has embraced a national security establishment strategy for Afghanistan with a veneer that does not alter its essence. The result is likely to disappoint some of his supporters and to be criticized by his opponents, but it will also secure a measure of bipartisan support.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

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How We Can Keep Iran from Becoming the Next North Korea

The United States brokered an agreement to constrain North Korea's nuclear program 25 years ago, but hard-liners abandoned it with vague intentions of coercing the North into something better. They never did, and now a runaway North Korean program poses real danger. This offers a powerful reason to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr

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Understanding North Korea

How should the United States respond to North Korea's provocative behavior? Even the best military options could be cataclysmically bad, but there are nonmilitary options to convince Kim Jong Un that the costs of his provocations outweigh any benefits.

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When the Car Is a Terror Weapon, Can We Prepare for Attacks?

Soft targets are notoriously difficult to protect from terrorism. Terrorists' latest shift to using vehicles to conduct attacks only compounds the problem.

Colin P. Clarke

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The Islamic State May Be Failing, but Its Strategic Communications Legacy Is Here to Stay

The Islamic State's caliphate is collapsing but its legacy will live on virtually because of its information operations. The scale of the menace presented by the group today pales in comparison to other global challenges, yet it manages to dominate and terrorize the public mind.

Colin P. Clarke, Charlie Winter

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What Emerging Research Says About the Promise of Personalized Learning

Personalized learning could lead to improved student outcomes. But those implementing this approach should temper their expectations for how big these benefits will be—and be patient while the benefits emerge. It's also important to consider the challenges of implementation.

John F. Pane @JohnFPane

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Another Casualty of Climate Change: Peace

The connection between human conflict and climate change is no mere coincidence. Drought, temperature and tensions rise in tandem, with the implicit threat of violent conflict not far behind.

Gulrez Shah Azhar

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Why the IPS Success Story Needs to Be Unpicked

The Individual Placement and Support model, which helps people with severe mental illness gain employment, has been a major statistical success. Why does it work and how it might be applied to other vulnerable populations?

Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman

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Assad's Attacks Should Not Be Repeated, Forgotten, or Excused

Despite signing the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty in October 2013, Assad has continued chemical attacks on the Syrian opposition. To counter Assad and others who might turn to the use of chemical weapons, the U.S. could collaborate with other major powers to bolster the international ban on them.

Ted Clark

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Dealing with Global Hot Spots in Times of Domestic Upheaval

The United States faces growing dangers of war in three parts of the globe: North Korea, Syria, and the South China Sea. How will it manage any—let alone all—of them, especially with political turmoil at the highest levels at home?

David C. Gompert