The RAND Blog

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Poland and Ukraine: Defending Europe's Future

In the Cold War, West Germany, with robust NATO support, stood guard at the center of the Iron Curtain. Looking ahead, Poland and Ukraine along with NATO will defend Europe's center at the front line. Insights from the West German experience might help them.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Peter A. Wilson

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UFO Research Is Only Harmed by Antigovernment Rhetoric

There is an undercurrent of conspiracy theory and, relatedly, antigovernment sentiment brewing around the issue of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). If it grows, it could prove toxic to any factual and scientific discussion of UAPs.

Marek N. Posard @mnposard, Caitlin McCulloch

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Escalation in Ukraine, a Trilateral Imperialist Threat, Disaster Recovery: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the risk of escalation in Ukraine, the threat of a North-Korea-Russia-China partnership, the economics of disaster recovery, and more.

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Cyber Attacks Reveal Uncomfortable Truths About U.S. Defenses

Without government investments and policies to drive transparency and a clear understanding of what cybersecurity tools do, how well they work, and how securely they are built, the United States risks continuing to offer its adversaries the means to undermine its systems and, ultimately, its security.

Chad Heitzenrater

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Taking the Measure of AI and National Security

Transformative technologies should not be abandoned due to their risks. Instead, we should focus on understanding the threats, implementing necessary countermeasures, and utilizing the tools in a safer and more secure manner.

Christopher A. Mouton, Caleb Lucas

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Disaster Recovery Creates Its Own Bubble

Shortages of workers and materials inevitably make rebuilding slower and more expensive after a natural disaster. In Maui, this is likely to be a problem for agencies like FEMA that provide public assistance. But it will also be a problem for individual households if private insurance payouts are insufficient to rebuild.

Aaron Strong @resourceecon

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Why Improve Ukraine's Deep-Strike Capability?

Coordinated deep-strike capabilities—air-launched and ground-launched—will be most effective in degrading Russian forces and operations. Using air and ground launchers would force Russian commanders to devote substantial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to attempt to find these systems.

John Hoehn, Hunter Stoll, et al.

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Looking Beyond the War: Planning for Ukraine's Reconstruction

More certain than the outcome of the war is the need for an extensive post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It is likely to be the largest post-war rebuilding effort since the one in Europe after World War Two. The United States and its allies and partners have an intense interest in the success of reconstruction.

Charles P. Ries @charles_ries, Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz

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Progress or Peril? The Brave New World of Self-Driving Science Labs

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) promise to reshape our very understanding of research. But, as with all groundbreaking innovations, SDLs bring their own set of intriguing questions and potential challenges.

Joshua Steier, Rushil Bakhshi

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With ASEAN Paralyzed, Southeast Asia Seeks New Security Ties

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations tirelessly proclaims its centrality to the region, but its inability to develop a coherent response to Chinese aggression or the crisis in Myanmar has effectively killed that claim. ASEAN members will inevitably continue to seek out alternative paths.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

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The Strawman Defense Is Torching Taiwan's Military

There are many reasons why the political future of Taiwan Strait relations is uncertain, but the military considerations for Taiwan are much more straightforward. Taiwan should invest in capabilities that are highly survivable and potent against a potential attack from mainland China.

Michael J. Lostumbo

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Teacher Pay, the Costs of Insomnia, Wildfire Prevention: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on teachers' dissatisfaction with their pay and work hours, the staggering costs of insomnia, connections between wildfires and food insecurity., and more.

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It's Time to Take Societal Resilience Seriously

To build the societal resilience required to respond effectively to everything from climate-related emergencies to pandemics, to intentional state-on-state attacks, and disinformation, a joint approach is needed, not only across government, but across wider society.

Rebecca Lucas

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Separate U.S. Alliances in East Asia Are Obsolete

Washington manages its alliances with Tokyo and Seoul separately. But growing South Korean and Japanese military capabilities make a conversation about more integration unavoidable.

Christopher B. Johnstone, Jeffrey W. Hornung

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When a Quantum Computer Is Able to Break Our Encryption, It Won't Be a Secret

Policymakers and cybersecurity analysts should avoid messaging that emphasizes the risk that CRQCs developed in secret could be imminent or already operational. There is already more than enough reason to upgrade our communications systems to resist attacks from quantum computers as soon as possible.

Edward Parker