The RAND Blog

Georgia (country)
commentary
Georgia: From COVID-19 to a Critical Test of Democracy
Kenneth Yalowitz, John Tefft, William Courtney @courtneywmh
Sep 23, 2020
The National Interest
Georgia has successfully dealt with the COVID-19 outbreak but now must meet the task of conducting free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections on October 31 and dealing with the economic impacts of the pandemic.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
The American Jihad Was a Failure. For Those Who Joined, It Was a Path to Destruction
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 23, 2020
The Hill
To keep the jihad going after 9/11, al Qaeda exhorted homegrown terrorists to take up arms in the United States. ISIS later made similar appeals. These calls to arms yielded some plots and a few attacks, but overall, the American jihad was a failure.
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Middle East
commentary
In the Middle East, Russia and China Expand Their Influence
Ali Wyne, Colin P. Clarke
Sep 18, 2020
Lawfare
While the United States is concerned primarily about a resurgent China's inroads in the Middle East, it is also nervous about the gambits of a revanchist Russia. As the United States decides when and how to contest China and Russia—in and beyond the Middle East—it will have to resist alarmism as vigorously as complacency.
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Wildfires
blog
Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 18, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.
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Homeless Populations
commentary
Access to Mobile Technology Could Help to Alleviate LA's Homelessness Crisis
Sarah B. Hunter, Rajeev Ramchand, Benjamin Henwood
Sep 16, 2020
The RAND Blog
The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness have cell phones, which often serve as their lifelines. Providing technological supports, such as Wi-Fi access and opportunities to charge devices, could result in better access to social services and, ultimately, better quality of life and outcomes.
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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
commentary
PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Are a Vicious Cycle for Veterans
Michael Richardson, Roger Brooks, Eric R. Pedersen @ericrpedersen, Terri Tanielian @TerriTanielian
Sep 15, 2020
Military.com
It is not uncommon to see a co-occurrence of PTSD and heavy use of substances, which can rise to the level of a substance use disorder. It may be necessary to challenge how the needs of veterans are addressed to remove barriers to care that make treating these co-occurring disorders simultaneously so difficult.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
The Lost Generation in American Foreign Policy
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins, Gabrielle Tarini @gabbytarini
Sep 15, 2020
The Hill
Throughout the 55 years following World War II, successive U.S. administrations racked up major foreign policy successes at an average rate of about once a year. Since 2001, the pace of foreign policy achievement has fallen to once every four years. The result has been a lost generation in American foreign policy.
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Afghanistan
commentary
The Islamic State in Afghanistan Is Down, but Not Out
Abdul Sayed, Colin P. Clarke
Sep 14, 2020
Newsweek
The Afghan Taliban is on the verge of entering into a power-sharing agreement with the Afghan government in a peace deal facilitated by the United States. Washington seems to be holding out hope that the deal will stabilize the country. But the Islamic State Khorasan Province remains a concern. The Islamic State in Afghanistan may be down, but it's not out.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
America's Indo-Pacific Vision Is Becoming a Reality—Because of China
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Sep 14, 2020
Nikkei Asian Review
The Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy has received a significant boost in recent months toward achieving its goal of keeping the region “free and open” from Chinese coercion. Ironically, China itself has been doing the boosting.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Are Counter Violent Extremism Interventions Effective?
Todd C. Helmus @Helmus, Elizabeth Bodine-Baron @bodinebaron
Sep 11, 2020
The RAND Blog
Government efforts to counter the propaganda and radicalization that lead to violent extremism are becoming more common around the world, but there's little research on whether such programs work. It is critical to conduct more research to tease out which programs are most effective.
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Japan
commentary
What Abe Leaves Behind
Jeffrey W. Hornung
Sep 11, 2020
Defense One
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unexpected resignation leaves several of his policy priorities unfinished, including revising Japan's constitution and finalizing a peace treaty with Russia. But the security issues facing Japan and the region remain unchanged, and Abe's successor may be forced to confront several of them on his very first day.
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Al Qaida
commentary
Is Ayman al-Zawahiri Really the Future of Al-Qaida?
Colin P. Clarke, Asfandyar Mir
Sep 11, 2020
Foreign Policy
Nineteen years after 9/11, al Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has yet to achieve the household notoriety evoked by his immediate predecessor, Osama bin Laden. But even though Zawahiri has conjured less of a personality cult, al Qaida's current leader is just as dangerous to the United States as its old one.
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Globalization
blog
America's Declining Global Influence, COVID-19 and Schools, Pardoning Snowden: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 11, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on America's declining status on the world stage, why schools need long-term plans to address COVID-19, what Shinzo Abe's resignation means for the U.S.-Japan alliance, and more.
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Al Qaida
commentary
Is al Qaida Still a Threat?
Asfandyar Mir, Colin P. Clarke
Sep 9, 2020
Foreign Affairs
Nineteen years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, does al Qaida still pose a significant threat to U.S. national security? Among researchers, military and intelligence officials, and policymakers who study the group, there is little consensus. An accurate assessment of al Qaida's organizational health must take into account the group's recent and dramatic resurrection.
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Workers' Compensation
commentary
Can Workers' Compensation Help Businesses Reopen More Safely?
Michael Dworsky, Bethany Saunders-Medina
Sep 9, 2020
The RAND Blog
Workers' compensation typically does not cover common infectious diseases like COVID-19. But in the fight against the pandemic, state policymakers might take a fresh look at aspects of labor and business regulation that usually fade into the background and ask if modest changes hold any potential to reduce disease transmission.
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Japan
commentary
Abe's Resignation Could Leave Japan Less Secure—and Destabilize Its U.S. Alliance
Zack Cooper, Jeffrey W. Hornung
Sep 8, 2020
Los Angeles Times
Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's leadership, Japan tightened its alliance with the United States and took on a more proactive role in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. His resignation, announced last month for health reasons, could very well leave Japan less secure and the U.S.-Japan alliance unstable.
Read More »

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…

Quoted

The failure of the jihadists can be judged a victory—albeit a costly one—over an organized effort to instigate violence in the United States. The country, however, has not exhausted its inventory of disaffected young men (and women) who may, in the future, embrace jihadism or other extremist ideologies on offer to convey their discontent.

Brian Michael Jenkins

Senior Adviser to the RAND President

Source: The Hill

Beijing's rising assertiveness against Hong Kong, Taiwan, and counter claimants in the East and South China Seas, and now even against India along the Himalayas, has resulted in unprecedented agreement across the Indo-Pacific and beyond that China's muscular approach is an unwelcome development in the region.

Derek Grossman

Senior Defense Analyst

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

The Digital Divide and COVID-19

The Role of Allies and Partners in U.S. Military Strategy and Operations

Georgia: From COVID-19 to a Critical Test of Democracy

The American Jihad Was a Failure. For Those Who Joined, It Was a Path to Destruction

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Visits RAND

The Policy Currents Podcast

Measuring Wellbeing to Help Communities Thrive

Managing Escalation in Crisis and War

Planning for the Rising Costs of Dementia

Assessing and Articulating the Wider Benefits of Research

The RAND Blog

Georgia: From COVID-19 to a Critical Test of Democracy

The American Jihad Was a Failure. For Those Who Joined, It Was a Path to Destruction

In the Middle East, Russia and China Expand Their Influence

Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap

Access to Mobile Technology Could Help to Alleviate LA's Homelessness Crisis

PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Are a Vicious Cycle for Veterans

The Lost Generation in American Foreign Policy

The Islamic State in Afghanistan Is Down, but Not Out

America's Indo-Pacific Vision Is Becoming a Reality—Because of China

Are Counter Violent Extremism Interventions Effective?

What Abe Leaves Behind

Is Ayman al-Zawahiri Really the Future of Al-Qaida?

America's Declining Global Influence, COVID-19 and Schools, Pardoning Snowden: RAND Weekly Recap

Is al Qaida Still a Threat?

Can Workers' Compensation Help Businesses Reopen More Safely?

Abe's Resignation Could Leave Japan Less Secure—and Destabilize Its U.S. Alliance

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