International Humanitarian Assistance

Economic Development
commentary
Why We 'Send Them Money'
Raphael S. Cohen
Dec 30, 2020
The Hill
Why does the United States send foreign countries American taxpayer money? The answer, in short, is because it serves U.S. self-interest to do so. Aid is not some act of charity at the American taxpayers' expense; it can help keep Americans safer, more prosperous, and secure.
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Political Reform Movements
commentary
COVID-19 Crisis Could Spur Post-Soviet Fixes
Denis Corboy, William Courtney @courtneywmh, Kenneth Yalowitz
May 8, 2020
The Moscow Times
Much of the post-Soviet space remains afflicted with authoritarian rule, inefficient economies, corruption, and regional tensions. The COVID-19 crisis could prod countries to address key issues, but they will need help. Targeted Western aid could help willing countries make progress.
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Displaced Persons
essay
The Right Technology Can Help Refugees Stay Connected
Mar 11, 2020
Nearly 71 million people globally are displaced by conflict and persecution. There have been some real advances in technology to help them, but innovations have often been fragmented, without a larger vision. A more strategic approach to technology could better serve their needs.
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Gaza Strip
commentary
Five Thoughts on Jerusalem, Gaza, and What's in Between
Shira Efron
May 15, 2018
The Hill
Dozens of people have been killed and over 2,000 injured in protests in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. Continued clashes are expected until the fundamental problems of the strip are solved, including the governance vacuum, the Palestinian Authority-Hamas rift, and the conflict with Israel.
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Gaza Strip
commentary
Gaza on the Brink
Shira Efron
Mar 9, 2018
U.S. News & World Report
The combined risk of violence and pandemic in Gaza makes this small coastal enclave a ticking time bomb. While neither Israel nor the U.S. has the solutions to all of Gaza's water and health woes, the United States' decision to withhold funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency could only make things worse.
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Refugees
commentary
We Are Almost Dead: The Politics of Migrants and Refugees in an Unequal World
Jonathan S. Blake
Feb 23, 2018
Los Angeles Review of Books
People move, and always have moved, in search of better lives for themselves and their children. Why else would someone leave everything behind and brave the seas? What else is worth the risk? Jonathan Blake discusses books that examine people's need for refuge.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
If We Don't Get the Peace Right, Iraq Will Slide Back into the Morass
Linda Robinson @RobinsonL100, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Feb 12, 2018
Newsweek
Actions taken now by the United States, the Iraqi government, and private parties could determine the war-torn country's future. The message the Sunnis receive in these next six months will determine whether Iraq is on the path to stability.
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Refugees
commentary
How Innovation Can Assist the Refugee 'Pathway'
Jennie Corbett, Corinna Frey, Sonja Marjanovic @SonjaCambs
Jun 27, 2017
The RAND Blog
New ways to collaborate and coordinate humanitarian actions are needed so that refugees, host communities, and other stakeholders are empowered to create and spread innovative solutions. These efforts should consider the entire refugee pathway, not only emergency and arrival assistance.
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Iraq
commentary
Stabilizing Mosul After the Battle Against ISIS
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Linda Robinson @RobinsonL100
Feb 9, 2017
Newsweek
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have retaken the east bank of Mosul and are planning to take the west soon. The military operations that oust ISIS are crucial to the city's liberation but failing to get the civilian response right risks a widening civil war.
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Terrorism Financing
commentary
Cutting the Islamic State's Money Supply
Eric Robinson @RobinsonEricD
Jul 21, 2016
The National Interest
Airstrikes have hit ISIL tanker trucks, oil fields, refineries, and banks, but it would be a mistake to view the group as a poor man's version of its old self. New steps are needed to counter its multi-million dollar taxation and extortion machine.
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Refugees
commentary
A Different Kind of Refugee Crisis
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
May 16, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
In Jordan and Lebanon, middle-income countries with robust public sectors where a significant Syrian population may be present for years to come, solutions should be more about supporting the expansion of existing national public services, rather than creating new, internationally run parallel services.
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Data Science
commentary
Tracking Refugees with Biometrics: More Questions Than Answers
Sarah Soliman @BiometricsNerd
Mar 9, 2016
War on the Rocks
Using biometrics in refugee crises is compelling because it gives individuals who have nothing proof of identity even without a government-issued credential like an ID card or passport. But who has rights to the U.N. biometrics database and what is its future?
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International Humanitarian Assistance
commentary
A New Approach to Managing Aid Agencies
Tom Ling
Dec 18, 2015
The RAND Blog
The current approach to managing aid agencies is confused due to two opposing forces: a results-based approach to management and an emphasis on the need to achieve systemic changes and transform underlying constraints.
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Refugees
commentary
Will Today's Refugees Become the 'New Palestinians'?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Oct 9, 2015
The Hill
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have generated the greatest volume of refugees since World War II. If the international community is to avoid seeing the emergence of a population of new Palestinians lasting decades into the future, it will have to craft a more coherent approach.
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Refugees
q&a
Syrian Refugees: All You Need to Know
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Sep 17, 2015
Newsweek
The world can only absorb so many millions of refugees. The civil war in Syria demands a political solution facilitated by international leadership that will bring stability and enable refugees to return to home.
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Maternal Health
commentary
Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jul 1, 2015
The RAND Blog
Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.
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Egypt
commentary
Seduced by a Strongman?
Jeffrey Martini
Apr 30, 2015
Foreign Affairs
It is not true that domestic politics can be quarantined from foreign policy. In fact, Egypt's domestic and foreign policies are becoming more entangled by the day. And that bleed-over should raise concerns.
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Refugees
commentary
Syrian Refugees: A Blessing in Disguise?
Dalia Dassa Kaye
Feb 2, 2015
The National Interest
To avoid further resentment and restrictions on Syrians desperate to escape their war-torn country, as well as the instability such attitudes generate, the international community must work with host governments to increase and highlight the benefits refugee populations can bring to neighboring states.
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blog
State of the Union 2014: President Obama Calls for a Year of Action
Jan 29, 2014
Obama called for “a year of action” to achieve his 2014 agenda — from helping people sign up for health insurance, to immigration reform, to completing the mission in Afghanistan. RAND is committed to raising the level of public policy debates and offering evidence-based, actionable solutions.
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International Humanitarian Assistance
commentary
How Philippines Typhoon Aid Helps USA
Jonah Blank
Nov 12, 2013
USA Today
In the wake of Haiyan there is no substitute for the capabilities of the U.S. military. At the level of national interest, however, does the case for tasking the U.S. military to international natural disasters hold up — particularly in a time when the Pentagon has seen its budget slashed?
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Disaster Recovery Operations
commentary
Responding in Typhoon Haiyan's Wake
Jennifer D. P. Moroney @jdpmoroney, Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard
Nov 12, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
Prior responses to other recent disasters offer important lessons. Improved preparedness and efficient coordination mechanisms can help ensure that, when time is of the essence, the United States provides the most effective response.
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North Korea
blog
North Korea's Coming Collapse
Sep 20, 2013
he North Korean government could collapse at any time, setting off a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions, according to Bruce Bennett
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North Korea
commentary
North Korea's Third Nuclear Test: A Sign of Weakness, Not Strength
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Feb 15, 2013
The RAND Blog
The ROK and the United States should take actions to deter subsequent North Korean provocations while punishing the country for its nuclear weapon test. Such actions could convince it that the ROK/U.S. are serious and able to impose high costs, writes Bruce Bennett.
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China
commentary
The Paradoxes of China
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Nov 2, 2012
The Weekly Standard
China is rife with paradoxes...of class, foreign aid, military spending, and corruption. Whether and how they are resolved will seriously affect the evolution of policies within China, as well as its future relations with the United States, writes Charles Wolf, Jr.
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Global Security
blog
The Case for Expanding Assistance to the Syrian Opposition
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Aug 1, 2012
What is important for the U.S. government to do at this stage is forge relationships with those likely to next govern Syria. The United States should up its assistance to the rebels, providing military assets needed for success that only the United States possesses in adequate number.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Tokyo's Transformation
Eric Heginbotham, Ely Ratner, Richard J. Samuels
Aug 25, 2011
Foreign Affairs, Sept/Oct 2011
The U.S. response to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami showcased its lasting commitment to Japan, as well as the unique logistical and material capabilities that the U.S. military forces stationed in the Pacific can provide, write Eric Heginbotham, Ely Ratner, and Richard J. Samuels.
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International Humanitarian Assistance
commentary
Skip the Graft
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jan 17, 2010
New York Times
The latest disaster to befall Haiti creates the opportunity to combine bipartisan accord on Haiti in Washington with keen and perhaps sustained American public interest, writes James Dobbins.
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Iraq
commentary
Make Room for Refugees
Olga Oliker
Dec 16, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Today, tens of thousands of Iraqis are in grave danger, targeted because they have worked with the United States. Many have been murdered. Others have fled their homes because of attacks or threats… Many want to come to America, and we should welcome them, writes Olga Oliker.
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Middle East
commentary
Spending Aid to Palestinians Wisely
David Aaron, C. Ross Anthony
Aug 16, 2007
International Herald Tribune
Spending Aid to Palestinians Wisely in the International Herald Tribune
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Middle East
commentary
Blair's Project for a New Palestine
Robert E. Hunter
Jul 7, 2007
Project Syndicate
Blair's Project for a New Palestine, in Project Syndicate--an associationthat distributes commentaries to 291 newspapers in 115 countries.
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commentary
How to Deal with Hamas
David Aaron
Mar 15, 2006
United Press International
Published commentary by RAND staff: How to Deal with Hamas, in United Press International.
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commentary
Buy Security Through Aid
Gregory F. Treverton, Robert Klitgaard
May 21, 2005
United Press International
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Strengthening the Partnership
Cheryl Benard
Feb 22, 2005
In Touch
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
'Oil for Food' Worked
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Dec 10, 2004
Washington Post
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Safety First
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Sep 22, 2004
New York Times
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Afghanistan Without Doctors
Cheryl Benard
Aug 12, 2004
Wall Street Journal
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Afghanistan's Faltering Reconstruction
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Sep 12, 2002
New York Times
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Want to Help Africa? Stop Farm Subsidies
Carl Bildt
Jun 18, 2002
Wall Street Journal
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
To Intervene or Not to Intervene
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Nov 5, 2000
Los Angeles Times
When U.S. policymakers contemplate intervention abroad, they should do so with abundant humility, if not timidity, because of the profoundly uncertain connections between the blunt instruments they can use and the complex ends they seek.
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