Military Affairs

commentary

How Can Platforms Deal with Toxic Content? Look to Wall Street

The Supreme Court recently opted to keep in place a law that shields tech platforms from liability for hosting toxic content. Congress can and should regulate the industry. And there's already a regulatory framework for doing so that accounts for freedom of speech concerns.

James V. Marrone

commentary

Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success

Recently, the United States reversed its longstanding opposition to sending Ukraine F-16 advanced aircraft to aid its fight against Russia. The policy reversal is a smart call. Once the aircraft are delivered and training is complete the jets will help Ukraine defend its territory more efficiently, and might even help end the war.

Alexander Noyes @alexhnoyes, Richard Bennet

blog

Immigration Policy, the Black-White Wealth Gap, ChatGPT: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing U.S. immigration policy, what it would take to close America's Black-white wealth gap, risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence, more.

commentary

F-16s Will Bolster Ukraine's Fighting Force

F-16s going to Ukraine could help it defend against Russian aerial assaults. But their greatest value may be to augment future Ukrainian counteroffensives aimed at retaking occupied land. This will require training and exercising, but Ukrainian forces are fully capable of mastering it.

John Hoehn, William Courtney @courtneywmh

commentary

Navigating Complex Maritime Security Challenges in the Black and Mediterranean Seas: Insights from the Updated EUMSS

The European Union understands the rising geopolitical challenges that will affect security in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, both from non-state actors and as a result of state-based competition and conflict. Cooperation with non-EU countries will be critical in promoting maritime security in the region.

Hunter Stoll

commentary

Putin Is Following Brezhnev to a Dead End

Four decades ago, Leonid Brezhnev led the USSR into what many Soviets called the “era of stagnation.” Vladimir Putin is taking Russia down a similar path. The USSR tried to recover by turning to reform-minded leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, but too late. The USSR collapsed. Could Russia?

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Mark Stalczynski

commentary

What Washington Gets Wrong About Deterrence

The war in Ukraine has depleted American military stockpiles in the short term. But such a shortfall may not necessarily affect U.S. deterrence.

Raphael S. Cohen

commentary

The United States Needs a Moonshot to Prevent Extremism from Metastasizing

Extremism is like cancer: It will always exist, but ignoring it runs the risk that it rears its ugly head, metastasizing throughout the country. The United States needs to ensure it has the proper tools to diagnose extremism in its earliest stages, and that the agencies tasked with protecting our democracy have the capability to get it into, and keep it in, remission.

Marek N. Posard @mnposard, K. Jack Riley

blog

Reflecting on the Pandemic, RAND Turns 75, Labor Trafficking: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, 75 years of influential RAND research, reducing labor trafficking in the United States, and more.

commentary

Waiting to Impale: Defending Taiwan with Artificial Reefs

Deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is arguably the most important defense problem of the next few decades. Artificial reefs could help to deter China simply by waiting to impale any potential invasion force.

Scott Savitz

q&a

Alternative Futures Following a Great Power War: Miranda Priebe and Bryan Frederick in Conversation

Though not a great power war, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused many to wonder what a true great power war in Europe or the Indo-Pacific would look like, and especially what kind of world would emerge afterwards. Two RAND researchers discuss how their recent report sheds light on this issue.

blog

RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research

From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.

commentary

What the Drone Strikes on the Kremlin Reveal About the War in Ukraine

False flag, special op, or fizzled attack—it may not be possible to get to the bottom of who launched drones at the Kremlin and why any time soon. But the incident and reactions it has elicited from the war's major players reveal just how important weaponized, long-range drones have become in this conflict.

Brynn Tannehill

commentary

Why Does Ukraine Want Western Jets?

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has requested Western fighter jets. Why does it want them? Of what use could they be? And what are some of their limitations?

John Hoehn, William Courtney @courtneywmh

commentary

Coast Guard Leans Forward in New UxS Strategy but Faces Significant Challenges

The rise of unmanned systems creates a challenging landscape for the U.S. Coast Guard as it endeavors to conduct its diverse missions in the future. To address emerging technologies and prepare for forthcoming threats, the service recently released a strategic plan.

Eric Cooper, Scott Savitz