2016

Security Cooperation
commentary
Emergencies: France, Mali, and Turkey Are Playing with Fire
Michael Shurkin
Aug 15, 2016
Breaking Defense
The leaders of France, Mali, and Turkey have declared formal states of emergency. France's Hollande and Mali's Keïta, while responding to real threats, are risking democracy. Erdogan appears to be targeting democracy and using Turkey's recent failed coup as a pretext.
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Global Security
commentary
Don't Weaken the U.S.-Japan Alliance, Strengthen It
Scott W. Harold
Aug 14, 2016
The National Interest
As long as the United States and Japan stick together, they should have the strength to deter or, if necessary, defeat the threats they face. But if Washington abandons its alliance commitments, the risk of war will rise and America will be less safe.
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Critical Infrastructure Protection
commentary
Infrastructure Design Must Change with Climate
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
Aug 12, 2016
Orange County Register
Until recently, infrastructure engineers could use data on past weather to predict future climate. But this is no longer an option. More and more, engineers must consider the effects of climate change. Failure to do so would threaten public safety.
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Wargaming
q&a
Gaming and Public Policy: Q&A with David Shlapak
Aug 11, 2016
David Shlapak discusses how using games in research can help improve decisionmaking across a wide range of areas, including national security, health care, and climate change.
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Operational Readiness
commentary
How Defense Choices Affect Military Readiness
Chad C. Serena, Colin P. Clarke
Aug 10, 2016
Defense News
Because the U.S. cannot afford to prioritize and defend against every possible threat, it must accept risk with each decision. And the more adaptive the adversary, the more likely it will confound readiness investments made previously to confront it.
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International Economic Relations
commentary
Do Economic Ties Limit the Prospect of Conflict?
Scott W. Harold
Aug 9, 2016
The Cipher Brief
China has grown stronger economically and militarily over the past 35 years and has become more assertive. Its trade and investment links with Japan are substantial but they have been declining, and are less of a constraint on conflict than before.
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Terrorist Organizations
commentary
What's in a Name? The Rebranding of the Nusra Front
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Aug 8, 2016
The Hill
Jabhat al-Nusra, which recently announced that it was severing its affiliation with al Qaeda, is now Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. This means less than meets the eye, but it does say something about the local atmosphere in Syria.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
Domestic Warning Signs of Mass Shootings
Radha Iyengar Plumb
Aug 6, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
After shootings, there is inevitably public debate over gun safety, constitutional rights, police tactics, terrorism, race, and politics. But these discussions rarely focus on a common factor among the perpetrators: a history of violence against women.
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Brazil
commentary
Health and Safety at the Rio Olympics: It's Not Just About Zika
Melinda Moore
Aug 5, 2016
The Mark News
The risk of contracting Zika in Rio de Janeiro is low. But there is a broader range of health and safety concerns for which travelers can and should take specific precautions.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Sustaining Britain's Role in NATO After Brexit
F. Stephen Larrabee, Peter A. Wilson
Aug 4, 2016
The National Interest
In this period of geostrategic uncertainty about the future of the UK during its divorce from the EU, the U.S. should provide robust diplomatic and political support to ensure that Britain remains a major military power within the Atlantic Alliance.
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Threat Assessment
q&a
Q&A: An Unthinkable War Between the U.S. and China
Aug 4, 2016
David Gompert, lead author of a RAND report that explores an unthinkable U.S.-China war answers questions about what the study does — and does not — say about the potential for such a war and its possible outcome.
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Family Planning
commentary
The Economic Rationale for Investing in Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa
Peter Glick, Sebastian Linnemayr
Aug 3, 2016
The World Bank Investing in Health Blog
Proven benefits to reduced fertility — or to delayed start to childbearing and greater spacing between births — include lower maternal mortality, fewer unsafe abortions, reduced risks from early childbearing, and women's ability to engage in more income-generating opportunities.
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Infrastructure Finance
commentary
The Olympic Legacy — What Can Rio Learn?
Richard Warnes
Aug 3, 2016
StratScope
Rio will spend $14.4 billion on the Olympics. Like other host cities, it hopes to achieve an “Olympic legacy” to ensure that this investment pays dividends after the games and provides long-term economic, social, sporting, and cultural benefits.
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United States
blog
A Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 2, 2016
To help Hill staffers make the most of the Congressional recess, RAND has developed a list of must-read research and commentaries that will help ensure policymakers will return ready to hit the ground running.
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China
commentary
China Signals Resolve with Bomber Flights Over the South China Sea
Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Cristina L. Garafola @CLGarafola, Astrid Stuth Cevallos, Arthur Chan
Aug 2, 2016
War on the Rocks
Since the PCA tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines' case on July 12, invalidating many of China's claims in the South China Sea, Beijing has sought to demonstrate its military strength in the region. The PLAAF's H-6K has played a key role.
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