2016

commentary

Where Next for the Digital Society?

Digital technologies are omnipresent, both in terms of where we are and what we do. A digital society can bring about economic and societal gain, but there are many challenges that need to be addressed beyond the actual technologies.

Hans Pung, Catriona Manville

commentary

How Can Europe Encourage Fathers to Take Parental Leave?

Whether fathers take parental leave depends on economic factors, but flexibility of timing and workplace culture also seem to make a difference. The link between fathers taking parental leave and improvements in child development makes it an important area for European policymakers to consider.

Janna van Belle

commentary

Transatlantic Relations After Obama

The Obama era will be remembered as the time when America's leadership role in Europe began to shift. Europeans got more freedom of action, but could no longer outsource their foreign and military responsibilities to Washington. Whether Clinton or Trump is elected president, Europe will have to do more.

Christopher S. Chivvis, Jana Puglierin

commentary

Why Re-Establishing Border Controls in Europe Could Come at a High Cost

Reversing the Schengen agreement would come at a high economic cost, while undoing many of the positive social and political developments of the past decade.

Marco Hafner, Jirka Taylor

essay

The Hot Spots of the World

Scarcity of food, energy, and water endangers the lives of millions. So RAND created a tool with the potential to help make aid initiatives more effective.

commentary

Will the Breakdown in U.S.-Russia Cooperation Reach the Arctic?

Over the last few decades, the U.S. and Russia have often found common ground on Arctic affairs, at least in such areas as search and rescue and environmental integrity. The Arctic has the potential to remain resistant to tensions building elsewhere.

Abbie Tingstad, Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, et al.

commentary

Fighting the Islamic State on Social Media

Countering ISIL in the real world also requires countering its messaging online. It is critical that the U.S. and its international partners work with influential communities in the region that can more effectively and credibly counter the ISIL narrative.

Elizabeth Bodine-Baron @bodinebaron

commentary

Police Body-Worn Cameras: More to It Than What You See

Billions of dollars are spent worldwide on the rollout of police body cameras. There is an urgent need to understand whether the cameras help police and the public, and under what conditions they work best.

Alex Sutherland

commentary

Pitfalls of Predictive Policing

The Chicago Police Department's predictive policing program didn't work. To achieve even a 5 percent drop in the city's homicide rate, enormous leaps in both prediction and intervention effectiveness are necessary.

Jessica Saunders

commentary

Digital Theft: The New Normal

Absolute data breach prevention is not possible, so knowing what people want when it happens is important. Consumers and corporations alike should accept this risk as a “when,” not an “if,” and prepare for it.

Lillian Ablon, Kathryn Kuznitsky

commentary

Could the Kashmir Standoff Trigger Nuclear War?

Militants trained in Pakistan have been raiding the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for over a quarter of a century, but the recent attack was the deadliest in years. A short-term return to peace remains uncertain and the longer term is even harder to predict.

Rafiq Dossani, Jonah Blank

commentary

Protect Nuclear Nonproliferation Norms

Strong and viable global nuclear nonproliferation norms should remain a cornerstone of U.S. security now and into the future. Friends and allies must continue to have confidence in the U.S. strategic nuclear guarantees.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein

essay

Election 2016: The International Issues

America's next president will face challenges that test the fundamentals of world order. RAND experts have outlined key decisions, the dangers involved, and the least-bad options that now often pass for good ones.

commentary

Only the U.S. Can Save Syrians

Washington must act soon to raise the costs of Syrian and Russian killing in Aleppo. Otherwise, the quarter-million people who live there could be in danger, and the Kremlin might think that it can mount further challenges to the West.

Colin P. Clarke, William Courtney @courtneywmh

commentary

Taiwan Should Not Worry About the Vatican

Concerns are growing in Taipei over whether the Holy See intends to switch its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Beijing could be entertaining Vatican requests not out of genuine interest in reestablishing relations, but to put Taiwan on edge.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman