2016

Military Education and Training
commentary
China's Air Force Is Fixing Its Shortcomings
Lyle J. Morris @LyleJMorris
Oct 14, 2016
Aviation Week & Space Technology
The prevailing view among Western observers is that Chinese fighter pilots lack the tactical mindset to engage and prevail in a dynamic, unscripted combat environment. But the PLAAF appears to have undertaken major reform in how it trains its pilots.
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Cybersecurity
commentary
Where Next for the Digital Society?
Hans Pung, Catriona Manville @CMManville
Oct 14, 2016
The RAND Blog
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.
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Caregivers
commentary
How Can Europe Encourage Fathers to Take Parental Leave?
Janna van Belle
Oct 14, 2016
New Europe
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.
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U.S.-European Relations
commentary
Transatlantic Relations After Obama
Christopher S. Chivvis, Jana Puglierin
Oct 14, 2016
Berlin Policy Journal
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.
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Immigration and Emigration
commentary
Why Re-Establishing Border Controls in Europe Could Come at a High Cost
Marco Hafner, Jirka Taylor
Oct 13, 2016
E!Sharp
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.
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Developing Countries
essay
The Hot Spots of the World
Oct 13, 2016
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.
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Arctic Region
commentary
Will the Breakdown in U.S.-Russia Cooperation Reach the Arctic?
Abbie Tingstad, Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Scott Stephenson @SRStephenson
Oct 12, 2016
Inside Sources
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.
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Social Media Analysis
commentary
Fighting the Islamic State on Social Media
Elizabeth Bodine-Baron @bodinebaron
Oct 11, 2016
Pacific Council on International Policy
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.
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Police-Community Relations
commentary
Police Body-Worn Cameras: More to It Than What You See
Alex Sutherland
Oct 11, 2016
Policing Insight
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.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
Pitfalls of Predictive Policing
Jessica Saunders
Oct 11, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
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.
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Cybercrime
commentary
Digital Theft: The New Normal
Lillian Ablon, Kathryn Kuznitsky
Oct 10, 2016
Wired
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.
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South Asia
commentary
Could the Kashmir Standoff Trigger Nuclear War?
Rafiq Dossani, Jonah Blank
Oct 10, 2016
Newsweek
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.
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Nuclear Disarmament
commentary
Protect Nuclear Nonproliferation Norms
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Oct 9, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
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.
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United States
essay
Election 2016: The International Issues
Oct 7, 2016
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.
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Syria
commentary
Only the U.S. Can Save Syrians
Colin P. Clarke, William Courtney @courtneywmh
Oct 6, 2016
USA Today
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.
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