2020

Air Defense
commentary
Drone-Era Warfare Shows the Operational Limits of Air Defense Systems
John V. Parachini, Peter A. Wilson
Jul 2, 2020
RealClearDefense
External powers have intervened in the civil wars in Libya and Syria, supplying advanced conventional weapons that have intensified the conflicts. But not all of the weapons have performed as claimed.
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Military Technology
commentary
Book Review: 'The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare' by Christian Brose
Jonathan P. Wong @jonpwong
Jul 2, 2020
War on the Rocks
As the Pentagon and commercial technologists continue to explore the potential of commercial technologies for the military and work towards greater adoption, they may wish to focus not only on lowering bureaucratic barriers but also on managing expectations about what technologies will be most beneficial and how they will be used.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
The Growing Irrelevance of Organizational Structure for U.S. Domestic Terrorism
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, Bruce Hoffman
Jul 2, 2020
The Cipher Brief
For decades, America's primary terrorist threat came from groups based abroad. Today, a new crop of terrorist actors is emerging from within our own borders. Although diverse and for the most part unconnected to each other, they share a common objective of disrupting society and in the process, overturning existing norms if not the entire political, social, and economic order.
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Health Risk Behaviors
commentary
Learning to Live in a Riskier World
Shanthi Nataraj @ShanthiNataraj, Sita Nataraj Slavov
Jul 2, 2020
Orange County Register
Even as the public discussion about COVID-19 risk becomes increasingly polarized, many Americans are slowly and quietly balancing the threat of infection against valued daily activities, and learning to live in a riskier world.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Preparing for a COVID Surge, Reducing Police Violence, Media Literacy in Schools: RAND Weekly Recap
Jul 2, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on helping hospitals prepare for a surge in COVID-19 infections, an approach to reducing police violence, teachers' concerns about students' media literacy, and more.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
After COVID-19: Prevent Homelessness Among Survivors of Domestic Abuse
Sierra Smucker, Alicia Revitsky Locker, Aisha Najera Chesler
Jul 2, 2020
The RAND Blog
Without assistance, domestic violence survivors—typically women and children—are more likely to be forced into homelessness. Now could be the best time to invest in programs that can help victims get out of unsafe living arrangements and into safe and stable housing before a second wave of COVID-19 cases pushes more families into unsafe environments.
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Nuclear Deterrence
commentary
Take the Bird in the Hand. Strike a Nuclear Weapons Deal with Russia
Luke Griffith
Jul 1, 2020
RealClearPolicy
By extending New START, the Trump administration would preserve verifiable constraints on Russia's nuclear arsenal, buy time to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement, and pave the way for arms talks about intermediate-range missiles.
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Health Care Payment Approaches
commentary
Why States' 'Netflix Model' Prescription Drug Arrangements Are No Silver Bullet
Harry H. Liu, Andrew W. Mulcahy
Jul 1, 2020
Health Affairs Blog
Despite the buzz and catchy notion that subscription models are “Netflix for drugs,” it's hard to come up with a theoretical case that supports subscription models over traditional price negotiation between payers and manufacturers over a per-dose or per-unit price.
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Law Enforcement
commentary
From Warrior to Guardian: A Systems Approach to Reduce Police Violence
James M. Anderson, Bob Harrison
Jul 1, 2020
CalMatters
Personal accountability will always have a role in policing. But the kind of cultural change that is necessary to prevent tragedy is often best tackled by focusing on the system rather than merely blaming the individual officer.
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Law Enforcement
commentary
Funding—or Defunding—the Police
Priscillia Hunt @PriscilliaHunt
Jul 1, 2020
The RAND Blog
With calls to reduce spending on police, a question becomes by how much? RAND researchers studied the average amount taxpayers spend for police to respond to a reported crime. These estimates are available in a new tool that makes it easy to visualize police costs per crime by state.
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Health Care Services Capacity
essay
COVID Could Surge Anywhere. This Tool Helps Hospitals Prepare
Jul 1, 2020
The number of new coronavirus cases is growing in most states. As the pandemic continues to strain U.S. health care systems, a tool developed by RAND researchers can help hospitals prepare for the worst.
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Russia
commentary
Russia Is Eyeing the Mediterranean. The U.S. and NATO Must Be Prepared
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, William Courtney @courtneywmh, Bradley Martin, Bruce McClintock @BHMcClintock
Jun 30, 2020
Newsweek
As part of its great power exertions Russia seeks more access and freedom of movement in the Mediterranean region, and is bolstering its military footprint to achieve this objective. To address this rising challenge the United States and NATO could develop a more robust southern strategy with a reinforced air and naval presence, respectively.
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Law Enforcement
commentary
Defund the LAPD? Garcetti Budget Proposal Takes a Step in That Direction
Alex Dopp, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Sarah B. Hunter
Jun 30, 2020
The RAND Blog
Calls to “defund the police” have grown common and urgent in the wake of police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and numerous other Black Americans. Research and community activists agree: Public safety can be improved by investing more public dollars in a social safety net, and less in policing and incarceration, in Los Angeles.
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Educational Equity
commentary
Three Steps States Could Take to Make Sure Learning Is More Equitable Should Schools Close Again in the Fall
Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman
Jun 30, 2020
The RAND Blog
The quality of remote instruction depends on whether students can connect and interact with educators online. But poverty is a major driver of who gets high-quality online instruction and who doesn't. What can states do in this new reality?
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Substance Use Harm Reduction
commentary
Revoking the 'License to Drink': Emerging Evidence on Mandatory Sobriety
Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer, Gregory Midgette
Jun 29, 2020
Institute of Alcohol Studies
After counties in South Dakota implemented a 24/7 sobriety program, repeat arrests for impaired driving decreased in the counties by an average of 12%. North Dakota implemented a similar program and also saw decreases in impaired driving. Can the same results be achieved outside of the Dakotas?
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North Korea
commentary
Is North Korea Prepared to End the Korean War?
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett, Soo W. Kim @mllesookim
Jun 29, 2020
The National Interest
The end of the Korean War and peace on the peninsula are no more likely to occur as the result of a peace agreement than has North Korean denuclearization occurred as the result of multiple denuclearization agreements. Ultimately, North Korean objectives matter, and real peace does not appear to be part of those objectives.
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