July 2020

International Economic Relations
commentary
Demystifying the Belt and Road Initiative
Rafiq Dossani
Jul 6, 2020
Encompass
Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China works with more than 70 countries to design and implement large infrastructure projects. Why are countries of all stripes turning to China for funding when the world is awash with cash?
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North Korea
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Will the Real Kim Yo Jong Stand Up?
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Jul 6, 2020
The Hill
It's difficult to get reliable information about North Korea's leadership. This is especially true of Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong. Nonetheless, Washington should strive to learn as much as possible about someone who could become the leader of a nuclear-armed North Korea.
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China
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Chinese Border Aggression Against India Likely Unrelated to Pandemic
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Jul 6, 2020
The Diplomat
Some argue that Beijing's aggression at the China-India border is part of an attempt to exploit the pandemic. But it may simply be a continuation of China's threatening behavior in the Indo-Pacific, which began before COVID-19 started to spread.
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Air Defense
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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
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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
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The Growing Irrelevance of Organizational Structure for U.S. Domestic Terrorism
Colin P. Clarke, 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
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Learning to Live in a Riskier World
Shanthi Nataraj, 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
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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 are more likely to be forced into homelessness. Now could be the time to invest in programs that help victims—before a second wave of COVID-19 cases pushes more families into unsafe environments.
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Nuclear Deterrence
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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
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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
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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
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Funding—or Defunding—the Police
Priscillia Hunt
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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