2023

commentary

A Tale of Two Wars and the Pitfalls of Success

Russia's war in Ukraine once again poses questions about how the United States prepares for conflict—not only which weapons it buys, but also how it envisions great-power wars in the 21st century. If the United States does learn the lessons of this war, then it may secure the U.S. military's edge for decades to come.

Raphael S. Cohen, Gian Gentile

commentary

Preparing for Strategic Competition: The Need for Irregular Warfare Professional Military Education

The Department of Defense does not provide the irregular warfare professional military education necessary for success in competition and conflict in the 21st century. This is a not a new problem, but it is one that may deserve new attention from Congress and the Pentagon.

Charles T. Cleveland, Daniel Egel, et al.

commentary

Research Shows How Communities Are Prioritizing Health Equity

In partnership with RAND, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is tracking how communities are evolving their approaches to building a Culture of Health and advancing health equity. The research offers insights on how and why inequities develop, and more importantly, how communities change course and move towards health equity.

Anita Chandra

commentary

Japan's Strategic Shift: Significant, but Implementation Hurdles May Await

Japan's new strategic documents appear to demonstrate a recognition in Tokyo that it must do more for its own defense in the face of unprecedented security challenges. The dedication of resources, pursuit of new capabilities, and overarching commitment to a more robust defense are all significant moves that represent landmark change by one of America's key allies.

Jeffrey W. Hornung, Christopher B. Johnstone

blog

Avoiding a Long War in Ukraine, Gun Violence, Migrant Surges: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how the United States can help avoid a long war in Ukraine, responding to the gun violence crisis, limits on teachers’ instruction, and more.

commentary

Software Supply Chain Risk Is Growing, but Mitigation Solutions Exist

Software supply chain security has emerged as a leading risk because of the massively fragmented and decentralized nature of modern software development. While we still have much to learn as a community about this risk, there are concrete steps we can take to better understand and mitigate it.

Sasha Romanosky

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Appreciating U.S. Ground Force Contributions to Operation Inherent Resolve

Defeating ISIS hinged on a ground fight, requiring the grueling liberation of territory kilometer by kilometer. While Iraqi forces bore the brunt of frontline fighting, U.S. forces were also engaged in on-the-ground combat operations that hastened the defeat of ISIS. Appreciating such contributions will be necessary to distill the right lessons so that we might correctly apply them to future irregular warfare.

Jeffrey Martini, Sean M. Zeigler, et al.

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Responding to the Firearm Violence Crisis: Are Some Newly Enacted Laws Making Things Worse?

Persuasive scientific evidence is accumulating for several commonly implemented laws. Where the science is strong, lawmakers would be wise to consider it when making decisions about how to protect public safety while preserving civil liberties, including the right to bear arms.

Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Rosanna Smart @RosannaSmart

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Unlocking Training Technology for Multi-Domain Operations

Multi-domain operations (MDO) can present many challenges for training. Involvement of various disparate organizations and services can exacerbate these challenges and can require balancing centralized coordination with decentralized training objectives. If MDO is to provide new benefits, the training community may need to solve old problems. It may need to communicate more effectively.

Timothy Marler

blog

Regulating Space, Threats to Critical Infrastructure, Psychedelics: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the need for governance in outer space, why the recent FAA system failure was a wake-up call, the changing policy landscape around psychedelic therapies, and more.

commentary

Gender Biases in Health Care: Listen to Women About Their Own Health

More and more information, evidence, and personal stories are emerging suggesting women are not being listened to or believed by health care professionals about their symptoms of physical illness. There is ongoing work in the United Kingdom to improve and integrate women's health services, which creates hope for improvements.

Lucy Hocking

commentary

Immigrant Location Policies Can Be Done Right, but That Isn't Happening Right Now

Sudden influxes of migrants across the southwest U.S. border are not new, but they are also increasing. Immigration relocation policies are likely one of the best ways to address migrant surges if done in an organized, humane, and thoughtful way.

Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson

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The Inflation Pain You Don't See

Official statistics don't capture the pain of inflation for many Americans. That's because there's something wrong with how we define the middle class. Far more American households earn a middle-class income than enjoy a middle-class lifestyle.

George Zuo @GeorgeWZuo

commentary

'Strategic Ambiguity' May Have U.S. and Taiwan Trapped in a Prisoner's Dilemma

For its proponents, the idea of strategic ambiguity seems to have become an end in itself that has not adapted, and logically cannot adapt to the disruptive growth in Beijing's military power. The conditions under which the policy worked seem to have evaporated with China's rise. Strategic clarity may offer a way out of this dilemma.

Raymond Kuo @Kuorum1

commentary

How the War in Ukraine Could End Sooner Than Expected

There are predictions aplenty that Russia's war on Ukraine will persist. But it could also end soon. Kremlin regime change, a Russian army collapse, or a Ukrainian win are possible. None of these contingencies should be ruled out.

Peter A. Wilson, William Courtney @courtneywmh