RAND International

RAND International is dedicated to supporting RAND’s vision to be the world’s most trusted source for policy research and analysis.

RAND has decades of experience bringing independent, rigorous, and interdisciplinary methods to bear on the world’s most pressing issues across the globe, including fragile and conflict-affected regions.

Through its centers and internationally focused research conducted by our research divisions, RAND International helps connect RAND’s capacity and expertise to meet research and analysis needs and provide effective policy solutions worldwide. RAND’s subsidiaries in Europe and Australia extend RAND’s reach in meeting our mission to improve policy and decision making through objective research and analysis.

Learn More About Our Global Research

International Research and Analysis on Social and Economic Policy
Providing analytic rigor and systematic data collection to global research and evaluations, in the pursuit of accessible and actionable recommendations to address a wide range of social and economic policy challenges.
International Research and Analysis on Security Policy
Understanding the political, military, and economic aspects of global challenges, drawing on the best available qualitative data, quantitative data, and methodological tools.

International Contacts

Vice President, International: Contact: Krishna Kumar
International Research and Analysis; 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138; Phone: (310) 393-0411, ext. 7589
Director, International Programs: Contact: Robin Meili; 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138; Phone: (310) 393-0411, ext. 7190
Center for Global Risk and Security: King Mallory, Director
Center for Global Risk and Security; 1200 South Hayes Street
Arlington, VA 22202-5050; Phone: (703) 413-1100, ext. 5263
Center for Middle East Public Policy: Robin Meili, Acting Director
Center for Middle East Public Policy; 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3208; Phone: (310) 393-0411, ext. 7190
Center for Russia and Eurasia: Robin Meili, Acting Director
Center for Russia and Eurasia; 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3208; Phone: (310) 393-0411, ext. 7190
Center for Asia Pacific Policy: Rafiq Dossani, Director
Center for Asia Pacific Policy; 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138; Phone: (310) 393-0411, ext. 7275
RAND Europe: Hans Pung, Director
RAND Europe; Westbrook Centre
Milton Road
Cambridge
CB4 1YG
United Kingdom; Phone: +44 (1223) 353 329

Explore Our Work by Region

Asia

RAND Centers

The RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy
The RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy improves policy by providing decisionmakers and the public with rigorous, objective, cutting-edge research on critical policy challenges facing Asia and U.S.-Asia relations.

Recent Work

Research Brief
How Could the United States Gain Greater Access to Asia During a Conflict?
Ensuring access to the territories of Indo-Pacific allies and partners in the event of a future conflict with China is a critical concern. How are Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and India likely to make access decisions? And can the United States influence their decisions?
Commentary
South Korea's Surprisingly Successful China Policy
When South Korea's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, entered office last year, the odds rose that a frostier bilateral relationship with China might take hold. But for now, at least, Yoon and his government have successfully managed China, and perhaps offered a road map for how others can too.
Commentary
Deterrence of North Korean Limited Nuclear Attacks
No single action is likely to deter North Korean nuclear weapon use. But a combination of efforts may convince Kim Jong-un that any use of nuclear weapons for coercion would be very dangerous to his future, and could be a powerful approach to deterring North Korea.
Journal Article
A Comparative Look at Various Countries' Legal Regimes Governing Automated Vehicles
What is the nature of different AV legal regimes around the world? A summary of the makeup of AV legal regimes of Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom highlights some key contrasts.
Report
The United States and China—Designing a Shared Future
The U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying, causing mistrust and stifling the impacts of Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues. A new Track 2 effort focused on long-term coexistence is needed to stem the decline in U.S.-China relations.
Blog
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.

Europe and Russia

RAND Centers

Center for Russia and Eurasia
The RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia (CRE) brings together experts from across RAND to shed light on the foreign policies, domestic developments, and economic relationships of the countries that succeeded the Soviet Union.
RAND Europe Improves Policy and Decision Making in Europe and Around the World
RAND Europe is a not-for-profit research institute dedicated to helping improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. With offices in the UK and Belgium, its research portfolio complements RAND's and also includes choice modeling, evaluation, workplace wellbeing, and much more.

Recent Work

Journal Article
A Comparative Look at Various Countries' Legal Regimes Governing Automated Vehicles
What is the nature of different AV legal regimes around the world? A summary of the makeup of AV legal regimes of Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom highlights some key contrasts.
Commentary
Political Manifestos Should Do Better Than “Legalise It”
After years of political deadlock, a new era for drug policy in the Netherlands seems to be on the horizon. At least two factors are increasing politicians' appetite for change: increased awareness of the problems of drug-related organized crime in the Netherlands, and Dutch drug policy no longer being ahead of the curve.
Commentary
Human Rights Issues in Russia May Offer U.S. Leverage
The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us of how much human rights diplomacy has reshaped and enriched international relations. Inspired by this, Washington might pursue more proactive human rights diplomacy with Moscow. If the United States takes this path, how might it proceed?
Report
An Assessment of U.S.-Allied Nations' Industrial Bases in Quantum Technology
RAND researchers assessed the quantum industrial bases of Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom (UK) and made recommendations for strengthening international collaboration in quantum technology research and development (R&D) between the United States and its allied nations.
Report
Logistics and Sustainment Issues of the Russian Armed Forces
Failures in the Russian logistics and maintenance system have been identified as a key factor in Russia's underperformance in Ukraine in 2022. A review of dozens of unclassified documents and articles provides insights into Russia's military problems before and in the early stages of its invasion.
Commentary
What the REF 2021 Impact Case Studies Can Reveal About UK Research
A new study on the Research Excellence Framework 2021 impact case studies demonstrates the rich and varied impacts of UK research, and the extensive contribution of UK institutions and the academic community both nationally and globally.

The Middle East

RAND Centers

The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy
The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP) brings together analytic excellence and regional expertise from across the RAND Corporation to address the most critical political, social, and economic challenges facing the Middle East today.

Recent Work

Commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Blog
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.
Commentary
The West's Incoherent Critique of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The battlefield geography of Gaza means that any operation there would turn into a bloody, highly destructive ground operation, with a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire. While Israel can mitigate some of these effects, neither Israel nor any other military can prevent them entirely. In this war, there is no happy medium.
Commentary
Why the Oct. 7 Attack Wasn't Israel's 9/11
There are some basic strategic lessons to be learned from the U.S. response to 9/11 that are applicable to Israel's unfolding operation in Gaza. But in many key ways, the two conflicts couldn't be further apart.
Blog
Supporting Veterans, Israel-Hamas War, AI and Geopolitics: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on supporting America's veterans, what Israel's ground offensive in Gaza can and cannot accomplish, how AI might affect the rise and fall of nations, and more.
Commentary
What Israel's Ground Offensive Can—and Cannot—Accomplish
Weeks after terrorist attacks left 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel has started its much-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza. But what can such an operation hope to achieve, and why launch such a campaign now?

Australia

RAND Centers

RAND Australia
With 75 years of worldwide research in defence, national security, health care, education, transport, employment, innovation, energy, and the environment behind it, RAND Australia is ideally positioned to help improve policy and decisionmaking in Australia.

Recent Work

Journal Article
A Comparative Look at Various Countries' Legal Regimes Governing Automated Vehicles
What is the nature of different AV legal regimes around the world? A summary of the makeup of AV legal regimes of Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom highlights some key contrasts.
Report
An Assessment of U.S.-Allied Nations' Industrial Bases in Quantum Technology
RAND researchers assessed the quantum industrial bases of Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom (UK) and made recommendations for strengthening international collaboration in quantum technology research and development (R&D) between the United States and its allied nations.
Commentary
AUKUS as Big Science?
AUKUS—the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—framed as a multinational quest for discovery rather than a security pact made sensible by deterrence logics, could be a political boon, both diplomatically and domestically.
Commentary
Why China Should Worry About Asia's Reaction to AUKUS
If most Indo-Pacific nations support AUKUS—or refuse to condemn it—then Beijing will have more geostrategic and military implications to worry about than AUKUS itself. As long as AUKUS continues to assuage nuclear-proliferation concerns, then the region will view it as a legitimate counter to Chinese military excesses.
Blog
Opioids in America, Silicon Valley Bank, Semiconductors: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on addressing America's illicit opioids problem, Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, Taiwan’s semiconductor dominance, and more.
Commentary
Is Australia's Defense Strategy Based on a Mistaken Assumption?
The concept of “impactful projection” has become a topic of heightened interest in the Australian strategic discourse, as pundits wait on further information from the Defense Strategic Review. But is the concept underpinned by a fundamentally mistaken assumption?

South America

RAND Centers

Latin American Social Policy Research
RAND conducts research throughout Latin America and the Latin American population in the United States in the areas of aging, social determinants and consequences of health, saving for retirement, social security coverage, labor market dynamics, and migration.

Recent Work

Report
Exploring How Teach for All's Networks Connect Local Educational Organizations
Using data from the annual alumni survey of Enseña Perú (EP), the Peru chapter of the global Teach for All network, researchers evaluated alumni professional interactions with each other and the extent to which these collaborations span organizations, sectors, and geographic regions in Peru.
Commentary
Is Ecuador in the Middle of a Self-Coup?
On May 17, the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved the country's legislature in the midst of impeachment proceedings against him. Did Ecuador just have a self-coup? The answer matters greatly for the country's democratic trajectory and for the international community's response.
Report
China's Role in the Global Development of Critical Resources
China's extensive foreign investments in energy infrastructure and critical minerals have raised concerns. Case studies in coal power, electricity transmission, and seabed mining examine China's behaviors and suggest ways to build capacity among host nations to minimize the potential effects of an overreliance on China.
Commentary
Opportunities for the Brazilian Navy to Employ Additional Unmanned Systems
The Brazilian Navy needs to have both the capabilities and capacity to meet a wide range of demands over vast and diverse geographic areas. What are some of the potential ways the Brazilian Navy could use unmanned systems to improve effectiveness and, potentially, reduce risks and costs?
Blog
Understanding Violent Extremism, 'Blockships,' VMT Fee: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on firsthand accounts of violent extremism, lessons from the recent blockage in the Suez Canal, and if a federal Vehicle Miles Travel fee could replace the gas tax.
Commentary
Colombia's Trailblazing Model for Refugees
Colombia recently announced it will give temporary protection status to a million undocumented Venezuelan refugees, with permission to live and work in the country for 10 years. In doing so, it created a new model for managing its own refugee situation and perhaps others elsewhere.

North America

RAND Centers

The RAND Center for Global Risk and Security
The RAND Center for Global Risk and Security (CGRS) conducts objective research on future security trends—analyzing anything that impacts the security of individuals, communities, nations, and the world at large.
RAND Gulf States Policy Institute
The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute was created in 2005 as a collaboration between RAND and local universities to support hurricane recovery and long-term economic development in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Today, RAND Gulf States provides objective analysis to help answer the region's toughest questions related to a wide range of issues including coastal protection and restoration, health care, and workforce development.

Recent Work

Research Brief
How Could the United States Gain Greater Access to Asia During a Conflict?
Ensuring access to the territories of Indo-Pacific allies and partners in the event of a future conflict with China is a critical concern. How are Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and India likely to make access decisions? And can the United States influence their decisions?
Commentary
South Korea's Surprisingly Successful China Policy
When South Korea's president, Yoon Suk-yeol, entered office last year, the odds rose that a frostier bilateral relationship with China might take hold. But for now, at least, Yoon and his government have successfully managed China, and perhaps offered a road map for how others can too.
Commentary
Deterrence of North Korean Limited Nuclear Attacks
No single action is likely to deter North Korean nuclear weapon use. But a combination of efforts may convince Kim Jong-un that any use of nuclear weapons for coercion would be very dangerous to his future, and could be a powerful approach to deterring North Korea.
Commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Report
The United States and China—Designing a Shared Future
The U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying, causing mistrust and stifling the impacts of Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues. A new Track 2 effort focused on long-term coexistence is needed to stem the decline in U.S.-China relations.
Commentary
Human Rights Issues in Russia May Offer U.S. Leverage
The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us of how much human rights diplomacy has reshaped and enriched international relations. Inspired by this, Washington might pursue more proactive human rights diplomacy with Moscow. If the United States takes this path, how might it proceed?

Africa

The Middle East and North Africa
RAND experts Brian Michael Jenkins and Dalia Dassa Kaye discuss current events in the Middle East and North Africa. Their discussion with RAND Media Relations Director Jeffrey Hiday includes how changes in Egypt, Iran, and Syria are reverberating within the region, and beyond, via terrorist networks including al Qaeda.

Recent Work

Commentary
ECOWAS: In Need of Help in Niger?
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu recently sought the Nigerian national legislature's backing for a possible military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to turn back a coup that toppled the government of Niger. An ECOWAS intervention would have a better chance of succeeding if other nations joined the effort.
Commentary
The Case for a Governance-First U.S. Security Policy in the Sahel
Both terrorism and coups are on the rise in the Sahel. To reverse this troubling trend, the United States could ramp up support aimed at improving security governance, professionalizing militaries, and strongly sanctioning all forms of military takeovers in the region. This would require a real shift from the current U.S. security approach in the region.
Blog
Violence in Sudan, Alcohol Use, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the violence in Sudan, preventing alcohol-related deaths, the North Korean nuclear threat, and more.
Report
Great-Power Competition Outside the Indo-Pacific and Europe
The United States, China, and Russia are competing for influence in secondary theaters like Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Where and why could competition turn into conflict, and what form might that conflict take?
Report
Quantifying the link between COVID-19, conflict risk, and the global economy
While there is a growing consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected countries' economies and may exacerbate socio-political unrest, understanding the dynamics of this process remains challenging. RAND Europe research suggests that COVID-19 will significantly increase the risk of civil conflict in African countries. This effect may, in turn, have negative global economic repercussions via international trade losses.
Journal Article
Food Insecurity in Uganda During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers used a longitudinal mixed-methods approach to evaluate the economic impact of COVID-19 on food security and ART-taking behaviors among people living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda.