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

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

  • Blog

    Immigration Policy, the Black-White Wealth Gap, ChatGPT: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing U.S. immigration policy, what it would take to close America's Black-white wealth gap, risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence, more.

  • Commentary

    Beyond the 'Mine Shaft Gap': Navigating Threat Perceptions in the Sino-American Rivalry

    In “Dr. Strangelove,” the “mine shaft gap” was an astute satirical concept that reflected the mindset that any perceived disadvantage between the United States and the Soviet Union posed an existential threat. Though fictional, this kind of calculation is not unheard of in real-life, modern-day thinking. Shrewd discernment could help avoid it as the United States pursues its national security objectives.

  • Commentary

    What Washington Gets Wrong About Deterrence

    The war in Ukraine has depleted American military stockpiles in the short term. But such a shortfall may not necessarily affect U.S. deterrence.

  • Commentary

    Upcoming Presidential Election Will Clarify Taiwan's China Policy

    Until the Taiwanese presidential election next January, China, the United States, and many other countries will be watching Taiwan with bated breath. Across the Indo-Pacific region and the world, the hope would simply be that no matter who is elected, peace and stability continue to prevail in the Taiwan Strait.

  • Testimony

    Chinese Strategy in the Pacific and Implications for the United States

    In recent years, Chinese attention has increasingly included Oceania. What has Chinese strategy been in the Freely Associated States and U.S. territories in the Pacific? What are some policy recommendations for Congress and the U.S. government to consider going forward?

  • Commentary

    Biden Hopes for Vietnam Breakthrough

    The United States wants to intensify U.S.-Vietnam ties, because the two countries share long-term strategic interests. Vietnam seems perfectly fine with things dragging on for years in their current state, avoiding a final decision, or even getting cold feet in the end. Washington would be wise to manage expectations for now.

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

  • Commentary

    Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success

    Recently, the United States reversed its long-standing opposition to sending Ukraine F-16 advanced aircraft to aid its fight against Russia. The policy reversal is a smart call. Once the aircraft are delivered and training is complete the jets will help Ukraine defend its territory more efficiently, and might even help end the war.

  • Commentary

    A Unique Opportunity Not To Be Squandered: Advancing Our Relationships in Central Asia

    Concerned about Putin's imperialist actions in Ukraine, five nations in Central Asia are looking to the West to offset the political, economic, and security-related pressures they feel from Russia and, increasingly, China. It would be a mistake for the United States not to seize this moment.

  • Commentary

    F-16s Will Bolster Ukraine's Fighting Force

    F-16s going to Ukraine could help it defend against Russian aerial assaults. But their greatest value may be to augment future Ukrainian counteroffensives aimed at retaking occupied land. This will require training and exercising, but Ukrainian forces are fully capable of mastering it.

  • Commentary

    Putin Is Following Brezhnev to a Dead End

    Four decades ago, Leonid Brezhnev led the USSR into what many Soviets called the “era of stagnation.” Vladimir Putin is taking Russia down a similar path. The USSR tried to recover by turning to reform-minded leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, but too late. The USSR collapsed. Could Russia?

  • Commentary

    Does America Still Need Europe?

    The United States should be discriminating in its choice of global commitments. But if critical U.S. interests are at stake in Europe, then Washington should take the necessary steps to maintain NATO unity and European stability.

  • Commentary

    What Washington Gets Wrong About Deterrence

    The war in Ukraine has depleted American military stockpiles in the short term. But such a shortfall may not necessarily affect U.S. deterrence.

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 Fight for Sudan Was Inevitable

    When conflict in Sudan did not end after the 2005 peace agreement, the international community fell into a familiar pattern of never-ending negotiations. But conflict resolution focused on agreements that split power between armed groups rarely leads to sustainable peace. The effects of such misbegotten efforts are plain to see.

  • 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?

  • Blog

    20 Years After the Iraq War, China-Russia Ties, Correctional Education: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on reflecting on the Iraq War, the pandemic and prison education, North Korea’s latest threats, and more.

  • Commentary

    The Ripples of War Are Only Beginning to Spread. Is America Ready?

    There are now more than 1.9 million U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 50,000 were physically injured and around 15 percent have experienced PTSD. Perhaps all were exposed to burn pits and other toxins. What are the long-term impacts of the wars on those who fought them?

  • Report

    Understanding the Russian General Staff

    The Russian General Staff is unlike any single organization in the U.S. military or government. Understanding its role and capacity to influence national security decisionmaking is important. Two case studies—Russia's 2014 war in Ukraine and 2015 intervention in Syria—observe the responsibilities and authorities of the General Staff in practice.

  • Q&A

    Twenty Years After the Iraq War, a Q&A with RAND Experts

    On the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq, RAND experts discussed what the war means for the people of Iraq and the veterans who fought there, what lessons the U.S. military learned (or did not learn), and what effect it has had on the balance of power in the Middle East and the global reputation of the United States.

Australia

RAND Centers

  • RAND Australia

    With 70 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

  • 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?

  • Report

    Evaluation of Learning Creates Australia's Learner's Journey Social Lab

    As labour markets change and global economies become increasingly interconnected, students require opportunities to develop skills and competencies that are essential for success and life. Researchers evaluated 'The Learner's Journey', a social lab designed by Learning Creates Australia to explore ways to assess and accredit learning that better reflect the diverse knowledge sets, skills and dispositions of students.

  • Commentary

    Strategic Advantage, Sovereignty and Australia's Geopolitical Identity

    In Australia, which has experienced few national existential crises, there appears to be little understanding of or consideration given to all the nuanced contours of winning. Australia may need to critically assess its strategic traditions to develop a broader conceptualization of how to secure the safety and well-being of the nation and position itself advantageously.

  • Commentary

    Russia's Invasion of Ukraine May Harden U.S. Indo-Pacific Allies

    The effects of Russia's war against Ukraine stretch worldwide as countries watch Ukraine's unfolding tragedy to glean possible lessons for their own security. Understanding how Australia and Japan are perceiving the conflict could be critical for allied strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

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

    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.

  • Report

    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.

  • Commentary

    Curb Climate Change After COVID-19? Fast-Growing India and Brazil Are Key

    India and Brazil are facing pressure to launch recoveries after the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. Will they backslide on their Paris climate agreement commitments, or will the expected return of the United States to the pact encourage them to build a more sustainable economic future?

  • Journal Article

    A Heat Vulnerability Index Tested in Rio De Janeiro

    Urban areas are often hotter than their rural surroundings, exacerbating heat waves and make it difficult to determine heat-related deaths. RAND researchers investigated how to construct and validate a heat vulnerability index for the city of Rio de Janeiro.

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

  • Commentary

    Making the Most of JROTC

    Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) units in U.S. schools have drawn intensive scrutiny of late, and some districts might consider dropping JROTC. But they should take stock of what they'll lose. Students who choose to enroll in JROTC and stick with it do better in school than their peers.

  • Commentary

    How Can Platforms Deal with Toxic Content? Look to Wall Street

    The Supreme Court recently opted to keep in place a law that shields tech platforms from liability for hosting toxic content. Congress can and should regulate the industry. And there's already a regulatory framework for doing so that accounts for freedom of speech concerns.

  • Commentary

    Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success

    Recently, the United States reversed its long-standing opposition to sending Ukraine F-16 advanced aircraft to aid its fight against Russia. The policy reversal is a smart call. Once the aircraft are delivered and training is complete the jets will help Ukraine defend its territory more efficiently, and might even help end the war.

  • Blog

    Immigration Policy, the Black-White Wealth Gap, ChatGPT: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing U.S. immigration policy, what it would take to close America's Black-white wealth gap, risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence, more.

  • Commentary

    A Unique Opportunity Not To Be Squandered: Advancing Our Relationships in Central Asia

    Concerned about Putin's imperialist actions in Ukraine, five nations in Central Asia are looking to the West to offset the political, economic, and security-related pressures they feel from Russia and, increasingly, China. It would be a mistake for the United States not to seize this moment.

  • Journal Article

    Lessons from a Targeted Home Visiting Program for First-Time Parents

    Created in response to a lack of support for pregnant women and new parents, First Born responds to conditions common to high-need, low-resource communities. Now operating in more than half of New Mexico counties, the program educates first-time parents and helps them access community resources. Researchers report on the First Born program and outline lessons for other universal home visiting programs.

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