NSRD Publications Archive - 2013

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Reducing the Cost and Risk of Major Acquisitions at the Department of Homeland Security 2013

Jeffrey A. Drezner, Andrew R. Morral
Widespread cost, schedule, and performance shortfalls point to ongoing and expensive problems in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acquisition process. This paper is intended to help improve DHS acquisition management and oversight by providing a common problem definition, conceptual framework, and recommendations that DHS officials can use to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of DHS acquisition organizations.
Physical and Psychological Health Following Military Sexual Assault: Recommendations for Care, Research, and Policy 2013

Coreen Farris, Terry L. Schell, Terri Tanielian
This paper reviews data on the prevalence of sexual assault among servicemembers, predictors of disclosure, efforts to improve disclosure, victim needs and DoD efforts to provide necessary resources in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault. The authors compared civilian and DoD guidelines for care and found them to be generally consistent. However, little is known about the fidelity with which DoD recommendations are implemented.
Capabilities-Based Planning for Energy Security at Department of Defense Installations 2013

Constantine Samaras, Henry H. Willis
Department of Defense (DoD) installations rely on the commercial electricity grid for 99 percent of their electricity needs, but the U.S. electricity grid is vulnerable to disruption from natural hazards and actor-induced outages, such as physical or cyber attacks. Using portfolio analysis methods for assessing capability options, this paper presents a framework to evaluate choices among energy security strategies for DoD installations.
Predicting Suicide Attacks: Integrating Spatial, Temporal, and Social Features of Terrorist Attack Targets 2013

Walter L. Perry, Claude Berrebi, Ryan Andrew Brown, John S. Hollywood, Amber Jaycocks, Parisa Roshan, Thomas Sullivan, Lisa Kraus
As part of an exploration of ways to predict what determines the targets of suicide attacks, RAND conducted a proof-of-principle analysis of whether adding sociocultural, political, economic, and demographic factors would enhance the predictive ability of a methodology that focused on geospatial features. This test case focused on terrorist bombing incidents in Israel, but the findings indicate that the methodology merits further exploration.
Critical Materials: Present Danger to U.S. Manufacturing 2013

Richard Silberglitt, James T. Bartis, Brian G. Chow, David L. An, Kyle Brady
A high percentage of many raw and semi-finished materials critical to U.S. manufacturing are imported. China is the controlling producer of 11 of these materials and has instituted export restrictions that have led to two-tier pricing, creating pressure to move manufacturing to China. This report suggests the need for actions to mitigate the impact of such market distortions on the global manufacturing sector.
Embassy Security: From the Outside In 2013

William Young
U.S. embassies around the world shored up security in the wake of the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, but policymakers have questioned whether security has been adequate at diplomatic compounds in the first place. Going forward, the security plan for the U.S. diplomatic presence abroad must include well-developed strategies to both detect and prevent an assault like the one in Libya before it occurs.
Exploiting the Chaos: Terrorist Target Choice Following Natural Disasters 2013

Claude Berrebi, Jordan Ostwald
This article explores the differences between transnational and domestic terrorism, further differentiating by private versus government targets, to estimate the effect of exogenous catastrophic shocks on a country's level of domestic and transnational terrorism.
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation-Building 2013

James Dobbins, Laurel E. Miller, Stephanie Pezard, Christopher S. Chivvis, Julie E. Taylor, Keith Crane, Calin Trenkov-Wermuth, Tewodaj Mengistu
Following on a series of RAND Corporation studies of nation-building, this monograph analyzes the impediments that local conditions pose to successful outcomes in these interventions. It examines how external actors and local leaders in a variety of societies modified or worked around those conditions to promote enduring peace.
Promoting Online Voices for Countering Violent Extremism 2013

Todd C. Helmus, Erin York, Peter Chalk
American Muslims have played an important role in helping to counter extremism and are increasingly using social media to this end. RAND researchers reviewed literature and interviewed American Muslims experienced in social media to understand and explain key challenges facing these Muslim activists, and to identify ways in which the public and private sector can help empower these voices online.
Alternative Power: Political Economy of Cultural Property 2013

Erik Nemeth
the politics of cultural property and economics of the art market indicate a complement to hard and soft power in foreign relations.
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace 2013

James Dobbins
The memory of a few spectacular failures has created the impression that nation-building seldom succeeds. Yet most such operations over the past 20 years have produced positive results.
The US and Afghanistan After 2014 2013

Paul D. Miller
The year 2014 is a date for transition, not withdrawal, and the international community has pledged to hand over leadership for security to the Afghan government.
A Policy Analysis of Reserve Retirement Reform 2013

Beth J. Asch, James Hosek, Michael G. Mattock
As the defense burden borne by reserve forces has increased, more attention has been paid to differences between retirement systems for the reserve and active components. This report analyzes the systems, discusses the importance of structuring compensation to enable management flexibility, considers obstacles and how they might be overcome, and provides a quantitative assessment of the reserve retention and cost effects of possible proposals.
What Works Best When Building Partner Capacity and Under What Circumstances? 2013

Christopher Paul, Colin P. Clarke, Beth Grill, Stephanie Young, Jennifer D. P. Moroney, Joe Hogler, Christine Leah
How can the U.S. Department of Defense increase the effectiveness of its efforts to help partners build the capacity of their military and other security forces? To form a base of evidence to inform policy discussions and investment decisions, a RAND study collected and compared 20 years of data on 29 historical case studies of U.S. involvement in building partner capacity.
Talk Like a Marine: USMC Linguistic Acculturation and Civil–military Argument 2013

William Marcellino
This study examines the relationship between US Marine discourse and civil–military public argument.