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RAND's international affairs research comprises a range of cross-cutting issues, including global economies and trade, space and maritime security, diplomacy, global health and education, nation building, and regional security and stability. RAND also analyzes the policies and effectiveness of international organizations such as the UN, NATO, European Union, and ASEAN.

Commentary

Vaccine Nationalism Has Real Economic Consequences

Dec 30, 2020

Vaccine nationalism, in which countries prioritize their domestic needs at the expense of others, will have significant global economic consequences. Major economies actually have more to gain by helping to make an effective COVID-19 vaccine widely available globally.
Commentary

What Issues Will Biden Prioritize in the Indo-Pacific?

Dec 10, 2020

The security challenges facing the incoming Biden administration are likely to remain largely the same as those in 2020. The increasing geopolitical, military, and economic heft of the Indo-Pacific region means the United States will likely continue to prioritize this region in 2021.

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News Release

Interest in a U.S. Grand Strategy of Restraint May Be Growing, So Advocates Need to Provide More Details

As the Biden Administration takes over, some U.S. policymakers have expressed interest in a new approach to America's role in the world: a realist grand strategy of restraint under which the U.S. would cooperate more with other powers, reduce its forward military presence and end or renegotiate some security commitments.

Jan 22, 2021
Commentary

Welcoming a Stronger European Defense

Washington has bristled at the notion of a Europe capable of strategic autonomy in the past. But the Biden administration might do better to take seriously the prospect of Europe as a (potentially great) power, and welcome it.

Jan 22, 2021
Report

Rethinking the U.S. Approach to the World

Questions about U.S. grand strategy and its associated costs have taken on new urgency because of the economic effects of the pandemic. If the United States adopted a realist grand strategy of restraint, it would cooperate more with other powers, reduce its forward military presence, and end some security commitments.

Jan 21, 2021
Report

Regional Responses to U.S.-China Competition in the Indo-Pacific: Indonesia

In this report, the author examines whether and how the United States can increase its cooperation with Indonesia in order to manage China's rise as a strategic competitor to the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.

Jan 21, 2021
Commentary

Helping Mothers Return to Work Is a Gender Equality Issue

Employers and policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring that women are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when they have children. Policies such as access to family leave, job protection, and childcare options can play a large role.

Jan 21, 2021
Commentary

For Joe Biden, an Experienced Foreign Policy Team

As President-elect Biden fills out his foreign policy team he might wish to reach out to a few foreign affairs professionals who sat out the Trump administration in order to fill positions in fields where some degree of bipartisanship remains a possibility. These areas might include relations with allies and with the two major U.S. competitors, Russia and China.

Jan 19, 2021
Multimedia

Strategies for Pushing North Korea Toward Denuclearization

RAND policy analyst Soo Kim and RAND senior defense analyst Bruce Bennett discuss strategies for pushing the Kim administration toward denuclearization.

Jan 15, 2021
Commentary

How Joe Biden Can Galvanize Space Diplomacy

The potential for conflicts to originate in outer space, or for terrestrial conflicts to extend there, has grown with the development of counterspace weapons and the explosion of commercial space activity. But previous efforts to establish norms have had limited results. The Biden administration has an opportunity, working with like-minded allies and partners, to galvanize nascent international efforts.

Jan 15, 2021
Blog

Political Violence, COVID-19 Vaccine Questions, Mental Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why we need to brace for more political violence after the Capitol attack, COVID-19 vaccine questions and answers, how to reform the U.S. mental health system, and more.

Jan 15, 2021
Report

Analysis of Global Management of Air Force War Reserve Materiel to Support Operations in Contested and Degraded Environments

In this report, RAND researchers evaluate management approaches and global prepositioning strategies for war reserve materiel, which may help mitigate some of the U.S. military's vulnerabilities when operating in a contested environment.

Jan 14, 2021
Commentary

Why Overseas Military Bases Continue to Make Sense for the United States

Voices on the left and right have proposed downsizing America's overseas military footprint. While the merits of basing in a particular location should be open to debate, the underlying twin logics of deterrence and reassurance behind permanently stationing American forces overseas remain operationally, economically, and strategically as sound as ever.

Jan 14, 2021
Journal Article

Cyber Threats to NATO from a Multi-Domain Perspective

This paper situates cyber threats in the wider context of evolving multi-domain operations (MDO) theory and practice.

Jan 12, 2021
Journal Article

The Impact of New and Emerging Technologies on the Cyber Threat Landscape and Their Implications for NATO

This paper discusses a selection of new and emerging technologies with potentially disruptive effects, particularly concerning cyber threats that may stem from their maturation and use over the next decade.

Jan 12, 2021
Commentary

Biden Will Inherit Healthy Indo-Pacific Alliances

Certainly there is much work ahead as the United States embarks on the next chapter of competition against China throughout the Indo-Pacific. But U.S. alliances and partnerships are in good shape—the result of a growing Indo-Pacific consensus on the existential economic and security threat China poses.

Jan 11, 2021
Commentary

Previous Disasters Provide Important Lessons for Central America's Recovery from Hurricanes

As the global community works together to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, experiences from other recent disaster recovery efforts offer some helpful lessons, both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.

Jan 11, 2021
Report

Georgia II STEM Higher Education Interim Evaluation Report

The authors evaluate the implementation of a San Diego State University partnership with three universities in the country of Georgia, part of a U.S.-Georgia collaboration to improve university education in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Jan 5, 2021
Commentary

What Does Vietnam Want from the United States in the South China Sea?

Over the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high. While the Biden administration is likely to continue positive momentum in bilateral ties, it is less clear what specifically Hanoi seeks from Washington to help it effectively deter Beijing.

Jan 4, 2021
Journal Article

Reflections on the 7th International Jerusalem Conference on Health Policy in the Wake of the Covid-19 Outbreak

In 2019, a conference in Israel showcased new frontiers in technology in healthcare, highlighting research conducted in Israel as well as across the globe.

Dec 30, 2020
Commentary

Why We 'Send Them Money'

Why does the United States send foreign countries American taxpayer money? The answer, in short, is because it serves U.S. self-interest to do so. Aid is not some act of charity at the American taxpayers' expense; it can help keep Americans safer, more prosperous, and secure.

Dec 30, 2020

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RAND Topic:
International Affairs

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