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Global Security

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Global security includes military and diplomatic measures that nations and international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO take to ensure mutual safety and security. RAND provides analyses that help policymakers understand political, military, and economic trends around the world; the sources of potential regional conflict; and emerging threats to the global security environment.

Research Brief
Understanding the Risk of Escalation in the War in Ukraine
What might lead to escalation of the war in Ukraine? And how can U.S. and allied policymakers both prepare for—and prevent—such a scenario from occurring?
Sep 21, 2023
Commentary
North Korea, Russia and China: The Developing Trilateral Imperialist Partnership
There are no easy ways for the United States and its allies to counter the developing Russia-China–North Korea partnership. But there are options to consider and steps to take. There are also fissures in their relationships to exploit.
Sep 13, 2023

Explore Global Security

Commentary
America's Indo-Pacific Alliances Are Astonishingly Strong
As 2023 draws to a close, U.S. alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific are just about the deepest and most robust they have been in all their history. The United States will likely continue to bolster and expand its network to complicate and deter future actions that China and North Korea might take to threaten, undermine, or otherwise undo the Indo-Pacific order.
Dec 8, 2023
Commentary
Resilient Reconstruction in Ukraine
Kyiv may be prudent to invest in resilience as it rebuilds energy and other utilities, transport, economic and health infrastructure, and housing. Doing so could put Ukraine in a stronger position during the war and give it a jump start on peacetime rebuilding.
Dec 7, 2023
Commentary
The Nuclear Shadows of the Ukraine War as Seen Through a Chinese Lens
China-U.S. relations are once again on an upward trajectory after the meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. But the good news should not obscure lingering bilateral tensions with respect to nuclear weapons.
Dec 6, 2023
Report
Disrupting the Chinese Military in Competition and Low-Intensity Conflict
There are certain tasks required for China's military to execute key competition and low-intensity conflict missions. Those tasks have potential vulnerabilities that the United States could leverage to disrupt China's strategic goals and constrain its ability to harm U.S. interests.
Dec 5, 2023
Report
Strategic Disruption by Special Operations Forces: A Concept for Proactive Campaigning Short of Traditional War
RAND researchers develop a new concept for strategic disruption by special operations forces, exploring how disruptive campaigns can frustrate an adversary’s preferred strategy and enable friendly gains across multiple instruments of national power.
Dec 5, 2023
Report
China's Global Energy Interconnection Initiative
China aims to build a worldwide power grid that addresses the growing demand for electricity while supporting the transition to net zero. Could the potential global security implications of a super grid governed by China outweigh its benefits?
Dec 5, 2023
Commentary
North Korea's Satellite Launch: Part of a Bigger Problem for Kim Jong-un?
On November 21, North Korea made its third attempt of 2023 to launch a reconnaissance satellite despite this launch violating multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and despite the urging of many other countries. It may well have been a desperate move by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.
Dec 4, 2023
Multimedia
Preventing Domestic Violent Extremism: Insights from RAND Research
RAND researchers Pauline Moore, Todd Helmus, and Alexandra Evans discuss the complex challenges of countering domestic violent extremism in the United States. Their research offers insights into trends, key actors in the extremist community, and factors that lead to joining or leaving extremist groups.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Defense Planning Implications of Climate Change for U.S. Central Command
This report examines how U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) planners could use operations, activities, and investments in the coming decades to address security threats related to stressors from climate change in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Research Brief
What Climate-Related Conflict Could Mean for U.S. Central Command
Climate change will hit the Middle East and Central Asia especially hard, with effects on both personal well-being and regional stability. It will likely create increased demand for stabilization operations, non-combatant evacuation operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Mischief, Malevolence, or Indifference? How Competitors and Adversaries Could Exploit Climate-Related Conflict in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility
This report presents an analysis of how U.S. competitors and adversaries — China, Russia, and Iran — could attempt to exploit climate-related conflict in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in future decades.
Nov 29, 2023
Testimony
Enhancing Security in a Changing Arctic
Security in the Arctic requires continuous effort to maintain, particularly in periods of transition—from climate change to demographic shifts to economic opportunities and risks to geopolitical dynamics. As an Arctic nation, it is the United States’ responsibility to take steps toward enhancing regional security.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
U.S.-Japan Alliance Conference: The U.S.-Japan Alliance in an Era of Strategic Competition
These proceedings present insights that experts of Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and U.S. security policies presented at RAND Corporation–hosted virtual conferences that explored relevant issues on the U.S.-Japan alliance regarding strategic competition.
Nov 29, 2023
Commentary
From the Ashes of Hamas-Israel War, Can Economics Drive Peace?
The economic costs of the violence in Gaza threaten Israel's economic future. For the Palestinians, the costs may be so large that they undermine the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. But the magnitude of these economic losses may, paradoxically, forge a new pathway toward peace once the fighting stops.
Nov 28, 2023
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?
Nov 28, 2023
Report
Improving Conflict-Phase Access: Identifying U.S. Policy Levers
This report explores how U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific are likely to respond to military access requests in the event of a conflict with China and what policy levers the United States might use in peacetime to affect those responses.
Nov 28, 2023
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.
Nov 27, 2023
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.
Nov 27, 2023
Report
The United States and China—Designing a Shared Future: The Potential for Track 2 Initiatives to Design an Agenda for Coexistence
The U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying, causing a high level of mistrust and stifling the impacts of Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues. A new Track 2 initiative is needed to design a shared future and stem the decline in U.S.-China relations.
Nov 21, 2023
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.
Nov 17, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Global Security

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Tom Wingfield

Senior International/Defense Researcher

Tom Wingfield is a senior international and defense researcher in RAND's Department of Defense & Political Sciences. An international lawyer, his expertise is in the strategic and policy aspects of the cyber domain and the information environment. He has done extensive international and security…
Ondrej Palicka

Research Assistant

Ondrej Palicka is a research assistant at RAND Europe working in the areas of defence and security. His research interests include terrorism, extremism, sectarian violence, and disinformation with primary focus on the Middle East.

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