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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.

Report

How Does Russia View the International Order?

May 18, 2017

Russia sees the U.S.-led international order as a threat to its interests. U.S. and Russian interests overlap in some areas, such as counterterrorism. But they are directly opposed in others. What are America's policy options?
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Could Stateless Attribution Promote International Cyber Accountability?

Jun 2, 2017

The public may respond to government claims about who is behind a cyberattack with suspicion and confusion. Could an independent, global organization for cyber attribution help?

Explore Global Security

Commentary

Book Review: 'The Chessboard and the Web,' by Anne-Marie Slaughter

Few quests in international relations scholarship are as imperative and vexing as that of rethinking power — how it is defined, who wields which types, and what strategies different actors pursue to accumulate it. Slaughter's new book is a significant contribution to that end.

Sep 22, 2017
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Impressions and Appraisals in Japan

Impressions from the author gleaned during a trip through Japan circa 1962.

Sep 22, 2017
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Follow the Money: Promoting Greater Transparency in Department of Defense Security Cooperation Reporting

This report analyzes the obstacles that the Department of Defense (DoD) faces in tracking security cooperation spending and provides recommendations for streamlining DoD's reporting process to meet new requirements for transparency.

Sep 19, 2017
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Letter from India: July 17, 1962

Text of a letter received from Alan Carlin dated July 17, 1962, in which he relates a discussion with B.K. Desai of the Democratic Research Center, Bombay, India. Contains observations relating to the Chinese expansion.

Sep 19, 2017
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Impressions and Appraisals in Singapore: May 18–May 29, 1962

Impressions from the author gleaned during a trip through Singapore circa 1962.

Sep 18, 2017
Commentary

Europe's Hour Is Here

Since World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom have played disproportionate roles, enhancing European security. Now continental Europe will have to assume more of the burden in advancing Western values and interests with an unpredictable and at times unruly Russia.

Sep 16, 2017
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The Delicate Balance of Terror

RAND paper from 1958 that looks at the continuing effort to deter general war.

Sep 15, 2017
Commentary

Sahel Governments Need More Security Assistance

Developments in the Sahel are cause for alarm. Despite the presence of an active French counterterrorism force and a UN peacekeeping mission, al Qaeda groups are thriving. The region would benefit from approaches that combine police and military operations with economic development and improved governance.

Sep 14, 2017
Commentary

Joint Military Exercises Distract from Complex Russia-Belarus Relationship

Analysts and military leaders have concerns that Russia will use the Zapad 2017 exercise in Belarus as a smokescreen to put personnel and equipment in place, and keep it there. But the deep ties and history of cooperation between the two states make the chances of that happening unlikely.

Sep 13, 2017
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What Are the Trends in Armed Conflicts? What Do They Mean for U.S. Defense Policy?

Until the wars in Syria and Ukraine, armed conflict in the world had been decreasing for decades. Future projections show continued decline, but the U.S. military has an important role in deterring conflict, underpinning peacekeeping coalitions, and possibly in responding to proxy wars by other powers.

Sep 12, 2017
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Conflict Trends and Conflict Drivers: An Empirical Assessment of Historical Conflict Patterns and Future Conflict Projections

Based on conflict projections through 2040, this report concludes that despite the generally declining incidence of armed conflict, the Army must prepare for conventional wars against other states as well as irregular warfare against nonstate actors.

Sep 12, 2017
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A More Peaceful World? Regional Conflict Trends and U.S. Defense Planning

This report analyzes trends in violent conflict and their implications for defense planning. It presents models estimating levels of conflict to 2040 under different scenarios and suggests early warning indicators of potential increases in conflict.

Sep 12, 2017
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Understanding Conflict Trends: A Review of the Social Science Literature on the Causes of Conflict

This report explores, through an extensive literature review, whether the extreme rarity of interstate war and reduced incidence of intrastate war represent permanent shifts in world politics or are a temporary aberration.

Sep 12, 2017
Commentary

Beyond Strategic Patience with North Korea: What Comes Next?

North Korea says that nuclear weapons are essential to regime survival. The United States should figure out how to persuade the North Korean regime that it is less likely to survive by posing a nuclear threat than by cooperating with the international community.

Sep 8, 2017
Commentary

What Were China's Objectives in the Doklam Dispute?

The biggest Chinese concern in the Himalayas might be with the future of the 82-year-old Dalai Lama. China intends to select his successor. A high-profile scare on the Doklam Plateau may have been intended to send India an implicit message not to repeat its decision to shelter the Dalai Lama in 1959.

Sep 8, 2017
Commentary

Managing Chaos in an Era of Great Power Competition

As Washington policymakers seek a new strategic course, U.S. national security strategy should not neglect the importance of competition short of armed conflict. A U.S. strategy that incorporates this perspective from the beginning could manage chaos at a reasonable cost.

Sep 5, 2017
Commentary

Countering Violent Islamist Extremism: The Value of Words Over War

It is highly probable that the world will witness more attacks on civilian-centric locations as groups like the Islamic State group try to prove their continued relevance. Governments need a more nuanced strategy aimed at helping communities counter the conditions that contribute to extremist violence.

Sep 1, 2017
Commentary

President Trump's Recommitment to Nation-Building in Afghanistan

In his speech on Afghanistan, President Trump maintained his stance against nation-building. But like President Obama's policy, the refreshed approach hinges on the U.S. developing Afghan government capabilities to fight the Taliban, provide for the country's long-term security, and serve as a counterterrorism partner.

Aug 30, 2017
Commentary

Countering Chinese Coercion: The Case of Doklam

India and China have agreed to end a two-month border confrontation in the Doklam area claimed by both China and Bhutan. The immediate crisis seems to be over, but it offers insights into Chinese coercive strategies and how they may be thwarted.

Aug 29, 2017
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Alternative Options for U.S. Policy Toward the International Order

The collection of rules, norms, and institutions that came to be understood as the international order after World War II has come under increasing strain. What alternative visions for the future order could respond to changes in politics? And what role could the United States play in each?

Aug 28, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Global Security

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