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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.

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  • U.S. Marines, British and Afghan troops attend a handover ceremony in Helmand province, October 26, 2014

    Commentary

    A Peace 'Surge' to End War in Afghanistan

    President Trump has no easy options in Afghanistan. A surge of U.S. commitment to negotiating a political settlement would not remove all the obstacles, but it is a prerequisite.

    Jul 24, 2017

  • An Iraqi flag is seen amid destroyed buildings in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, July 23, 2017

    Report

    How to Achieve Stability in Iraq After ISIS

    After major combat operations against ISIS in Mosul, recovery and stability will require redoubled efforts by Iraqis and the international community. How well humanitarian, security, and other needs are addressed will affect the immediate stabilization of Iraq, including whether civilians can return home.

    Jul 24, 2017

  • British, Pound, money, bills, Different, value, currency, finance, brexit, business, cash trade, euro, United Kingdom, finance, pay, global, british, pound, different, united kingdom

    Announcement

    Future Funding of NHS and Social Care in UK

    Hosted by the Health Foundation, this public seminar will present and discuss findings from a review of current thinking internationally, which has formed the first stage of a two-year research study on options for funding NHS and social care in the UK and their public acceptability. Presentations will be made by researchers from RAND Europe and the Personal Social Services Research Unit.

    Jul 20, 2017

  • Laptop and cursor with a gun icon pattern

    Project

    International Arms Trade on the Dark Web

    RAND Europe was commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council to explore the European illegal arms trade, with focus on the role played by the hidden web in fuelling and/or facilitating such trade.

    Jul 20, 2017

  • People walk in front of the remains of the University of Mosul, which was burned and destroyed during a battle with Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq, April 10, 2017.

    Commentary

    Moving Beyond Mosul

    The Islamic State group has been defeated in Mosul. But this military routing isn't enough to ensure lasting stability, either in Mosul or in Iraq more broadly. What comes next will require careful planning, diplomacy, implementation, and coordination.

    Jul 18, 2017

  • Rebel fighters walk out from a cave that was used by Islamic State militants, after they captured the area from them, on the outskirts of the northern town of al-Bab, Syria, February 2, 2017

    Multimedia

    The Evolving Terrorist Threat

    As ISIS loses territory in Iraq and Syria, are terrorist attacks more likely or less? How is the group evolving? What about al-Qa'ida? To answer these questions, RAND convened a group of terrorism experts.

    Jul 12, 2017

  • Periodical

    Periodical

    RAND Review: July-August 2017

    This issue highlights recent RAND research on the prevalence and burden of chronic health conditions; on the economic benefits of U.S. overseas security commitments; and on what RAND is doing to anticipate emerging global security challenges.

    Jul 11, 2017

  • The USS Lassen arrives at a South Korean naval port in Donghae as sailors wave South Korean and U.S. flags, March 9, 2013

    Essay

    Are America's Overseas Security Commitments Worth It?

    A growing debate has called into question U.S. international security commitments and whether their economic value outweighs their costs. Research suggests that the magnitude of the benefits could be substantial.

    Jul 7, 2017

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to journalists following a live nationwide broadcast in Moscow, June 15, 2017

    Report

    Strengthening Strategic Stability with Russia

    Strategic stability between the United States and Russia is eroding, but the two countries still share a deep interest in avoiding nuclear war. Strengthening stability will be challenging. Meaningful progress will require courage and sacrifices on both sides.

    Jul 7, 2017

  • Iraqi soldiers pose with the Islamic State flag in al-Shura, Iraq, which they recaptured on October 30, 2016

    Blog

    Vickers, Crocker, Bergen, and Mudd Headline RAND ISIS Conference

    Panelists at a RAND conference on ISIS agreed that efforts to protect the U.S. homeland and conduct campaigns to dismantle extremist groups have had success. But many long-term challenges to the broader world order remain that will require strategic patience.

    Jul 6, 2017

  • Peter Norton attending a Center for Global Risk and Security Advisory Board meeting in October 2008

    Content

    Peter Norton: Entrepreneur, Art Collector, and RAND Advisory Board Member

    When the Saudi kingdom hired RAND in the 1980s to advise its information technology industry on the best bets for future investment, RAND researchers consulted expert Peter Norton to back up their findings. Norton has supported RAND ever since.

    Jul 3, 2017

  • The Grand al-Nuri Mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a new caliphate in July 2014 is seen in ruins after it was retaken by Iraqi forces from Islamic State militants, June 30, 2017

    Commentary

    Can the Islamic State Survive If Baghdadi Is Dead?

    If and when self-declared Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed, it will have little effect on the threat posed by the Islamic State to global security. The far more important objective is to continue dismantling the organization as a whole, including its affiliates in Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Afghanistan.

    Jun 30, 2017

  • A green globe illustration

    Q&A

    Global Risks in 2040: Q&A with Andrew Parasiliti

    Andrew Parasiliti discusses how the RAND Center for Global Risk and Security is envisioning the world in 2040, and the security challenges that will shape it.

    Jun 30, 2017

  • Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May meeting with Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster and others inside 10 Downing Street, London, June 26, 2017

    Commentary

    Northern Ireland Is Now at the Forefront of Brexit

    After Prime Minister Theresa May's unexpected failure to win a majority in June's snap election, she is now reliant on Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to shore up a minority Conservative government. As Brexit negotiations begin, European politicians should refresh their knowledge of Northern Irish politics.

    Jun 29, 2017

  • French President Emmanuel Macron rides in a helicopter as he visits French troops in Africa's Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, 19 May 2017.

    Commentary

    The U.S.-France Dustup Over Counterterrorism in the Sahel

    It's time for Paris and Washington to get together with the G5 nations of the Sahel and draft a strategy for achieving shared objectives. The French cannot do it alone or even with the support of the G5 nations. The U.S. would be penny wise but pound foolish to stay aloof or even just uphold the status quo.

    Jun 23, 2017

  • Afghan local police (ALP) sit at the back of a truck near a frontline during a battle with the Taliban at Qalay-i-zal district, in Kunduz province, Afghanistan August 1, 2015

    Commentary

    Trump's Options for Afghanistan: Losing or Not Losing

    The Trump administration faces the choice of losing quickly by withdrawing from Afghanistan; losing slowly by maintaining America's current, inadequate commitment; or not losing by increasing that commitment enough to maintain a stalemate on the battlefield.

    Jun 23, 2017

  • News Release

    News Release

    Senior RAND Fellow Reflects on 50 Years of U.S. Diplomacy

    From Vietnam in the 1960s to the Afghanistan of this decade, James Dobbins has been on the frontlines of American diplomacy, working to advance U.S. national interests in some of the world's most difficult and troubled situations. His new book provides a thoughtful insider's account.

    Jun 20, 2017

  • James Dobbins with Hamid Karzai in the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 2001

    Commercial Book

    An Insider's Look at 50 Years of American Diplomacy

    RAND's James Dobbins spent five decades on the frontlines of U.S. diplomacy. Now he takes readers behind the scenes of the Vietnam peace talks, the Cold War, German reunification, the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, and more.

    Jun 20, 2017

  • Exercise Anakonda 2016, Exercise Anakonda 16, Anakonda 16, AK16, AN16, Poland, MTA Drawsko Pomorski, DPTA, MTA Chelmno, MTA Wedryzn, MTA Krosno Odrzanskie, MTA Nowa Deba, Jaworze Training Area, Gdynia Training Area, Ustka, U.S. Army Europe, USAREUR, U.S. European Command, EUCOM, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 364th ESC, 311th Expeditionary Sustainment, Command, 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 412th Theater Engineer Command, 469th Combat Support, 483rd Quartermaster Company, 328th Adjutant General Company, 236th Transportation Company, 592nd Ordnance Company, 716th Quartermaster Company, 129th Transportation Company, 361st Engineer Company, 380th Transportation Element, 3d Infantry Division, 3d ID, Fort Stewart, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, airborne, paratrooper, Stryker, ordnance, ammunition supply, engineer, transportation, quartermaster, petroleum, adjutant general, multi-role bridge, inland cargo, movement control teams, combat service support, combat sustainment, maintenance support, 2X Citizen, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army Reserve Command, U.S. Army Reserve photo, U.S. Army Reserve photograph, U.S. Army Reserve photographer, U.S. Army Reserve photojournalism, Army photo, Army photographer, Army photojournalism, Army picture, Federal Reserve, Operational Reserve, Twice the Citizen, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army Reserve Command, USARC, Warrior-Citizen, military photograph, military photography, military photojournalism, military picture, reserve component, Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, U.S., U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army National Guard, 4th ID, 4th Infantry Division

    Report

    NATO's Northeastern Flank: Emerging Opportunities for Engagement

    This report examines the impact of renewed tension between NATO and Russia on key allies and partners in central and northeastern Europe to identify how changes in their interests, strategies, and capabilities affect U.S. partnering in the region.

    Jun 20, 2017

  • Chemical experts inspect the site of a suicide truck bomb attack at a petrol station in Hilla, Iraq, November 25, 2016

    Commentary

    Can We Predict Where Terrorists Will Strike Next?

    Terrorism has escalated horizontally, not vertically. Instead of weapons of mass destruction, there has been a proliferation of low-level attacks. The trick will be to predict and prevent new plots.

    Jun 19, 2017

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