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Globalization

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International trade policies and new technologies facilitate the flow of people, information, and products across national borders, in turn encouraging the integration of regional economies, societies, and cultures. RAND research has investigated how globalization affects and has been affected by policymaking throughout the world.

Commentary

Eliminating Jobs or Strengthening the Economy? The Impact of Trade Policies on the American Worker

Aug 30, 2016

The enormous benefits of trade include economic growth, more variety for industry and consumers, and lower prices. But trade can displace some American workers. Training programs, relocation assistance, and wage insurance can help.
Commentary

Curbing Globalization Won't Halt the Rise of Inequality

Dec 14, 2016

Globalization may be one of many factors driving inequality. But ending trade agreements and throwing up trade barriers is unlikely to stop this trend.

Explore Globalization

Commentary

This Is Not a Great-Power Competition

The emerging conventional wisdom among foreign policy analysts in Washington is that a new era of great-power competition is upon us. But does that phrase really capture today's reality?

May 29, 2019
Commentary

What Ronald Reagan Can Teach Us About Dealing with Contemporary Russia

Politics loves its historical analogies and today, perhaps, there is no more common a comparison to the Trump presidency than the Reagan administration. Reagan's tenure was marked by his successful competition with the Soviet Union. Does Reagan provide a blueprint for triumphing over modern Russia?

May 13, 2019
Commentary

Russia Chooses Paupers as Partners, with Questionable Benefit

By leveraging the efficiencies of globalization and cultivating ties with prosperous partners, Russia could increase its economic potential and improve living standards for its people. And by engaging more positively with the world, it could gain influence in the forums that matter, such as the G20 and multilateral institutions.

Feb 14, 2019
Commentary

The Need to Think More Clearly About 'Great-Power Competition'

Today's world order is increasingly defined by competition between the United States and a host of major powers, especially China and Russia. Who is America's principal competitor and over what is it competing? What is America’s ultimate objective? And how will it prepare its economy and its society for infinite competition of an indefinite nature?

Feb 11, 2019
Commentary

Questioning the Presumption of a U.S.-China Power Transition

The United States occupies the central role in a world order that, while under growing duress, remains a central organizing framework in world affairs. There are many trajectories along which U.S.-China relations might evolve if China aims to displace the United States for global pre-eminence.

Jan 9, 2019
Commentary

The End of the End of History?

The Trump administration has taken steps that represent a significant retreat from the norm-based, world order that the United States has championed since 1945. If this shift continues, what might be the impact?

Jan 8, 2019
Commentary

The Good and Bad of the Trump Administration's New Africa Strategy

The Trump administration's Africa strategy combines a turn away from counterterrorism as a priority, emphasis on trade, and working to help Africans solve their own problems, all of which could be opportunities for a more positive relationship. The implied prioritization of great power competition, however, suggests the real risk of a return to Cold War-era approach.

Dec 20, 2018
Blog

Most Popular RAND Blog Commentary of 2018

RAND experts publish hundreds of pieces of RAND Blog commentary every year, weighing in on pressing policy questions, breaking down current events, and untangling complex trends. To look back on some of the policy stories that defined the year, we've rounded up the RAND Blog pieces that resonated most with rand.org visitors.

Dec 20, 2018
Commentary

Japan's Chance to Shine?

Japan may never be a global leader in a way comparable to the United States. But Tokyo does have the power to provide leadership that will sustain key elements of the crumbling international order.

Oct 30, 2018
Commentary

What Does China's Pursuit of a Global Coalition Mean for World Politics?

As disputes between Beijing and Washington over trade and other issues intensify, analysts have highlighted domestic factors as reasons why President Xi Jinping may resist compromise. However, China's pursuit of a greater international leadership role likely plays an overlooked, but increasingly important role.

Oct 8, 2018
Report

Report

International Movement and Science: A survey of researchers by the Together Science Can campaign

This report documents findings from a survey exploring the patterns, enablers, obstacles and outcomes of international movement (short-term visits and relocation) for researchers around the world.

Sep 17, 2018
Commentary

Taking Stock of a Shifting World Order

The postwar order seems poised to continue eroding, without a clear alternative in the offing. It has often taken cataclysmic events to inaugurate new eras of geopolitical order, but one hopes that the postwar order will instead be reinvigorated through farsighted statecraft.

Aug 31, 2018
Commentary

The Global Order Will Outlast U.S. Leadership

Even if America bails on the international order there is plenty of evidence that Europe, China, Japan, and the rest of the developed world will maintain existing multilateral structures and build new ones. The order will survive but may become less liberal, less democratic, and perhaps less peaceful.

Aug 23, 2018
Commentary

The Roots—and Purpose—of the Post-War Order

As the world enters an era of greater international competition, U.S. policymakers should take care not to underestimate the importance of the postwar system. The order is far from a myth; it is the United States' most important competitive advantage.

Aug 7, 2018
Commentary

The Security Risks of a Trade War with China

As U.S.-China trade tensions continue to rise, many observers are focused on the potential for a full-fledged trade war that could destabilize the world economy. But there are security concerns as well. A China less constrained by and invested in economic ties with the United States could pose a greater challenge to U.S. foreign policy.

Aug 6, 2018
Commentary

China Prepares for an International Order After U.S. Leadership

In Beijing's estimation, key geopolitical developments have increased the possibility that China will face a power transition with the United States in coming years. In response, Chinese officials are laying the groundwork to manage that transition and ensure a leading role for their country in the emerging international order.

Aug 2, 2018
Commentary

Attempts to Order Geopolitics Have a Sobering History

Past efforts to introduce world order have resulted less from foresighted statecraft than from cataclysmic upheavals such as World War II. If the current international system erodes, what might have to happen for a new one to emerge?

Jul 25, 2018
Commentary

Book Review: Elizabeth Economy's The Third Revolution

The United States' attitude towards China is undergoing a significant recalibration, perhaps the most fundamental since Beijing's crackdown at Tiananmen Square almost three decades ago. Harnessing its resurgence while tempering its revisionism will likely be Washington's most vexing long-term policy challenge.

Jun 26, 2018
Commentary

We Need a New International Order. Here's Why

The postwar, rule-based international order is under unprecedented strain. The U.S. predominance so characteristic of the current order must give way to a more multilateral system, one that takes seriously the sometimes-differing perspectives of other major powers.

Jun 25, 2018
Commentary

Without Reform and Cooperation with China, the International System Cannot Hold

No rule-based international order can survive without Chinese support. Reforms are needed to address Beijing's concerns and provide it with a continued stake in the order. The trick is to decide where compromise is acceptable for U.S. interests and to draw clear lines around principles where it is not.

Jun 25, 2018

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