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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.

  • USA flag over NYC skyline, photo by franckreporter/Getty Images

    Commentary

    The Lost Generation in American Foreign Policy

    Sep 15, 2020

    Throughout the 55 years following World War II, successive U.S. administrations racked up major foreign policy successes at an average rate of about once a year. Since 2001, the pace of foreign policy achievement has fallen to once every four years. The result has been a lost generation in American foreign policy.

  • Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships and fighter jets take part in a military display in the South China Sea, April 12, 2018

    Commentary

    America's Indo-Pacific Vision Is Becoming a Reality—Because of China

    Sep 14, 2020

    The Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy has received a significant boost in recent months toward achieving its goal of keeping the region “free and open” from Chinese coercion. Ironically, China itself has been doing the boosting.

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  • A Chinese flag flutters on a fishing boat while a China Coast Guard patrols at the disputed Scarborough Shoal April 5, 2017, photo by Erik de Castro/Reuters

    Commentary

    A Short History of China's Fishing Militia and What It May Tell Us

    China's armed fishing militia plays an instrumental role in Beijing's strategy to enforce its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and East China Sea. Why did Beijing create a maritime militia to begin with and how has it evolved over time? What does this history suggest about its future?

    Apr 6, 2020

  • A woman wearing a face mask walks through a residential area blocked by barriers in Wuhan, Hubei province, April 3, 2020, photo by Aly Song/Reuters

    Journal Article

    Public Mental Health Crisis During COVID-19 Pandemic, China

    Public mental health interventions should be formally integrated into public health preparedness and emergency response plans.

    Apr 3, 2020

  • A check point in a residential area blocked by barriers in Wuhan, Hubei province, April 3, 2020, photo by Aly Song/Reuters

    Journal Article

    Strengthening China's Public Health Response System: From SARS to COVID-19

    A commentary on China's attempts to strengthen its public health system between the initial Coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent recurrence.

    Apr 3, 2020

  • Blog

    COVID-19's Effects on Mental Health, Food Access, and Education: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19 and mental health, food security challenges during the pandemic, supporting children while schools are closed, and more.

    Apr 3, 2020

  • A Sabre short-range ballistic missile launches in June 2017 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, for a test of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement, an advanced missile defense system, photo by U.S. Army

    Commentary

    Maximizing Bargaining Leverage with Beijing: Developing Missiles as Bargaining Chips

    Arms negotiations may offer the only way to reduce the grave threat posed to the United States and allied security by China's missiles. U.S. owned and operated missiles could provide the best bargaining chips.

    Apr 3, 2020

  • South Korea and U.S. Special Forces during a joint military exercise in Gangwon province, South Korea, November 7, 2019, photo by Capt. David J. Murphy/U.S. Air Force/Reuters

    Commentary

    U.S.–South Korea OPCON Transition: The Element of Timing

    As Washington and Seoul continue to examine the feasibility and conditions for wartime operational control transition, decisionmakers will likely face political pressure on timing. It may well be to the advantage of both allies that the determination of the transfer be driven by a hard, thorough diagnosis of military capabilities against emerging threats.

    Apr 2, 2020

  • An empty market after a curfew was imposed to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, March 18, 2020

    Commentary

    Economic Consequences of COVID-19 in the Middle East: Implications for U.S. National Security

    The global COVID-19 pandemic will have a dramatic effect on economies across the globe. But the Middle East may be particularly affected, given the simultaneous fall in oil prices. The economic consequences of this pandemic are also likely to affect U.S. interests in the region.

    Apr 1, 2020

  • The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort passes the Statue of Liberty as it enters New York Harbor during the COVID-19 outbreak, March 30, 2020, photo by Mike Segar/Reuters

    Commentary

    After COVID-19: America Needs to Reengage with the World, Not Retreat

    The COVID-19 pandemic should lead to a further strengthening of the national and international response capacity. The alternative of erecting barriers and closing America off to the world would leave it more vulnerable to the next big shock.

    Apr 1, 2020

  • A man walks near the Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut borders to travelers moving between Iraq and Iran, March 8, 2020, photo by Essam Al Sudani/Reuters

    Commentary

    COVID-19 Effects on Strategic Dynamics in the Middle East

    The pandemic is sure to have transformational effects everywhere, and the Middle East is no exception. But it's unlikely that the crisis will lead to new regional strategic dynamics. Rather, it's more likely to reinforce existing and largely negative trend lines.

    Mar 26, 2020

  • A Norwegian Army Leopard 2A4 main battle tank during the NATO exercise Trident Juncture in Norway, 2018, photo by Ole-Sverre Haugli/Norwegian Armed Forces

    Report

    Enhancing Security on NATO's Northern Flank: Options for Norway

    Norway supports deterrence, crisis management, and security in the High North—which includes the Scandinavian territories and northern Russia. What regional insights can other NATO allies provide to help Norway in its security role?

    Mar 25, 2020

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with public members in Sevastopol, Crimea March 18, 2020, photo by Alexei Druzhinin/Reuters

    Commentary

    Russia's Ties with the West Rhyme

    With Vladimir Putin seeking constitutional changes that could allow him to stay as president until the 2030s, Russia's strained relations with the West may persist. But if it chooses, Russia can chart a more dynamic future with closer Western ties.

    Mar 23, 2020

  • The USS Bunker Hill, part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, arrives in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 5, 2020, photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Huynh/U.S. Navy

    Commentary

    China Remains Unfazed by Warming U.S.-Vietnam Security Ties

    In early March, the United States sent an aircraft carrier to Da Nang, Vietnam, in a display of goodwill and deepening security ties between the former adversaries. China is well aware of U.S.-Vietnam moves, and yet its public reaction to the USS Theodore Roosevelt can be summed up in one word: unfazed.

    Mar 19, 2020

  • Florida Holds Presidential Primary Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

    Multimedia

    The U.S. Response to COVID-19

    In this Call with the Experts podcast, RAND researchers discuss the U.S. COVID-19 response from a variety of perspectives including pandemic preparedness, emergency response capacity and delivery, and economic impacts.

    Mar 16, 2020

  • MINUSMA Peacekeepers, during Operation Military 'FRELANA' to protect civilians and their property in Gao, Mali, July 11-12, 2017, photo by Harandane Dicko/ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

    Commentary

    Why the UK May Be Sending Troops to Mali

    The UK government's decision to deploy an additional 250 soldiers to join the United Nations mission in Mali might be in Britain's security interests. Such deployments display the UK's commitment to international security and may well form a critical part of its post-BREXIT diplomacy.

    Mar 16, 2020

  • Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, and Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan, shake hands after signing an agreement at a ceremony between members of Afghanistan's Taliban and the U.S. in Doha, Qatar, February 29, 2020, photo by Ibrahem Alomari/Reuters

    Commentary

    Peace Hasn't Broken Out in Afghanistan

    The United States and the Taliban signed a preliminary peace deal in February, aimed at ending nearly 19 years of war in Afghanistan and calling for the United States to gradually withdraw its troops. But talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government called for in the agreement and scheduled to begin on March 10 did not happen. What happens now?

    Mar 16, 2020

  • Blog

    COVID-19, Out-of-Network Hospital Payments, Russia's Economy: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19, limiting out-of-network hospital payments, Russia's sluggish economy, RAND's largest-ever fundraising campaign, and more.

    Mar 13, 2020

  • Flags of the United States, Russia, and China in the sky, photo by Pridannikov/Getty Images

    Report

    How Is the Global Competition of Ideas Changing?

    The United States is engaged in a new era of great-power competition in the realms of information, ideas, and ideology. An analysis of the policy and actions of China, Russia, and nonstate actors suggests what this competition might look like in the future and how U.S. policy should be adapted accordingly.

    Mar 12, 2020

  • A man texts on his mobile phone while waiting in line at dawn to register at Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, photo by Internews Europe/Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    Essay

    The Right Technology Can Help Refugees Stay Connected

    Nearly 71 million people globally are displaced by conflict and persecution. There have been some real advances in technology to help them, but innovations have often been fragmented, without a larger vision. A more strategic approach to technology could better serve their needs.

    Mar 11, 2020

  • A man wearing a mask walks through closed stores in Shanghai, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, February 4, 2020, photo by Aly Song/Reuters

    Testimony

    How Does COVID-19 Affect Small and Medium-Sized Businesses?

    In China, as in most countries, small and medium-sized enterprises are the engines of the economy. An analysis of China's response to the COVID-19 outbreak and how it has affected China's economy and the global supply chain provides useful insights for the U.S. government and businesses.

    Mar 10, 2020

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question as he attends an annual VTB Capital "Russia Calling!" Investment Forum in Moscow, Russia, November 20, 2019, photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters

    Commentary

    Wake-Up Call for Russia

    Deteriorating living standards have put Russians on edge, and fears of economic stagnation have risen. Russia has the capacity to do better. So why is the economy stagnating?

    Mar 9, 2020

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