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National Security and Terrorism

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RAND conducts a broad array of national security research for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied ministries of defense. Our federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) explore threat assessment, military acquisition, technology, recruitment and personnel management, counterinsurgency, intelligence, and readiness. RAND is a world leader in terrorism research. Studies address such topics as terrorism financing and strategies to undermine violent extremism.

Report
Arctic Capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces
The United States has considerable interests in the Arctic and is one of just eight countries with territory in the region. How do U.S. armed forces' capabilities differ from those of other countries operating there, including Russia, China, and allies?
Nov 1, 2023
Commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Nov 22, 2023

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Commentary
Can NATO Supercharge Military Greening?
NATO has taken significant steps to reduce environmental impacts of military activities and has set voluntary emissions reduction targets for its member states. By leveraging its existing standardization processes to encompass a wider range of equipment, supplies, and practices, NATO can solidify its role as the preeminent military leader on climate.
Dec 1, 2023
Research Brief
Striving for Diversity: Observations on Racial and Ethnic Talent in the Regular Army's Senior Officer Corps
This brief discusses research on the progression of racial and ethnic minority officers through the ranks and ways to improve promotion rates to increase diversity in senior Army leadership.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Retention of Racial-Ethnic Minorities in the Regular Army
To help the Army accomplish its diversity goals, RAND Arroyo Center examined retention of racial-ethnic minorities in the Regular Army's enlisted and officer ranks and how racial-ethnic composition changes as soldiers progress in their careers.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Assessing Shifts in U.S. Department of Homeland Security Targeted Violence Prevention Efforts Through Early 2022
This report characterizes changes made in U.S. Department of Homeland Security efforts to prevent targeted violence, including the extent of change and how those changes responded to concerns about efforts to counter violent extremism.
Nov 30, 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
Commentary
Book Review: 'Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat' by Sarah Percy
In her book Forgotten Warriors: The Long History of Women in Combat, Sarah Percy offers an expansive and insightful exploration of both the historical record as well as how—and why—it may have been erased.
Nov 30, 2023
Commentary
Creating the Uncrewed-Centric Navy of the Mid–21st Century
The emergence of uncrewed technologies in all domains can enable the Navy to achieve greater capacity and operate in harm's way by avoiding over-concentration of combat power in too few assets. There is a need for relentlessly committed leadership that aims for an uncrewed-centric navy by mid-century, while integrating new and legacy assets to manage the long, gradual transition.
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
Conflict Projections in U.S. Central Command: Incorporating Climate Change
This report presents an analysis of the impact of climate change on the frequency of conflict in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Pathways from Climate Change to Conflict in U.S. Central Command
This report presents an analysis of the pathways from climate change to conflict and how that relationship is unfolding in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Commentary
A Framework for Building a Civil Reserve Space Program
If the United States were to create a civil reserve space program, what factors should the Department of Defense consider to balance potential benefits, risks, and costs?
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
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
Report
Designing A Strange Game: A Nuclear Wargame for the 21st Century
This report details the theoretical motivation and design of a wargame meant to address the lack of serious games that consider nuclear weapon employment and tools available to teach stakeholders about the challenges of nuclear weapon employment.
Nov 28, 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
Commentary
BBC's Gaza Service Demonstrates Power of Radio During Conflict
Radio has long been used during conflicts to relay news and information when all other means of communication are knocked out of service. The U.S. Agency for Global Media could follow the lead of the BBC World Service and establish a pop-up station to provide safety and supply updates, emergency medical information, and news to the people in Gaza.
Nov 28, 2023
Journal Article
Estimating the Lifetime Prevalence of Incarceration in the U.S. Veteran Population
This brief report estimates the lifetime prevalence of incarceration among U.S. military veterans using data from three nationally representative U.S. samples.
Nov 27, 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

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RAND Topic:
National Security and Terrorism

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Stephanie Young

Director, Resource Management Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE

Stephanie Young is a senior political scientist at RAND, director of the Resource Management Program at RAND Project AIR FORCE, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She manages a diverse portfolio of research in support of the Department of the Air Force on…
Katya Migacheva

Social Scientist

Katya Migacheva (she/her) is a social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has a passion for connecting social science and application and bringing research to inform the urgent challenges of today. Migacheva has conducted work both within the United States and internationally and applied her…

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