Institutional capacity-building (ICB) efforts have been critical to achieving U.S. security objectives in Africa. But as U.S. policy shifts from counterterrorism to strategic competition, could ICB programs also help the United States gain influence in Africa?
The cover story highlights the risks of geoengineering -- the large-scale manipulation of environmental processes to control climate. The Q&A with Jacqueline Burns sheds light on how her military experience informs her approach to research and analysis.
This paper documents important mental health spillovers in the context of a program that offered pregnant women modest cash incentives to use pre- and perinatal health care services.
Effort by health workers in developing countries has been the subject of recent attention, but the implications for health outcomes have remained a matter of conjecture. This paper provides new evidence about the returns to health worker effort.
This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.
Government efforts to counter the propaganda and radicalization that lead to violent extremism are becoming more common around the world, but there's little research on whether such programs work. It is critical to conduct more research to tease out which programs are most effective.
Countries around the world are fighting a growing threat of violent extremism. Many have begun implementing countering violent extremism (CVE) interventions to prevent radicalization. Have these programs been effective?
A program paid expectant mothers in Nigeria to use prenatal, delivery, and postnatal health services, resulting in an increase in use of care. This led to a substantial decrease in child deaths. Scaling this program up across Nigeria could reduce stillbirths by 85,000 annually.
A randomized controlled trial in Nigeria evaluated an intervention that paid pregnant women to deliver in a health facility, which led to a 41% increase in facility deliveries. We found improvements in the quality of delivery care and in satisfaction with care.
The authors present the results of a text message–based randomized controlled trial designed to assess the impact of a countering violent extremism (CVE)–themed radio program broadcast in northern Nigeria in 2018–2019.
Events in Iraq and Mali have raised questions about the value of Security Force Assistance and U.S. capacity to strengthen client states' militaries in the face of insurgencies or other threats. History shows that SFA programs could be improved if they focused more on ideology and how an army complements a host country's larger nation-building efforts.
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.
The Islamic State has lost substantial control of territory and people but still conducts and inspires attacks around the world. The U.S. should pursue a light rollback strategy that relies on local forces backed by U.S. special operations forces, intelligence assets, and airpower.
The Islamic State has lost substantial control of territory and people. But the group still conducts and inspires attacks around the world. The United States should pursue a light rollback strategy that relies on local forces backed by U.S. special operations troops, intelligence assets, and airpower.
