Rand Corporation: 374 books
Friends, Foes, and Future Directions
U.S. Partnerships in a Turbulent World: Strategic Rethink
Language: English
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Report evaluates strategies for dealing with U.S. partners and adversaries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in a time of diminishing defense budgets and American public preference for a domestic focus. The three proposed strategies are to be more assertive, to be more collaborative, or to retrench...
by Terrence K. Kelly, James Dobbins, David A. Shlapak
Language: English
Release Date: August 22, 2014
Language: English
Release Date: August 22, 2014
Looking to the 2030–2040 time frame, U.S. policy and military strategy will need to strike a balance among maintaining a cooperative relationship with China, deterring Chinese aggression in regional disputes, and preparing for the possibility that China could become more assertive. The U.S. Army...
Spillover from the Conflict in Syria
An Assessment of the Factors that Aid and Impede the Spread of Violence
Language: English
Release Date: August 27, 2014
Aid flowing into Syria is intended to determine the outcome of the conflict between rebel factions and Damascus. Instead, it could perpetuate the civil war and ignite larger regional hostilities that could reshape the political geography of the Middle East. This report examines the main factors likely...
Precision and Purpose
Airpower in the Libyan Civil War
Language: English
Release Date: July 8, 2015
A team of U.S. and international experts assesses the impact of various nations’ airpower efforts during the 2011 conflict in Libya, including NATO allies and non-NATO partners, and how their experiences offer guidance for future conflicts. In addition to the roles played by the United States, Britain...
The Future of Mobility
Scenarios for China in 2030
Language: English
Release Date: July 1, 2015
Researchers developed two scenarios to envision the future of mobility in China in 2030. Economic growth, the presence of constraints on vehicle ownership and driving, and environmental conditions differentiate the scenarios. By making potential long-term mobility futures more vivid, the team sought...
Denying Flight
Strategic Options for Employing No-Fly Zones
Language: English
Release Date: December 16, 2013
In the past two decades, the U.S. Air Force has participated in three contingencies involving no-fly zones (NFZs) over Bosnia, Iraq, and Libya, and NFZ proposals have been proffered for some time as an option for intervention in the Syrian civil war that would avoid placing Western troops on the ground....
America's Security Deficit
Addressing the Imbalance Between Strategy and Resources in a Turbulent World: Strategic Rethink
Language: English
Release Date: October 19, 2015
This report analyzes defense options available to the United States in responding to current and emerging threats to U.S. security and interests in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It focuses on ways that the United States might adapt military instruments to meet these emerging challenges, assessing in broad terms the cost of defense investments commensurate with the interests at stake.
Blinders, Blunders, and Wars
What America and China Can Learn
Language: English
Release Date: November 26, 2014
The history of wars caused by misjudgments, from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia to America’s invasion of Iraq, reveals that leaders relied on cognitive models that were seriously at odds with objective reality. Blinders, Blunders, and Wars analyzes eight historical examples of strategic blunders...
by Chaitra M. Hardison, Nelson Lim, Kirsten M. Keller
Language: English
Release Date: January 22, 2015
Language: English
Release Date: January 22, 2015
Reviews the Los Angeles Fire Department’s hiring practices as of June 2014 and outlines a recommended new firefighter hiring process that is intended to increase efficiency of the hiring process, bolster the evidence supporting the validity of it, and make it more transparent and inclusive.
A Persistent Threat
The Evolution of al Qa'ida and Other Salafi Jihadists
Language: English
Release Date: June 4, 2014
This report examines the status and evolution of al Qa’ida and other Salafi-jihadist groups, and uses qualitative and quantitative data to assess whether this movement has strengthened. The author uses this analysis to examine U.S. strategic options to counter al Qa’ida and other terrorist groups based on the threat level and the capacity of local governments.
Improving the U.S. Military’s Understanding of Unstable Environments Vulnerable to Violent Extremist Groups
Insights from Social Science
Language: English
Release Date: December 18, 2013
For over a decade, operations associated with irregular warfare have placed large demands on U.S. ground forces and have led to development of new Army and Joint doctrine. This report helps analysts identify and assess twelve key factors that create and perpetuate environments susceptible to insurgency,...
The 2008 Battle of Sadr City
Reimagining Urban Combat
Language: English
Release Date: December 18, 2013
In 2008, U.S. and Iraqi forces defeated an uprising in Sadr City, a district of Baghdad with ~2.4 million residents. Coalition forces’ success in this battle helped consolidate the Government of Iraq’s authority, contributing significantly to the attainment of contemporary U.S. operational objectives...
by Lauren Caston, Robert S. Leonard, Christopher A. Mouton
Language: English
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Language: English
Release Date: February 4, 2014
The authors assess alternatives for a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) across a broad set of potential characteristics and situations. They use the current Minuteman III as a baseline to develop a framework to characterize alternative classes of ICBMs, assess the survivability...
Toppling the Taliban
Air-Ground Operations in Afghanistan, October 2001–June 2002
Language: English
Release Date: January 4, 2016
On September 11, 2001, the United States was without a plan for military operations in Afghanistan. One was quickly created by the Defense Department and operations began October 7. The Taliban was toppled in less than two months. This report describes preparations at CENTCOM and elsewhere, Army operations...