Category: Intel

Russian military shifts and stinging Kremlin criticisms of Ukraine are raising questions about Moscow’s aims. In 2014, Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine led to a strong Western response—a jump in military aid to Ukraine, a NATO buildup on its eastern flank, and unprecedented sanctions. What could be in store… Continue reading Is Russia About to Make a ‘Serious Mistake’ in Ukraine?

By now the impacts of supply chain disruption are becoming all too familiar: shortages, inflation, factory closures, goods waiting at ports to be unloaded. All these impacts are serious enough, but another more-hidden concern lurks just beneath the surface: the impact of supply chain failure on national security, broadly defined as a nation’s ability to… Continue reading Supply Chain Disruptions: The Risks and Consequences

Health care consolidation is endemic across the United States. With consolidation—both horizontal (hospitals acquiring other hospitals) and vertical (for example, hospitals and health systems acquiring physician practices)—has come public attention and regulatory scrutiny. Proponents of consolidation argue that size generates efficiencies and offers opportunities to improve care coordination and quality. Critics point to concentrated markets… Continue reading Does Vertical Integration Improve or Imperil U.S. Health Care?

Africa has not traditionally been a high-value market for arms exports, but Russia has been very active on the continent. Moscow is using arms sales there to influence political and military leaders. Russia is the largest exporter of weapons to Sub-Saharan Africa (PDF). Its arms exports to Africa have increased by 23 percent over the… Continue reading What Does Africa Need Most Now: Russian Arms Sales or Good Vaccines?

This week, we discuss how Russia and China manipulated news about COVID-19; the risks of America’s increasingly uncivil behavior; measures to help stabilize the health care marketplace; attracting diverse talent to the public sector; the value of understanding student opinions; and how the West could help Ukraine. Photo by svetikd/Getty Images Both Russia and China… Continue reading News Manipulation, the Risk of Civil War, Russia and Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap

There is growing bipartisan concern over the power Silicon Valley’s oligopolies wield over American society. Amazon alone controls 72% of U.S. adult book sales, Airbnb accounts for a fifth of domestic lodging expenditures and Facebook accounts for almost three-quarters of social media visits. Just two companies, Apple and Google, act as gatekeepers to 99% of… Continue reading How Platform Transparency Could Help Build Antitrust Cases

The alarming news that Russia is building up troops along the border with Ukraine might seem like deja vu. There were similar headlines this past spring, and intensified fighting along the line of contact in the contested Donbas region has periodically broken out since the so-called “Minsk II” peace deal was signed in 2015. If… Continue reading How Could the U.S. React to Russia’s Latest Posturing on Ukraine?

Leaders of EU member states and institutions have recently renewed calls for Europe to assume a greater role and increased autonomy in transatlantic and global security and defence. Successive U.S. administrations have welcomed a larger European role in defence, and it has become a more urgent priority for the Biden administration as it rebalances its… Continue reading U.S. Support for European Strategic Autonomy Could Boost Transatlantic Solidarity and Security

The future of disease monitoring for global health may depend on the willingness of policymakers to protect data-sharing agreements from global geopolitics. The recent G20 summit sought to focus on global health financing and find ways to build a strong global health surveillance system. Little progress was made. The lack of agreement was not surprising,… Continue reading Global Health Data Sharing: The Case of China and the Two Coronavirus Pandemics