Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

China's extensive and expanding foreign investment and financing activities over the past two decades have garnered substantial attention and raised several concerns. Such concerns are diverse and include (1) paying insufficient attention to internal politics, global relations, environmental regulations and controls, and human rights, worker safety, and health records of host nations; (2) engaging in unfair contracting practices; (3) using overseas investments and financing to attain access and influence in strategic locations; and (4) using disinformation to influence markets. For this report, the authors examined Chinese foreign investments and financing in critical resources and energy infrastructure for evidence of these types of behaviors. They used a case-study approach in which they examined investments and financing in coal power plants in Indonesia, Pakistan, and South Africa; electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure associated with the global energy interconnection initiative in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico; and seabed mining globally. The objective of the research was to characterize Chinese foreign investments and financing in critical resources and energy infrastructure, emphasizing the extent to which Chinese investors engaged in any of these concerning behaviors, and to develop recommendations to build capacity among host nations to diversify their sources of investment and financing in order to minimize the potential negative impacts of an overreliance on Chinese investments and financing. The research did not turn up many clear examples of such behaviors, but the authors identified several other topics of concern that have important implications for host nations.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The U.S. Air Force's ability to accomplish national security goals relies heavily on research advances in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The current shortage of STEM professionals has a direct impact on how the Air Force carries out its mission. Addressing the gap in the Air Force's civilian STEM workforce and optimizing the productivity of its existing civilian STEM employees falls squarely within the Air Force's responsibility. Because of concerns over the shortage of civilian STEM professionals, especially those with advanced degrees, Air Force leadership asked RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) to explore the existing academic and professional literature on STEM workforce to gain insights into how organizations such as the Air Force should manage, support, and organize their current civilian STEM workers to best leverage their talents and thereby maximize performance. PAF engaged in an extensive survey of the relevant literature for the study. First, the authors provided a brief overview of the differences between modern knowledge organizations, in contrast to traditional manufacturing or industrial organizations. Second, they described the characteristics of work that most appeal to STEM workers and drive their productivity. Third, the authors discussed human-capital functions that relate to the performance of STEM workers. Fourth, they discussed the changes in organizational structure most likely to foster STEM employees' productivity and innovation. Finally, the last section of this report summarizes the researchers' findings and recommendations.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Despite recent counternarcotics efforts by the Colombian and U.S. governments, coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia have risen to historic heights, making Colombia the leading global source of cocaine since 2014. However, the broad partnership between the governments of Colombia and the United States beginning in 2000 was instrumental in preventing Colombia from becoming a likely failed state and in ending the insurgency. The authors of this report examine the period in Colombia from 2000 to 2020 to assess the effectiveness of four key aspects of U.S. counternarcotics and security efforts in Colombia: eradication of coca; interdiction of cocaine, precursor chemicals, and destruction of facilities involved in drug production and trafficking; security and rule-of-law efforts to protect populations and support the development of institutions; and alternative development programs that discourage involvement in the drug trade by supporting viable, legal livelihoods. The authors find that although hard-power techniques can be effective in reducing coca cultivation and trafficking, broader issues — particularly in rural areas — need to be addressed, such as building licit economies, extending institutions and infrastructure, and promoting societal well-being. In addition, counterinsurgency and counternarcotics efforts are more likely to be successful and sustainable over longer periods if the four lines of effort are designed to complement and support each other. The limits of prioritizing eradication and interdiction over security and rule of law and development are especially noticeable in rural communities. Looking to the future, the authors recommend an approach that would synchronize the four lines of effort.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The Black Sea region is a central locus of the competition between Russia and the West for the future of Europe. The region experienced two decades of simmering conflicts even before Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Russia has used military force against countries in the region four times since 2008. The Kremlin is seeking to establish a sphere of privileged influence over countries in the region and limit their integration into Euro-Atlantic structures while enhancing Russia's regime stability and improving military capabilities for homeland defense and wider power projection into the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Despite this instability and conflict, U.S. and European officials and analysts have not given nearly as much attention to the region's security challenges as they have to those in Northern Europe. In this report, the authors first assess how Russia is employing a variety of nonmilitary and military instruments to advance its goals. They then consider how the three North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies (Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey) and five NATO partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) in the Black Sea region perceive and are responding to Russia's activities and where those countries' interests align and diverge. Finally, the authors identify possible elements of a Western strategy to protect mutual interests, counter Russian malign influence and aggression, and foster regional stability.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. --- Rand Corporation. --- 2000-2099 --- Black Sea Region --- Black Sea Region. --- Russia (Federation) --- Politics and government --- Relations --- Strategic aspects.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Senior Department of the Air Force leadership is increasingly concerned that the current readiness assessment system is not providing sufficient insight into the capability of the force to meet future mission requirements because of the shortcomings of outcome measurements. Concurrently, the U.S. Air Force is evolving its training infrastructure in response to the prospect of operations in contested and denied environments, an increased pace of warfare, and the potential loss of superiority across multiple domains in a conflict with near-peer adversaries.  Advances in the technological capabilities of training infrastructure can help fill gaps in current readiness assessments to provide senior leaders with better insight into the readiness of the force for future contingencies. To understand how such investments might do so, the authors used a multimethod approach that featured interviews with senior leaders in Air Force major commands and technical experts and included reviews of readiness reporting data and technical documentation. The report identifies current readiness assessment gaps and explores ways to address them through investments in training assets. One finding was that legacy metrics tend to focus on individual units, but the force must be able to integrate well to conduct the full spectrum of possible operations against a near-peer adversary. This requires adjusting training and how readiness is measured to assess how personnel from different units function as teams at various levels.