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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.

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At Congress's request, RAND researchers assessed the progress that the commercial spaceflight industry has made in adopting voluntary safety standards, the industry's progress in meeting key metrics set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2017, and whether the industry has matured such that areas identified in FAA reports are ready for regulatory action. The Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 imposes a moratorium on safety regulations until October 1, 2023. The FAA will be authorized to propose and issue regulations upon expiration of the moratorium (if it is allowed to expire). The RAND team reviewed the existing literature and public data. They also conducted interviews with subject-matter experts and stakeholders across the space domain, including government, industry, and standards development organizations. In the authors' assessment, the readiness of the commercial space industry for regulation, or for further development of voluntary consensus standards, does not only depend on the progress of adopting standards and meeting metrics. Regulatory readiness depends also on five key factors: access to, and understanding of, the regulatory process; security of regulatory support; the effectiveness of the regulatory support for the technology; environmental effects, costs, and security issues related to the regulation; and the ability to pass the regulation. The authors found that regulatory action is appropriate in the following form: allowing the moratorium to expire as per current law, continuing the development of voluntary consensus standards, and instituting Space Aerospace Rulemaking Committees. These regulatory actions should be accompanied by additional resourcing of the FAA.