Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Sept. 19, 2023
The North Korea-Russia-China Partnership and How to Counter It

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left eastern Russia on Sunday, capping off a six-day visit that served as a high-profile sign of the budding relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow. This pair of pariah states may be troubling enough. But China is also in the mix, creating a trilateral threat that the West must take seriously, says RAND's Bruce Bennett.

There are a few key reasons to be concerned. To start, North Korean and Chinese assistance to Russia could prolong the war in Ukraine and substantially increase its damages and costs.

Further, China and North Korea might send military personnel and technical experts--not just equipment and supplies. If they do, then this would render Ukraine a "laboratory" for the three countries to examine and improve various weapons and tactics, Bennett says.

There's also a chance that North Korea, Russia, and China may at some point decide to start wars simultaneously. Any major war they launch has a serious possibility of involving nuclear weapons use.

While there are no silver bullets, there are ways the United States and its allies and partners can counter this trilateral imperialist partnership. The first step, Bennett says, is better understanding the future of warfare. After all, Western powers "will not properly prepare for or deter a future war unless they can first characterize it."

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Strengthening the U.S. Manufacturing Workforce

The U.S. manufacturing industry faces a growing need for highly skilled workers. A new RAND study examines this issue, focusing on Ohio, which has one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. The report finds that most Ohio students who earn postsecondary credentials in manufacturing end up working in other fields. This may suggest that there is a much larger supply of highly skilled manufacturing workers than is currently being used by the manufacturing industry--not just in Ohio, but across the country.

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What If Science Labs Ran Themselves?

Picture a busy laboratory. It's humming with activity, but the lab is devoid of people. Instead of humans conducting the scientific experiments and analysis, machines and algorithms are doing the work. By combining advanced machinery and artificial intelligence, these "self-driving" labs, as they are called, could reshape scientific research as we know it. RAND's Joshua Steier and Rushil Bakhshi discuss the immense promise and potential perils of this innovation.

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** RAND Recommends
- Retaking Crimea would be hard for Ukraine, RAND's Scott Savitz told Newsweek, but it is possible: "At the very least, Crimea is no longer a secure base from which Russia can attack other parts of Ukraine."
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- In this short explainer video, RAND's Dionne Barnes-Proby breaks down the benefits of partnering with communities to conduct research. "Everyone has questions and knowledge to contribute," she says.
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- In Scientific American, RAND's Andrew Mulcahy explains what could help address the cancer drug shortage.
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** Events
Why Don’t Food-Insecure Veterans Enroll in SNAP? Insights from New RAND Research, Government, and Veteran Organizations
Thursday, September 21, 2023 (Online)
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Navigating Science- and Technology-Focused Postsecondary Options in the Pittsburgh Region
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 (Online)
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Policy Lab: Building the U.S. Workforce Through Stackable Credentials
Thursday, September 28, 2023 (Online)
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Balancing the Needs of Requesting and Producing Parties: Getting E-Discovery Right
Tuesday and Wednesday, October 3-4, 2023 (Arlington, VA)
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Pardee RAND Admissions Webinar: M.Phil. Overview
October 18, 2023 (Online)
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** Discover the Stories Behind the Research
What are the trade-offs of a four-day school week? How much does insomnia cost the world's major economies? What can be done to help intelligence professionals deal with trauma?

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** About RAND
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.

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