Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** March 27, 2025
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From Camps to Communities: Post-Conflict Shelter in Gaza
The Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza. Ninety percent of Gazans have been displaced, and 70 percent have homes that are damaged or destroyed. Many will live in camps for at least a decade while reconstruction takes place.
Although camps are the typical solution to civilian displacement in war, they are not effective. Historically, camps are terrible places to live and have been shown to promote radicalization. What's more, temporary displacement camps often become permanent.
In a new report, RAND researchers offer an alternative, multifaceted approach to post-conflict shelter. The strategy blends traditional post-conflict camp planning with incremental urbanism, an approach from the field of urban development. Implementing this concept involves blending living in buildings, tents, and caravans with access to community hubs that offer sanitation, utilities, food, and services--all while reconstruction occurs nearby. The goal is to establish conditions that allow camps to become peaceful, prosperous cities over time.
This approach could be a win-win for Israelis and Palestinians. It's a practical answer to the question of where and how Gazans will live as a political solution is negotiated and during what is sure to be a long reconstruction process.
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** More on Gaza and the Middle East **
Today’s new study is part of a suite of RAND research that provides pragmatic ideas for those seeking to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring stability to the region. Another report published earlier this year focuses on pathways to a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace, and a new study coming soon will propose a big-picture infrastructure plan for Gaza and the West Bank.
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Chinese Military Views of Low Earth Orbit
Proliferated constellations in low earth orbit have shown significant utility in the Russia-Ukraine war. For example, Starlink has helped Ukraine's military communicate, collect intelligence, and conduct drone attacks. How do China's leaders view the use of such systems? And what are Beijing's perceptions of U.S. low earth orbit capabilities more broadly? A new RAND report considers these questions and others, drawing important conclusions for managing potential military escalation in space.
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How Will Russia Try to Rebuild Its Military?
The timing and nature of any resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war remain uncertain. But one thing is clear: Russia will face a serious challenge in reconstituting its armed forces once the fighting ends. New RAND research identifies a variety of approaches that Russia might take to try to rebuild its military. Importantly, the authors note that, even if Russia falls shorts of its reconstitution objectives, it will still pose a significant threat to U.S. and Western interests in Europe.
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** RAND Recommends
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- Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, and Stefanie Tompkins, former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, have been elected to the RAND Board of Trustees.
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- RAND's Jim Mitre testified before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity this week. He outlined five hard national security problems that might emerge as artificial general intelligence is developed and, potentially, realized.
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** Learn the Tools of Defense Policy Analysis
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Applications are open for Pardee RAND Graduate School's new Master of National Security Policy degree program. Full-time and part-time schedules are available at our campuses in Santa Monica, CA, and Arlington, VA.
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