Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Sept. 4, 2025
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Want to Change the World? Apply to the RAND School of Public Policy

This week marks the beginning of application season for the RAND School of Public Policy. Here are five reasons to apply:

– A school like no other: The RAND School is the only graduate school integrated within a renowned policy research organization.
– Hands-on experience: Students are immersed in real-world research and learn directly from RAND experts.
– Programs for every policy passion: Choose from four programs—Master of National Security Policy, Master of Technology Policy, M.Phil. in Policy Analysis, and Ph.D. in Policy Analysis.
– Flexibility to fit your life: Study full time or part time in Washington, D.C., or Santa Monica, CA, finishing in as little as nine months for master's programs. Plus, generous scholarships are available.
– Shape a brighter tomorrow: Students master the intellectual tools they need to tackle the world's toughest policy challenges.

Ready to take the next step? Apply to the RAND School of Public Policy today—or share this opportunity with someone in your life who's ready to change the world.

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South Korea and Poland: A Security Stepping Stone

Poland has been essential to South Korea's rise as a key defense-industrial player in Europe. And according to RAND Europe's Stuart Dee and Kiran Suman-Chauhan, the two countries' economic partnership could evolve into deeper strategic military cooperation between Seoul and Europe. Joint exercises, cross-regional defense initiatives, and expanded defense-industrial collaboration could help unlock the "arsenal of democracy that Europe so urgently seeks."

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Can AI Improve Disaster Response and Recovery?

U.S. communities have been hit hard by natural disasters in 2025, which is on track to be one of the costliest years on record for disaster losses. Could AI help emergency managers with their increasing workloads? According to RAND's Patrick Roberts, AI technologies could be used to model risk, create scenarios for training, carry out search-and-rescue operations, and more. But like any tool, using AI effectively will require planning, setting expectations, and implementing legal and technical guardrails.

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** RAND Recommends
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– RAND's Timothy Heath and Mark Cozad discuss China's military parade and the message it sends to the rest of the world.
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– In the New York Times, RAND's Shira Efron says that Israel's insistence on a comprehensive deal with Hamas, rather than a phased approach, "means more stalling and prolonging" of the war in Gaza.
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– A RAND study published last week finds that AI chatbots are inconsistent when responding to questions about suicide.
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** Events
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Can Europe Deter Russia?
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 (Online)
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The State of Apprenticeship in West Virginia
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 (Online)
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China's Economic Future
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 (London)
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The 'Big Shift' from Hospitals to Communities
Tuesday, November 6, 2025 (Online)
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** Policy Minded, RAND's Flagship Podcast
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On Policy Minded, we pick the brains of the world's top policy experts. In each episode, RAND researchers join us for conversations that go beyond the headlines—bringing you insights you can't find anywhere else.

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