Policy Currents | The latest RAND updates
View in Browser: [link removed]
** RAND RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY ON THE ISSUES THAT MATTER MOST
------------------------------------------------------------
July 30, 2020
Where Will China Be in 2050?
Tensions between the United States and China continue to rise. Just last week, the Trump administration closed China's consulate in Houston, accusing diplomats there of economic espionage. Meanwhile, Beijing remains intensely preoccupied with internal security and deeply suspicious about Washington's intentions. China's "secretive approach to the pandemic" is a prime example, says RAND's Andrew Scobell.
How might this relationship between the world's two most powerful countries change over the next three decades? Scobell and his colleagues authored a new study that examines this question. The report outlines four possible scenarios for China's future - triumphant, ascendant, stagnant, and imploding - and concludes that either an ascendant or a stagnant China is most likely. Notably, the authors say that the kind of country China becomes is neither preordained nor completely beyond America's influence.
Read more: [link removed]
COVID-19 Mobile Surveillance Tools May Raise Privacy Concerns
Dozens of countries, including the United States, are using mobile phone tools and other data sources to track the spread of COVID-19. These tools can help communities respond to the crisis, but they also pose serious privacy risks. To help measure and address these risks, RAND researchers developed a privacy scorecard. Public health officials can use this resource to evaluate the privacy protections of mobile surveillance programs, build public trust, and prevent the abuse of mobile data.
Read more: [link removed]
With Kids at Home, What Kind of Help Do Parents Need?
With schools and child care centers closed, many parents have become teachers and full-time caretakers. RAND researchers surveyed parents about their greatest needs during this difficult time. Notably, parents with multiple children across age groups and parents experiencing financial difficulty reported a greater need for learning resources - from ideas on how to motivate their children to guidance on how to support kids' social and emotional needs.
Read more: [link removed]
Telemedicine Can Help Provide More Specialized Care
For safety-net health providers that reach underserved populations, telemedicine can help extend care for some specialized services, such as psychiatry and diabetic retinopathy screening. That's according to a new RAND study. But to sustain these improvements, the federal government and other entities that pay for care need to increase their long-term support for telemedicine. As telehealth has rapidly expanded during the pandemic, these findings may shed light on how to continue these services in the long term.
Read more: [link removed]
When and How Will the Putin Era End?
Recent changes to Russia's constitution mean that President Vladimir Putin can stay in power until 2036 if he wishes. A new RAND paper by Ambassador John Tefft explores the many factors that will affect the selection of Putin's successor, whenever he does step down. The U.S.-Russia relationship will likely be competitive, if not adversarial, for some time to come. But with a patient, careful approach, Washington can manage Putin's transition out of power and create the basis for improved relations with any successor, says Tefft.
Read more: [link removed]
Why the U.S. Fails in Irregular Warfare
The war on drugs in Bolivia. Peace enforcement in Bosnia. Counterinsurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq. In each of these cases - and nearly every other conflict of this kind over the last 40 years - the United States has failed to achieve its strategic objectives. That's according to a new "analytical memoir" by RAND's Charles Cleveland, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general. "Time and time again, I saw tremendous success at the tactical level...followed by strategic muddling and eventual failure," he says. Cleveland draws on his experience to identify recommendations for how to develop the world-class way of irregular war that the United States will need moving forward.
Read more: [link removed]
** TRENDING REPORTS
------------------------------------------------------------
Strategies to Improve Treatment for Post-9/11 Veterans with Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders
[link removed]
Economic Competition in the 21st Century
[link removed]
** RAND IN THE NEWS
------------------------------------------------------------
Houston, Miami, Other Cities Face Mounting Health Care Worker Shortages as Infections Climb
Washington Post
[link removed]
How COVID-19 Could Give Kim Jong Un a Doomsday Weapon
Politico
[link removed]
As the World Gets Tougher on China, Japan Tries to Thread a Needle
New York Times
[link removed]
** SUBSCRIBE TO THE POLICY CURRENTS PODCAST
------------------------------------------------------------
You already get the latest insights from RAND in your inbox. Why not your earbuds?
Policy Currents is available as a weekly podcast. Five minutes, every Friday.
Subscribe now: [link removed]
** FOLLOW RAND
------------------------------------------------------------
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.
[link removed]
Twitter
[link removed]
Facebook
[link removed]
LinkedIn
[link removed]
Instagram
[link removed]
Privacy statement
[link removed]
Unsubscribe
[link removed]
Manage your subscriptions
[link removed]
RAND Corporation
1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3208
RAND is a registered trademark.
