Carl Richard Neu

A summary of two RAND studies on options for facilitating successful Palestinian development. A summary of two RAND studies on options for facilitating successful Palestinian development, MG-146-DCR and MG-327-GG. The former examines options for strengthening governance, security, economic development, access to water, health and health care, and education. The latter examines options for addressing housing, transportation, and related infrastructure needs. Both studies estimate the financing needed for successful development.

A critical mass of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations, remain committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The authors, examine in objective fashion the requirements for creating and maintaining successful statehood during the first decade of Palestine's independence.

This title projects the impact of information technology and the information revolution on areas across the globe for the next 10 to 15 years.

China's geopolitical ambitions and growing military capabilities and the Southeast Asian states1 perceptions of a "rising China" will play a crucial role in shaping the future of Southeast Asia and the U.S. military posture in the region. The authors examine the role of regional states in developing a hedge against the possible threat of an overly aggressive China. They find that rather than confronting a conventional attack, the United States and the Southeast Asian countries are likely to find a continuation of China's creeping irredentism and threats. Southeast Asia is likely to prove a critical testing ground for a "third way" of dealing with China's rising power called a policy of "congagement" international system while both deterring and preparing for a possible Chinese challenge. The report recommends that the United States adopt an incremental approach to this hedging strategy, focusing on peacetime military engagement with Southeast Asian states, development of a more robust and diversified network of access arrangements, and strengthened military ties with the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The end of the Cold War has shifted attention from military threats to other things that might negatively affect the people of the United States. High on the list of concerns is national economic security--the ability to protect or to advance economic interests in the face of circumstances that may threaten or block these interests. The United States is not economically isolated but an integral part of the world economy, doing business in world markets and influencing--and being influenced by--the international financial environment, economic policies, and commercial and financial infrastructure. Thus, enhancing international economic security enhances U.S. economic security--and its physical security, because some situations can escalate to the point that they require a military response. A strong military to respond to such a threat requires strong economic underpinnings--and economic instruments can serve as a nonmilitary form of defense, even as defense considerations can affect the economy.