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In its competition with China, the U.S. must preserve its vital interests without blowing up the relationship.

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Washington should also seek to strengthen its existing global power alignments, which remain a huge advantage. And focusing more on homeland resilience issues could put the U.S. on better footing, whether in peacetime or war.

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This has many implications for U.S. strategy. For example, the contest for influence in global digital, AI, and energy networks must be an important focus of strategic investments.

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They also warn that, despite limits to China's rise, Beijing is approaching this contest through a comprehensive campaign, within and across many elements of national power. Meanwhile, the U.S. has yet to fully embrace the scope of the contest or invest sufficiently in critical tools of statecraft.

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The authors also note that this is a contest to prove which country's system best provides for its own people during a time of turbulence and instability.

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The report identifies seven areas of power and influence that provide a useful framework for understanding the competition. Science and technology and domestic economics stand out as the two most critical areas.

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China is indeed a formidable U.S. competitor, but it is not poised to dominate world politics. "The competition is clearly something other than a classic power transition," the authors write. "China is rising relative to the U.S. but not in a straight-line trajectory."

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A new RAND report out this week grapples with a fundamental question that will shape the world in the coming decades: What is the scope and nature of the U.S.-China competition?

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RAND @rand.org · 21h

"A future Israeli government that wants a different outcome will have to act like it. This means setting a political horizon instead of managing the conflict incident by incident, taking initiative on the Trump plan and disarmament roadmap."

Netanyahu May Have Ignored a Dire Warning. Israel Ignores the Deeper Threat.

Israel's strategy in Gaza is only keeping Hamas in power—deterred, but not replaced, with no real alternative given a chance. A different outcome calls for a different approach.

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RAND @rand.org · 28/09/2026

As education savings accounts become more common, it's crucial to collect data on how students with these accounts perform, says RAND's Susha Roy. "Without that, we just won't know for sure whether the money states spend on education savings accounts benefits children."

rand.org

Who Benefits from Education Savings Accounts? Q&A with Susha Roy

Tens of thousands of American families use state-funded education savings accounts for their children's education. How exactly do these accounts work? Who benefits from them? And how do they affect ed...

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RAND @rand.org · 23/09/2026

"People think that things like student debt or foreign travel will disqualify them from getting a job that requires a federal clearance. But the reality is that there are very few issues that automatically disqualify someone."

Getting a Security Clearance Doesn't Have to Be So Intimidating: Q&A with Sina Beaghley

The security clearance process can be difficult and time-consuming but the government has made big strides in improving it. Sina Beaghley, a senior international and defense researcher at RAND, has pr...

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RAND @rand.org · 18/09/2026

Russia's engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that a costly war in Ukraine and international isolation haven't stopped Moscow from pursuing its objectives far from home. What are the implications for U.S. hemispheric interests? This new paper explores.

rand.org

Understanding Russia’s Role in Latin America

Russia has intensified its engagement with several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. How do these efforts advance Moscow's strategic objectives? And how does Russia's role in Latin America...

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Reposted by RAND

Beau Kilmer @beaukilmer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

🔥 New @rand.org Drug Policy Research Center Quarterly is out! 1️⃣Experimenting with Cannabis Legalization 2️⃣Not All ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Are the Same 3️⃣Can Near Beers & Mocktails Help Young People Quit Alcohol? & so much more! www.rand.org/health/cente...

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RAND @rand.org · 17/09/2026

Leading U.S. AI companies are calling for pacing the frontier. Whether and how government should take action remains contested. In a new paper, RAND researchers recommend that Washington adopt a "Freedom of Action" strategy to help navigate an uncertain path to superintelligence.

rand.org

Artificial Superintelligence: U.S. Strategy for an Uncertain Future

As frontier AI advances, a growing number of experts believe superintelligence is possible. How can the United States secure geopolitical advantage and navigate the profound uncertainties of this unpr...

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RAND @rand.org · 16/09/2026

As AI capabilities advance, biological weapons could become easier to design and produce—and potentially more harmful than those used in the past. RAND’s Steph Guerra outlines a layered strategy to defend against this risk:

thebulletin.org

Newly created viruses are a warning. We still have a window to stop AI-enabled bioweapons

Scientists showed recently that AI can be used to produce novel viruses. We need to build a layered system of defense before AI-enabled bioweapons capabilities become undeniably advanced—or worse, dem...

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RAND @rand.org · 08/09/2026

This week marks 25 years since the September 11 terror attacks. We gathered 10 RAND experts to reflect on a fundamental question: What has the United States learned about homeland security in the quarter-century since the attacks? bit.ly/4qZPI3S

25 Years After 9/11: Lessons for Securing the Homeland

Reflecting on 25 years since the September 11 terror attacks, RAND experts answer questions about protecting soft targets, the role of the TSA, mitigating risks from emerging technologies, and more.

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RAND @rand.org · 04/09/2026

OpenAI recently launched ChatGPT for Teens, which "automatically" applies protections to accounts that its system "estimates" belong to users under 18. But it's not clear what proportion of actual teens it identifies.

OpenAI Says ChatGPT Is Safer for Teens. Now It Needs to Show Proof.

Now, when OpenAI's system predicts that an account belongs to someone under 18, teen protections are automatically applied without waiting for a parent to activate them. But even ambitious efforts can...

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5️⃣ Many pre-K teachers don’t have the learning materials they need. They often mix and match different materials, likely because no single option fully meets their students’ needs. This may be especially concerning because foundational skills begin to take shape during the early years.

Figure 5: Percentage of Teachers Who Reported Using Each Type of Material for Groups of Students presents four charts: to teach all children in my classroom; to provide additional support for the children who struggle academically; to provide additional support to the children in my classroom who have IEPs/IFSPs; To provide additional support for the children in my classroom who are English learners

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4️⃣ Stricter cell phone policies reduce—but don’t eliminate—the problem. We identified five distinct types of policies across U.S. public schools and examined how each relates to how often students check their phones. More-restrictive policies are associated with reduced phone use.

Figure 4: Percentage of Students Who Checked Their Cell Phones During Their Classes at Least Once per Day, by School Cell Phone Policy

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3️⃣ Chronic absenteeism is falling—but still too high. The rate of students missing at least 10% of school days in a year rose sharply after the pandemic. Our latest estimates show some progress, but chronic absenteeism remains above pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 3. Chronic Absenteeism Rates by School Year and Percentage of Students Who Were Absent tracks absences from 2017-2025

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2️⃣ Students worry that using AI comes at a cost. Two-thirds say that using AI more for schoolwork harms their critical thinking. Even so, students are using AI tools for homework at growing rates.

Figure 2. Percentage of Students Who Agreed or Strongly Agreed That Using AI More for Schoolwork Will harm Critical Thinking Skills, by Grade contains three graphs charting students overall, by grade, and by use of AI help (like chatbots) for homework

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1️⃣ Teachers are still burning out. In 2026, U.S. teachers reported poorer well-being than similar working adults on every indicator we track.

Figure 1. Well-Being of Teachers and Similar Working Adults presents four charts tracking the job related stress, difficulty coping with job-related stress, symptoms of depression, and burnout among teachers

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What's really happening in K–12 classrooms? Every year, we survey thousands of educators, students, and parents to find out. Here are the 5 charts that told us the most about the state of American public schools in 2026. 🧵

The State of Public Education in 2026 in Five Charts

RAND has spent more than a decade surveying educators across the United States and has expanded this effort to include the perspectives of students and parents. Among the hundreds of survey questions ...

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RAND @rand.org · 29/08/2026

A Cyclospora outbreak linked to tainted lettuce has sickened thousands of people this summer, a reminder that the U.S. remains vulnerable to a wide range of biological threats. New Q&A with RAND's Saskia Popescu:

The Cyclospora Outbreak Was a Warning: Q&A with Saskia Popescu

Saskia Popescu is an epidemiologist by training and a policy researcher at RAND. In this Q&A, she discusses what the United States can do to prepare for future outbreaks like Cyclospora and other ...

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RAND @rand.org · 28/08/2026

"Better information will not erase the trade-offs involved in expanding the grid. It will, however, let us argue about them honestly—and design policies that respond to facts rather than slogans."

Accelerating New Power Plants Depends on Better Data

The United States is embarking on a vast build-out of its electric system. Transparent cost data would help regulators pinpoint avoidable delays, help developers assess risk, and help communities judg...

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RAND @rand.org · 26/08/2026

"We call the food system America's soft underbelly, because it's so critical but so vulnerable. This outbreak really highlights that." New Q&A with Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist by training and a policy researcher at RAND.