Shelly Culbertson's Blog

With most of Gaza destroyed, finding homes for 2.2 million people will require a new approach. Future‑oriented camps, incremental rebuilding, and new neighborhoods could shelter Gazans now while laying the groundwork for lasting recovery and stability.

The sudden fall of Syria's Assad regime in early December has raised an important question: Can the 6 million who became refugees during the 14-year civil war now go home? Although the political landscape has changed drastically, many factors work against a mass return of refugees to Syria.

Climate migration is complex, with many factors influencing why and where people move. While some may relocate due to climate change, most stay put. Effective policies are needed to help people adapt, relocate safely if necessary, and integrate into new communities.

The bloody conflict in the Middle East has highlighted a complex web of strategic, geopolitical, and humanitarian challenges. RAND experts delve into the regional and global implications of the conflict, the factors that led up to it, where it could be headed, and the geopolitical fallout.

Exactly how to think about and handle the ongoing crisis at the United States' Southern Border and immigration more generally will certainly be among the most critical issues on the agenda when the next U.S. president is sworn in in January. To better understand the issue of border control and immigration, we spoke to two RAND experts.

While politically challenging, a holistic update to U.S. immigration laws based on a better understanding of American immigration needs and the factors that are driving people to make the dangerous trek to cross the border would help reduce the numbers of migrants arriving daily to the U.S.-Mexico border and the challenges migration poses to receiving localities.

There is currently no good option for protecting civilians amid the Israel-Hamas war. But the least-bad option is to keep civilians in southern Gaza—and provide protection and humanitarian assistance where they are.

As much as Syrian refugees would like to return home eventually and as much as neighboring countries would welcome an end to the challenges of hosting large refugee communities, now is not the right time for mass Syrian refugee repatriation. Regional governments could instead focus on supporting refugees where they are, especially by allowing them to be legal, productive members of local economies.

Although EU countries, communities, and citizens have been very welcoming to Ukrainian refugees, it is not enough to treat them as short-term visitors, meet their immediate humanitarian needs, and let them wait out the war. By educating and employing them instead, EU countries can enrich their own communities and support Ukraine.

We asked nearly 30 RAND experts to highlight takeaways from the first year of Russia's all-out war—and share what they're watching as the conflict in Ukraine grinds on. Here's what they said.