In spring 2024, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (which evolved into a new organisation called Defence Futures since 1 July 2024) of the UK Ministry of Defence commissioned the Global Strategic Partnership (GSP) to prepare a series of argumentative essays addressed to senior officials and decision-makers. The nine essays presented in this volume address a range of strategic issues concerning the UK, NATO, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, and are intended to stimulate reflection, further thinking and discussion within the UK Ministry of Defence and the wider defence community. It should be noted that this compendium is distinct from a typical RAND report, as it is not grounded in original RAND research and is not intended to present new findings based on empirical evidence. Instead, this is a collection of expert commentaries intended to stimulate debate and discussion. Readers are encouraged to consider the subjective nature of these essays, which, while informed commentaries, are not based on empirical research. Consequently, the views expressed are solely those of the authors, and they do not represent the research findings or views of RAND. Similarly, the essays do not reflect the official guidance or position of the UK Ministry of Defence or His Majesty's Government. The essays were written and edited between March and September 2024, therefore they do not fully reflect developments that unfolded since then.

To prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games, it will be vital to ensure that the planning, delivery and legacy of the Games are fully accountable and based on the soundest evidence base available. The evidence base for specific policies can be built on two main foundations. Firstly, on the available evidence from previous mega-events; and secondly, through new primary research that places the challenges faced by the Olympics in the London context. In this report we present a meta-analysis of Olympic Games and mega-event policy issues based on a literature review of previous evaluations and analyses, to identify key issues that should be addressed in order to contribute to London 2012’s aspiration as the most successful modern Games. We highlight two policy areas (transport and infrastructure, and security) in which specific research tools can be used to facilitate evidence-based policy making. In order to understand the evidence base required for transport and infrastructure, we have investigated the sorts of issues that can be addressed and provided a selection of potential studies that would provide high quality primary evidence for policy making for the Games. These studies make use of a number of modelling techniques in use at RAND Europe. Security is a particularly big concern for the modern Olympics. Through investigating previous threats, we can identify the likely threat types to London 2012. By understanding the interaction of hostile intent; operational capability; and potential influences on security, we can start to identify the security capabilities required to address different threats to security during London 2012.