The RAND Corporation – independent, objective and non-partisan – seeks to improve policy through high-quality research and analysis. RAND's Center for Global Risk and Security (CGRS) reflects the need for cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary research and analysis on the increasingly complex and evolving issues that threaten global security. In its work, the Center draws on RAND’s unparalleled breadth of related expertise – from strategy and intelligence, to health and technology, to homeland security and beyond. It expands upon RAND’s long history of excellence in informing security policy by exploring emerging risks and threats that challenge traditional perspectives.
CGRS recognizes the traditional role of culture in diplomacy and examines the emerging role in security. CGRS initially examined the development of international conventions for the security of cultural property during armed conflict and the prevention of illicit transfer of cultural property. Through a series of publications, CGRS assessed an increasing interrelation of cultural property and security interests - strength of the economy, stability of key global regions, and customs and boarder protection. The assessment led to the concept of "cultural security" as an emerging area of policy analysis. CGRS currently examines the evolving meaning of cultural property in global affairs in the interest of identifying effective applications in foreign policy and national security.
CGRS conducts analyses of policy on:
- protection of cultural property during armed conflict
- prevention of illicit transfer of cultural material
- restitution for wartime plunder and repatriation of cultural patrimony
- application of cultural property as a medium for diplomacy
- the economic potential of the trade in art and preservation of cultural heritage sites.