Sarah Harting

Sarah Harting is a Senior International/Defense Researcher and Professor at the RAND School of Public Policy. She directs the Stanton nuclear security fellowship program at RAND. Her research focuses on U.S. defense strategy and doctrine, long-term strategic planning, defense technology, and national security. She leads multidisciplinary teams addressing challenges for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and contributes to scenario development and analytic gaming initiatives. Harting has co-authored numerous RAND publications and op-eds in outlets like the New York Times. Her expertise spans military strategy, science/technology policy, global security, and cybersecurity. Key contributions include analyses of U.S.-China military technological competition, digital infrastructure futures, and multidomain warfare alignment.

Research Interests: Harting’s work emphasizes strategic foresight in defense policy, technological innovation’s impact on security, and mitigation of emerging threats. Her recent focus includes space force integration, cybersecurity frameworks, and digital infrastructure resilience. She advocates for proactive policy solutions to address complex challenges like unmanned systems autonomy and cross-domain friction in military operations.

Grants & Leadership: Harting leads key projects such as the Stanton Fellowship Program and has managed studies for DoD and DHS. Her leadership in multidisciplinary teams combines scientific, engineering, and policy expertise to solve high-stakes defense problems. She also engages in public discourse through commentaries addressing timely issues like TikTok’s data security implications and Libya’s communication challenges during uprisings.