Experts in the News

Fellow Mark Jones joined a panel on Houston Matters to talk about national and state politics and government. On U.S.-Israel relations, Jones said that "President Obama always tried to walk a delicate line between the Arab world and Israel. In President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu knows he has a true friend and ally who's unlikely to push back against [Israel] the way President Obama did."

OPEC members have so far complied with an agreement to limit oil production. But energy fellow Jim Krane says some members could be tempted to increase their production this summer to meet rising demand.

The far-right Islamic Defenders Front is dominating Indonesian politics, overshadowing more moderate parties. However, research scholar A. Kadir Yildirim notes that “compared to most Arab countries, Indonesia has an established and vibrant electoral democracy, which provides an opportunity for many important discussions regarding modernization, religion-state, and democratization to take place in public view.” Read the full story in Foreign Policy.

Nearly 30 percent more Latinos in Texas voted in November than in the 2012 election. While to some the rise signals greater Latino interest in elections, fellow Mark Jones takes a more measured approach. "The increase is fueled primarily by natural demographic trends rather than by a dramatic spike in participation rates among Latinos," he says. Read the full story at the Associated Press: http://apne.ws/2kEEcsJ

President Trump has vowed to "totally destroy" the Johnson Amendment, which prevents tax-exempt entities such as churches and charitable organizations from officially endorsing or opposing a political candidate. Bill Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy, discusses the history of the amendment and the ramifications such a repeal would have on the separation of church and state in an interview with Texas Standard.