Research Library

In July, the Chinese government announced that its foreign minister, Qin Gang, had been removed from office and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi. Fellows Joe Barnes and Steven W. Lewis discuss what the move reveals — and what it could mean for U.S.-China relations — on this episode of Baker Briefing.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing a historic impeachment trial in the state Senate. Fellows Mark Jones and Ed Emmett unpack the issues and make predictions regarding the trial in this episode of Baker Briefing.

This week, the White House announced a new initiative to tackle the growing use of fentanyl laced with xylazine — known to many as "tranq." This combination of drugs poses an alarming and significant threat to public health.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne and the Center for the U.S. and Mexico's Tony Payan explore the complex relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and what their future might hold.

Young people in the U.S. face an unprecedented mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among adolescents that were already at historically high levels before the pandemic. Since 2020, mental health-related emergency room visits have increased 31% among adolescents while suicide rates among teenagers increased 25%.

Child labor laws are failing migrant children. As children from Latin America migrate to the United States in record numbers, many are ending up in dangerous jobs that violate child labor legislation. What steps are needed to ensure that vulnerable migrant children are protected from exploitation?

Latin America represents the largest energy resource base outside of the Middle East. The region’s vast energy resources — including significant crude oil and natural gas resources — and its unique political landscape make Latin America a significant player that could shift the geopolitical weight from the East to the West.  

Houston is the most ethnically diverse city in the U.S. It has been called a “microcosm of America’s future” based on its changing economic, demographic, and cultural landscapes. It is also home to the Kinder Houston Area Survey — the nation’s longest-running metropolitan study of its kind.

The world is closely watching the presidential elections in Turkey — particularly the dynamic between incumbent President Recap Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The election has been called the most consequential in Turkey since 1950.

It has been 75 years since the passage of United Nations Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. In this episode, scholar Walter Russell Mead offers observations on the past, present and future of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. These remarks were delivered as the closing session at the Israel at 75 conference hosted by the Baker Institute on April 27, 2023.