Research Library

A scandal that involves high-ranking officials from Costa Rica's three branches of government is testing the country's reputation for democratic stability. 

Mexico initiated a series of structural reforms in 2013, including major changes to policies governing telecommunications. Nonresident scholar Clara Luz Álvarez explores the implications of a recent ruling by Mexico’s Supreme Court on one of the related laws passed by Congress in a blog post for the Baker Institute Blog.

Social media is becoming more and more a part of the daily political process. From a political science perspective, the ability to capture the ideology of elites and citizens using a common platform greatly helps in answering a very important question: which party’s ideological position is closest to that of its supporters, on a left-right ideology scale? Research scholar Abdullah Aydogan analyzes the tweets of four major Turkish political parties to answer this question in a post for the Baker Institute Blog.

Michel Temer’s ability to implement the difficult reforms Brazil needs will determine whether his legacy will be as the person who reconciled the country or as the usurper of Dilma Rousseff’s presidency, writes Latin America Initiative program director Erika de la Garza.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen profiles Theresa May and sets out the policy challenges her government will face, post-Brexit.

In this blog post, Mexico Center director Tony Payan discusses the results of Mexico's June 5 election and what they mean for the country's 2018 presidential election.

This blog post examines how Donald Trump's status as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee could impact Texas Republicans running for offices in the November general elections.

The authors discuss the road ahead in Mexico City's restructuring as well as the challenges that remain to ensure that the city gains more political and fiscal autonomy in this post on the Baker Institute Blog.

Brazilian leaders' investment into transforming Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games, even as the country is quickly spiraling into a deep recession and its housing market has declined, illustrates the government's troubling development priorities.

Despite right-wing pushes for the annexation of a significant portion of the West Bank, support remains for a two-state solution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yair Hirschfeld, fellow in the Center for the Middle East, analyzes Israel's political environment in this post on the Baker Institute Blog.