Research Library

Astronaut Scott Kelly's historic year-long mission at the International Space Station alongside Russian cosmonauts will yield better understanding of the impact of long-duration spaceflight on the human body. But it also serves as an important lesson on how two different nations can work together for the betterment of all humankind, space policy senior fellow George W.S. Abbey writes.

Middle East fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen analyzes recent government shuffles in the United Arab Emirates.

As President Obama prepares for a historic visit to Havana, thousands of the island’s residents are rushing to immigrate to the U.S., hoping to beat the rumored end of a policy that lets Cubans who reach American soil remain here. Read Erika de la Garza’s take on the unsought consequences of reestablishing U.S. ties to Cuba.

With the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, many Gulf Cooperative Council states now openly wonder whether U.S. support can still be relied upon, given the speed with which the U.S. government has engaged Iran in negotiation and diplomacy since 2013. This incomprehension may lead to further instability in the Middle East as the Gulf States continue to take increasingly unilateral action in Yemen and other regional conflict zones, fellow for the Middle East Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes.

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.

Baker Institute experts explain how Friday's arrest of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will affect the Peña Nieto administration, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mexican government's "kingpin strategy" to destroy the cartels.

Social unrest over the extraction of Peru’s natural resources has increasingly heightened, as evident in the intensity of citizens’ claims and the resulting levels of violence.