Research Library

In contrast to the generally accepted view of U.S. policy toward hostile regimes, especially in the Caribbean basin, Washington is not trying to destabilize the government of Venezuela. In fact, it is making efforts to keep Nicolás Maduro in office. With U.S. foreign policy in a precarious position — facing challenges from ISIS, Russia and China — stabilizing the Maduro government looks like the most rational option to support the White House’s current interests in the Western Hemisphere.

On Feb. 24, 2015, public finance fellow John Diamond testified on tax reform before U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Mexico Center director Tony Payan testified about U.S.-Mexico relations before the Committee on International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Will Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech before Congress lead to a diplomatic showdown on Iran?

In 1972, a National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, comprising establishment figures chosen mostly by President Richard Nixon himself, issued a report that declared that “neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety” and recommended that Congress and state legislatures decriminalize the use and casual distribution of marijuana and seek means other than prohibition to discourage use. President Nixon ignored the report and Congress declined to consider its recommendations, but during the 40-plus years since its publication, at least 37 states have acted to refashion a crazy-quilt collection of prohibitions, nearly always in the direction favored by the commission. The specifics vary by state, but most reform legislation has followed one of three formulas: decriminalization of marijuana possession, legalization of marijuana for medical use, or legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use. In this issue brief, authors Katharine Neill and William Martin examine the facts and fears surrounding each of these options.

In the third issue of the Journal of Women and Human Rights in the Middle East, students explore the various aspects of women in conflict. Essay topics range from the effects of armed conflict on women's economic participation to housing dilemmas for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Once again, the Uruguayan people, in a peaceful and civilized manner, turned out in large masses and were unhindered at the polls.

Whether out of strategic calculations or due to attitude towards women, the outcome is the same: female candidates often do not follow the party route to political office in Bahrain.