Research Library

Although Texans broadly support relaxing cannabis laws and other criminal justice reforms, state leaders continue the war on drugs and other policies that propagate systemic racism, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.

This issue brief explores whether there are discernible left/right differences regarding definitions, approaches, views, policies and their outcomes on corruption and anti-corruption in the Americas.

Despite the frozen status of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the considerable obstacles to restart them, a U.S.-led effort could help to gradually forge a “Framework Agreement for an Israeli-Palestinian Permanent Peace.” This policy brief outlines the principles that such a framework might embody, with the essential objective of two states for two peoples.

The 2021 Texas legislative session is known as the most conservative in a generation, but its ideological and partisan dynamics tell a more nuanced story. Political science fellow Mark Jones utilizes roll call vote data to improve our understanding of how the controversial session unfolded. Read his report below.

Marriage. Divorce. Custody. Tunisia is often considered a women's rights leader among Arab Spring countries. But women still can't equally share an inheritance. The authors explore the secular and Islamist debate.

Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs, explains why Section 625 of the CLEAN Future Act — which aims to classify oilfield-produced water as a hazardous waste — would likely induce multi-system disruptions severe enough to prevent the act from achieving its climate, energy, environmental, and social objectives.

Mexico's pivotal June 6 elections brought critical losses to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his MORENA party. What do they mean for the Mexican people and the U.S.-Mexico relationship? Tony Payan analyzes the election outcome in this commentary.

Middle East fellow A.Kadir Yildirim reviews the varied responses of Islamist groups in the Middle East to the Biden presidency and suggests that, in most cases, their reactions were crafted to further their political — not religious — objectives.

In this paper, the author examines past attempts at immigration reform in the United States, especially as they pertain to the nation’s undocumented population. Analyzing these early reform efforts could be deeply instructive for the prospects of President Biden’s U.S. Citizenship Act and reveals both durable patterns and new developments that could shape the chances for legislative breakthroughs.