Research Library

Is the electric grid ready for the era of decarbonization? Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains why new inverter technology could prove vital for preventing outages and grid instability.

Supply chains: what are the alternatives if climate change restrictions on transiting the Panama Canal become a regular occurrence?

Information and cyber action have been important but ancillary components of the Ukraine war since its outbreak on February 24, 2022. We offer a set of observations:

Kelsey Norman examines the European and possible U.S. response to refugees fleeing Ukraine, noting the need to anticipate and plan for multiple pathways to medium- and long-term refugee protection in the event of a prolonged siege.

Since all parties involved will undoubtedly bear the consequences of Trump's highly problematic Peace to Prosperity plan, it is worth examining its framework and how Israelis, Palestinians and Arab states can navigate the negotiation process.

The author reviews four scenarios that could develop as the dispute over Turkey's purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system continues.

There is a growing global momentum to address the critical economic and environmental problem of plastic waste management. Fellow Rachel A. Meidl discusses the key elements and causes of this problem and explores policy actions for reducing the reliance on single-use plastics.

Given the current dearth of women exercising Islamic authority, it may be assumed that for most of Islamic history, questions of religion and religious law were the near-exclusive domain of men. This brief discusses the various roles and contributions of women in Islam and religious scholarship and outlines recommendations for improving attitudes towards women in religious leadership in Muslim countries. This is one of 10 briefs in a series on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By Imad Salamey, Ph.D., Lebanese American University Contemporary Arab politics have been overwhelmed by communitarian divisions. This research reviews rising transnational communitarianism in the Middle East and suggests communitarian plurality as a solution to ongoing political conflicts in the region. Imad Salamey discusses in both a short issue brief and longer research paper on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

In June 2018, Saudi Arabia finally put an end to its legal ban on women driving, opening the way for millions of new drivers to navigate across a country three times bigger than Texas. While the long-overdue policy shift provides relief to women who lacked freedom of mobility, the onset of so many new drivers has enormous consequences for transportation and the energy sector, as well as labor market participation and public health.