Research Library

Yemen’s Houthi have mounted a selective counter-shipping campaign in the Red Sea that has disrupted global trade between Asia and Europe. In a new issue brief, fellow Jim Krane describes how the attacks have triggered major shipping delays and expenses for firms based in countries friendly to Israel — effectively acting as economic sanctions and demonstrating the power of a non-state actor to undermine global norms around freedom of navigation.

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

The issue brief explores Mexico’s financial inclusion as an obstacle for development, based on an index developed by the author, expert Jesús Antonio López Cabrera.

A pledge to boost regional competitiveness is a welcome outcome of last month's North American Leaders’ Summit. But the region’s policymakers should remember the lessons of the past as they work to do so, writes fellow David A. Gantz.

Europe’s reliance on fuel-switching and demand-rationing — and its need for new natural gas supply sources — will persist through this winter into next year. Using a newly developed interactive dashboard, Center for Energy Studies experts analyze possible winter scenarios using Germany as a case study.

The UK recently announced that it will pursue commercial arrangements with up to 20 individual U.S. states, beginning with Texas. In this brief, fellow David Gantz explores what these arrangements could achieve and the potential legal and constitutional constraints that may limit their reach.

With center-right President Emmanuel Macron facing off against extreme-right Marine Le Pen, what’s in store for the French presidential election next April? In a new brief, Baker Institute faculty scholar Julie Fette and William Tsai, Rice '24, examine the polls, platforms and possibilities.

The term “sustainability” is a frequently misconstrued descriptor, oftentimes used synonymously with the concept of a circular economy. In this issue brief, energy fellow Rachel Meidl explains the distinction between circularity and sustainability and how a systems-level approach to waste management can build an economy that is resilient to future global disruptions.

The first of a two-part series on the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party analyzes the rise to power of President Xi Jinping and his use of propaganda to transform a celebration of the CCP into a celebration of China and its leader.

This brief examines developments involving the migration of asylum seekers and refugees from Turkey to Europe, and places recent migration policies, including the EU’s border externalization measures, in the context of the rapid spread of Covid-19.