Research Library

The populist government under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has largely discounted the threat of COVID-19,  and the true extent of the outbreak Mexico may not yet be known. If conditions significantly change for the worse, the president faces not only a public health crisis but also the possible undoing of the country's populist experiment.

As the number of coronavirus cases rises in Iran, nearby countries are scrambling to prevent the disease from spreading across borders. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.

The recently passed Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act offers several welcome updates to retirement saving rules but has also been widely criticized for limiting the “stretch IRA” strategy. Read more on the Baker Institute Blog: http://bit.ly/36ut6Ol

Declarations against violence issued by ulama on behalf of their government provide an opportunity for Muslim political leaders to signal their commitment to the international security agenda while vilifying Islamist opposition actors as terrorists. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2LNAZrr

"With the U.S. and Iran staggering toward war, it bears asking: How would U.S. interests be served by war with Iran?" writes fellow Jim Krane. Read his argument for why U.S. interests would be deeply undermined by any such war on the Baker Institute Blog.  This post originally appeared in the Forbes Blog on June 17, 2019.

Although Mohammed bin Salman wields considerable power, he has not singlehandedly altered Saudi society. The social transformation taking place in the kingdom was underway before he became crown prince, but he has tried to take credit for it, writes the author. Baker Institute Blog via Lobe Log: https://bit.ly/2WLrScM

By Mounira M. Charrad and Maro Youssef The authors discuss the evolution of women’s associations in Tunisia from the Ben Ali regime to the post-Arab Spring period in this Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2NyRZjl

Turkey's recent elections brought an unexpectedly strong win for President Recep Erdogan. Even so, opposition parties have a rare opportunity to influence policymaking, writes Middle East Fellow A.Kadir Yildirim in the Baker Institute Blog:  https://bit.ly/2txuhMm

The authors examine new legislation in Tunisia aimed at increasing protections for women, such as repealing the country’s “marry-your-rapist” law as well as criminalizing marital rape and domestic violence.