Research Library

The good news: we managed to get through June and July without war in the Persian Gulf. The bad news: the risk of conflict remains high. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2MKqWDS

This blog post examines a Mexican senator's push to amend Mexico's Constitution to emulate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and allow Mexico's citizens to carry handguns for personal protection.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s two main methodologies for measuring border wait times have been found to be “unreliable and of limited usefulness” to users crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. However, cross-border residents are utilizing social media to share pictures, videos and real-time information on wait times to address this gap.

Research analyst Ariana Marnicio explores whether gender-segregated transportation in the Middle East protects women’s rights and presence in the public sphere, or serves to deepen gender divides.

In the current campaign for Harris County district attorney, both incumbent D.A. Devon Anderson and challenger Kim Ogg have not only proposed to change the way marijuana use is handled by that office, but have also made the issue a centerpiece of their campaigns. Drug policy fellow Katharine Neill examines each candidate’s proposed changes in a new Baker Institute Blog.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once barred from entering the U.S., is getting a rock star welcome on his first trip here since being elected in May. “Am I the only India follower who is bored with Modi’s spectacle of a U.S. visit?” asks international economics fellow Russell Green. “The glitz is fun, but I am an economic policy wonk, and from my perspective, there is little to capture the imagination.”

Women living with HIV in the Middle East face public scrutiny, stigmatization and even abandonment. It is critical not only to curb the spread of HIV in the region, but also to educate and protect women who may be less knowledgeable about the disease, writes Ariana Marnicio, research analyst for the Women and Human Rights in the Middle East Program.

Twenty years after NAFTA came into force, Mexico is more dependent than ever on food imports. Energy reforms could help change that.