Research Library

"This pandemic and looming economic crisis will affect all of us ... The sooner we relearn how to set aside our differences and unite during this difficult moment, the stronger we will emerge from it," writes former Secretary James A. Baker, III.

Nonresident fellow Anna Mikulska explores the future of natural gas markets in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Forbes blog: https://bit.ly/39zeNJK

Despite the Trump administration sentiment that the U.S. partner with Saudi Arabia in a joint oil alliance, such an approach is unlikely to be successful, write energy fellows Jim Krane and Mark Finley. Forbes blog: https://bit.ly/2WUa6rb

In the second of a series of blogs on the coronovirus outbreak, the authors sound a note of cautious optimism: "We hope for a relatively optimistic outlook for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, with the quick realization of all modifying interventions: earlier and broader testing, strict preventive hygienic and societal measures, a safe and effective vaccine, and effective therapies to treat the virus."  Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.

Fellow Katharine Neill Harris considers the validity of risk assessment tools, which estimate the likelihood that an individual who has been charged with or convicted of a crime will commit a future offense. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2Cwl6jc

The United States' exit from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty appears more like a gesture than part of a well-considered long-term plan. There are few signs that the Trump administration has given substantial thought to how the U.S. can best protect its interests in a new and challenging international environment.

David Buckley offers brief reflections on distinct approaches to religion in U.S. diplomacy, particularly at the State Department, and the implications they may have for religious tolerance abroad. His post is the first of 12 prepared for an April 2019 workshop on “Religion, Reverence and Tolerance” organized by the Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University.  Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2z6CGZo

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

The massacre in El Paso is a symbol of complex social phenomena that we are experiencing today — and is not simply a matter of mental health, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other politicians have stepped forward to suggest. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.

On July 22, the nation and the world lost a leader who played a critical role in making the Apollo 11 moon landing a reality: Christopher Columbus Kraft. Kraft gained great fame for his creation of the Mission Control Center and as the nation’s first flight director, but this was only the beginning of his many and lasting contributions to the U.S. space program.