Research Library

This issue brief argues that institutional changes, along with greater representation of women in politics, are needed to combat governmental corruption in Latin America.

The uncertainty that surrounded Peru's recent elections should alert Peruvians of the need to consolidate democratic institutions, maintain respect for electoral laws and eliminate possible cases of discrimination and inequality in their electoral process.

This paper examines the progress of energy subsidy reforms in the Persian Gulf, documenting policy changes in all six monarchies and briefly examining the role of energy and the state.

Using the work of the women’s caucus in Iran’s Sixth Parliament as a case study, the authors examine women’s struggles to obtain a voice and influence within an authoritarian polity and a male-dominated political body.

Five years after the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia stands alone as the only country in North Africa where the Arab Spring has led to significant reforms and a democratic transition. Reservations have been voiced, however, on the gender equality provisions in the country’s revised constitution.

In this brief, the authors examine the link between oil and female labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Tunisia is widely regarded as having one of the most liberal approaches to family law and women’s rights in the region. Yet for nearly 60 years of authoritarian rule — as women’s rights were championed in public discourse, in national legislation and on the international scene — the government did not hesitate to brutalize women through torture and other gross human rights violations, according to more than 15,000 testimonies recently collected by a Tunisian state commission.