Research Library

After a delay, the Joe Biden administration has issued its National Security Strategy (NSS), a summary of the administration’s foreign policy approach. Fellow Joe Barnes discusses the usefulness and implications of the NSS in this commentary.

Russia is losing the war in Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, faced with this truth, has decided to double down on his efforts. Fellow Joe Barnes explains how Putin has boxed himself into a corner — and why this makes him so dangerous.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is about to achieve the quiet but full militarization of Mexican society by placing all armed government forces under Defense Secretariat command, writes nonresident fellow Gary Hale. If he is successful, this could lay the groundwork for his possible extended tenure, even if it creates a military junta by subterfuge.

Biden’s foreign policy retains the usual mix of high ideals and pragmatic self-interest that has been a hallmark of U.S. foreign policy since the Republic’s founding.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s investment policies, which aim to return Mexico to the protectionist, state-led policies of the 1960s and 1970s, seem almost certain to stagnate the country’s economy.

Last month, China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for the energy sector. While clean and low-carbon may be the keywords on paper, in reality, Beijing will continue rely on coal to power its economy and energy transitions, writes the author. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.

"With the pressures of climate change and the urgency to incorporate alternative energy resources like wind and solar, the fixation on the purported benefits of energy transition technologies overshadows the glaring reality — an absence of strategy around identifying and quantifying other life cycle externalities, such as waste disposal or environmental impacts," write fellow Rachel Meidl and research assistant Mathilde Saada. Read more on the Baker Institute Blog.

In October the UAE declared a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. That goal seems incredibly lofty for an oil-dominated economy, but the UAE's particular advantages may uniquely suit the task, energy fellow Jim Krane explains in this week's Forbes post.

In the push for decarbonization, "turquoise" hydrogen offers a unique, commercially viable technology that reduces CO2 emissions, argue Rachel A. Meidl and Kenneth B. Medlock III.