Research Library

The number of forcibly displaced people in the world has recently reached a record high: 89.3 million. Women and girls make up almost half of the world’s forcibly displaced populations, while lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or queer (LGBTIQ+) persons are increasingly seeking refuge outside of their countries of origin.

This brief demonstrates that the stories and voices of people on the move should be noticed and reflected, and that people on the move should have a leading say regarding the contexts and conditions that affect them, as well as how they are represented.

The layered and intersectional implications of Lebanon's current political and economic crisis have been felt hardest by the country’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities — predominantly the country’s millions of refugees and migrants.

The phenomena of Syrian refugee women marrying Egyptian men whom they barely know soon after their arrival has drawn the attention of media and advocacy groups. Such marriages are often facilitated through marriage brokers, social media, and religious groups. In contrast to existing narratives that view this type of marriage as exploitative, the author demonstrates how the concept of “marriage for refuge” offers a better lens through which to analyze the relationship between forced migration and marriage.

It’s been two years since Winter Storm Uri swept across Texas, and the question of whether and how to end the isolation of the state’s grid remains. Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn offers a brief history of the standalone Texas grid to explore how the lessons of the past can inform the state’s electric power future.

Australia’s domestic natural gas price caps are poor policy, writes nonresident scholar Kelly Neill. A better idea is a tax enabling the Australian government to share resource profits and losses with the gas industry.

Visiting scholar Osamah Alsayegh explores the water and energy challenges of GCC states and offers three key policy recommendations that could help to build the region’s resilience and sustainability.

A report from center experts on the evolution of Islamist politics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, security in the Persian Gulf and displacement in the Middle East.

This brief explores pressing issues the Biden administration should address in developing a strategy for the Middle East. It provides analysis and policy recommendations related to the GCC states, U.S.-Iran relations, Islamist groups, and refugees and migration. Further CME publications will address issues such as the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace and the crisis in Lebanon.

The author draws links between pandemics, the economy, nature and energy, showing that policies reducing the probability of future pandemics are a solid investment.