Research Library

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.

A well-managed U.S.-Mexico border is essential not only for millions of border residents in both countries, but for the U.S. economy and federal budget. This brief lays out recommendations to strengthen the institutional scaffolding that could allow for a safer and more prosperous North American continent.

Continued robust economic growth in the U.S. will, among many other things, require policies that encourage rapid technological innovation and increases in productivity, promote investment while reducing debt, and maximize economic efficiency. The authors explain why in this brief.

The authors argue for an identification and tax program that would allow unauthorized residents to receive identification documents and reside and work legally in the United States. In return, they would pay taxes much like any other American.

Mexico's government has eliminated almost all conditions (health checkups, school attendance for children) previously attached to cash transfers for the poor. The author considers the impact of the antipoverty overhaul.

With growing competition from abroad, the U.S. must reform its fiscal policy to reduce debt, maximize economic efficiency — including minimizing the distortions caused by the tax system — and maintain its areas of competitive advantage.

The incoming president will have to rebuild ties of trust with ruling elites in the Persian Gulf states shaken by U.S. policy toward the Arab uprisings in 2011, the civil war in Syria, and the nuclear negotiations with Iran, writes fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) affects over 80 million Americans, causing more than 40,000 cases of HPV-associated cancers in the U.S. In 2006, the FDA licensed the first HPV vaccine, which could help save thousands of lives; no cure for HPV currently exists. However, the political controversy raised by the vaccine has limited its acceptance and use. Such resistance potentially jeopardizes an opportunity to reduce cancer rates in Texas and the broader United States.