Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.
In June 2023, the international boundary treaty governing the U.S.-Mexico border came under attack from Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lonestar. In a new research paper, nonresident scholars Stephen Mumme and Regina M. Buono outline the treaty’s history and examine key issues — advising on merits of recent challenges and long-term implications for the binational relationship between the United States and Mexico.
This report takes a deep dive into how expanding the scope of the nonimmigrant TN Visa — available only to Mexican and Canadian citizens — could help solve the U.S. labor shortage. In a political climate where full-scale immigration reform seems impossible, more temporary work visas can help bridge the labor gap.
Tony Payan, Jose Ivan Rodriguez-SanchezJune 7, 2023
Abu Dhabi has shown increasing discomfort with OPEC’s actions in recent years. Do diverging interests spell departure? Fellows Jim Krane, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen and Mark Finley weigh the risks and opportunities of an OPEC exit by the UAE.
Jim Krane, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Mark FinleyJune 1, 2023
Why does Texas have its own power grid, and how can its history inform the future of electric power in the state? Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn looks beyond the mythology surrounding the standalone Texas grid and finds that reliability and economics — not politics — were the major factors leading to isolation.
How durable is the Saudi-Russian relationship, and what are its implications for the longstanding energy-for-security arrangement between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.?
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Mark Finley, Jim KraneOctober 18, 2022
As China’s power reaches its peak over the next decade, President Xi Jinping may make a bold move against Taiwan. To protect American interests and the rules-based order, the authors argue that the United States and its allies should immediately mobilize resources to deter Chinese aggression.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew S. EricksonDecember 20, 2021
Texas social studies curriculum standards do not give public school students the balanced coverage of religion they need to function effectively in an increasingly diverse society, contends the author. His comparison of equivalent curriculum standards in five culturally similar states identifies lessons Texas can learn from its counterparts.
"China talks green but runs on coal," write the authors, who suggest leveraging the threat of carbon taxation to incentivize change in the PRC and help set a path toward preserving the Earth for future generations.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew S. EricksonAugust 31, 2021