The range of responses in the six Gulf states to the Iran nuclear deal illustrates both the diversity of regional approaches to Iran and the absence of any monolithic “Gulf position” on the issue.
Although the hemisphere is keen to insulate itself from Venezuela’s political and economic problems, the country constantly challenges regional capabilities in crisis management. The latest victim of the turmoil in Venezuela is the Brazilian government.
Nonresident fellow Gary Hale, former chief of intelligence in the Houston Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, pulls no punches in a blog on the escape of Mexican drug lord Chapo Guzman.
The core strategies of the U.S. War on Drugs are eradication, interdiction and incarceration. After a 40-year and trillion-dollar effort, illicit drugs remain available to meet a remarkably stable demand.
Drawing on decades of government-gathered and publicly available data, William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, and contributing expert Jerry Epstein contend that U.S. drug policy is premised on incorrect assumptions, aims at the wrong targets and can never succeed. But because these data run counter to a century of anti-drug propaganda, they play only a small role in public policy, mass-media presentation and popular perception. In this policy report, Martin and Epstein call for a reexamination of the data and sweeping revision of existing strategies. They urge formation of a politically independent national scientific commission, its members chosen by the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services, to facilitate open examination and honest consideration of alternatives to current failed or flawed policies.
The accession of a new king in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom’s intervention in Yemen have overshadowed important moves to reform two of the kingdom’s key institutions. Incoming King Salman has taken steps to prepare Saudi Arabia for a new generation of leaders, both within the royal family and among the world’s largest oil export sector and its marquee company, Saudi Aramco. The changes involve installing new personalities into key positions and shifting the roles of long-serving managers. "Overall, the moves ought to enhance the resilience of the kingdom and its economy by shifting leadership responsibilities to a younger generation," writes fellow Jim Krane.
This report reviews the key concepts and themes that emerged from the conference “Divided Societies, Volatile States: The Politics of Identity Post-Arab Spring,” hosted by the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East on March 10, 2015.
This year marks a turning point in Argentinian politics now that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner lacks the constitutional possibility of being reelected. And with the party system fragmented as it is, no candidate has a clear victory.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is starting her second term in office facing economic and political problems that feed into each other. These problems can be attributed to a large extent to mistakes her administration made during her first term. Rousseff’s macroeconomic policy proved to be inconsistent, and the choices she made in some key economic sectors, especially energy, were demonstrably disastrous. Rousseff now faces
the enormous challenge of reconciling the leftwing populism that led her to victory with the inescapable need
to regain the trust of the most dynamic sectors of Brazilian society, including the private sector.
