Research Library

San Diego and Tijuana, key entry points at the U.S.-Mexico border, face challenges in meeting the needs of migrants arriving in their cities due to insufficient shelter capacity, infrastructure, and funding. Ana Martín Gil’s new report examines the cities’ differing migrant reception systems and approaches to collaborative efforts among international, federal, and local groups, while also providing policy recommendations to advance the development of an orderly and humane asylum system.

The Middle East is in a new era of mass displacement, with millions uprooted after a year of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with a new front in Lebanon. In a recent commentary featured in The Conversation, Kelsey Norman and coauthor Nichols R. Micinski examine the long-lasting effects of the region’s humanitarian crisis, highlighting the urgent need for a ceasefire to enable displaced communities to return home and rebuild.

Research security seeks to safeguard the U.S. science and technology community by identifying potential security risks and developing strategies to minimize their impacts. A recent global workshop hosted at the Baker Institute explored significant themes, major issues, and the challenges ahead. This collaborative report charts a road map for the future of the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Research on Research Security (RoRS) program.

Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has created new opportunities — along with environmental risks, lack of financial and natural resources, and social disparity. In a new issue brief, visiting research scholar Osamah Alsayegh explores how developing smart sustainable cities can bring social and economic benefits to the growing urban population.

Climate change, conflict, and displacement in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region present overlapping challenges to policymakers. This new joint report from the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East and United States Institute of Peace examines four key components — natural resources, urban fragility, gendered impacts, and international financing — and makes specific recommendations to address these complex issues.

In a new brief, contributing expert Robert Barron explores the first phase of the Israel-Hamas war and what stakeholders must consider for a viable pathway to peace.

In a new commentary, fellow Joe Barnes lays out the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war, including President Joe Biden’s careful response to attacks by Iran-backed groups in the region.

Patricia Summerlin Martin provides an alternative perspective on religious women’s views in the late 1800s and early 1900s — a perspective distinct from that of wealthier women who lived in the Northeast or Deep South. The study explores how Southwestern Baptist women interpreted the Bible and how this shaped their perspectives on feminism and power.