Political Geography: United States of America

351. The Politics of USAID

Author:: Cheryl Kamin
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Cheryl Kamin is a senior independent international health consultant. She most recently served as a Senior Infectious Disease Advisor (2018-2024) with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Bureau for Global Health’s Office of Infectious Diseases. She is a retired USAID Foreign Service Health Officer and has worked in the USAID Washington headquarters and overseas in USAID offices in Malawi, Russia, and Israel (working on the West Bank/Gaza portfolio). Kamin has extensive experience managing international maternal and child health programs and infectious disease prevention efforts focused on HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and emerging threats of global health security. Prior to serving as a Foreign Service Officer, Kamin worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Foreign Aid, Interview, and USAID
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

352. El estado de la Unión Europea 2025

Author:: Francisco Aldecoa, Carlos Carnero, Enrique Ayala, José Candela, and Björn Hacker
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: Europa afronta en el segundo cuarto del siglo xxi una transformación profunda del orden geopolítico y geoeconómico. A la comunidad internacional nacida de la postguerra hace 80 años le sucede la pretensión de potencias como Estados Unidos, China y Rusia de acabar con la naturaleza multilateral de un orden global que tiene como símbolo las Naciones Unidas y las instituciones de Bretton Woods. Se trata de sustituirlo por un orden nacionalista, aislacionista y proteccionista. En este Informe se estudia la forma en la que la Unión Europea ha de abordar retos importantes relacionados con ese cambio del orden global, así como las políticas internas que competen a la Unión, entre ellas la triple transformación digital, ecológica y social.
Topic:: Nationalism, Science and Technology, European Union, Geopolitics, Inequality, Economy, Political Science, Protectionism, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Europe, Latin America, United States of America, and Sub-Saharan Africa

353. The New Immigration Crackdown: Where Americans Stand

Author:: PRRI Staff
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: PRRI: Public Religion Research Institute
Abstract:: Support for President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration has dropped 5 points among Americans since March 2025. Over four in ten Americans support Trump’s handling of immigration (43%), a decrease of 5 percentage points since March 2025. Support among Republicans has dipped from 90% to 86%. The steepest decline in support for Trump’s immigration agenda in the past few months — 11 points — comes from independents. Support has also declined by nearly 10 points among the youngest American adults (aged 18-29, from 41% to 32%) and seniors (65+, from 56% to 47%). Among Americans living in border states, approval of Trump’s handling of immigration has dropped from 42% to 33% since March. Increasing numbers of Americans in the past year support both a pathway to citizenship and allowing “Dreamers” to stay and gain legal status. Most Americans (60%) say that immigrants living in the United States illegally should be given a way to become citizens, provided they meet certain requirements, up from 56% last October. Among Republicans, support for a pathway to citizenship increased from 36% in 2024 to 40%; among Democrats, 77% to 82%. The increase in support for a path to citizenship was larger for independents, from 55% in 2024 to 61% this year. Support for allowing children brought illegally to the U.S. to gain legal resident status (known as DACA) increased from 52% in 2024 to 60% in 2025; support increased among Republicans, independents, and Democrats. Partisan divides remain stark on most of Trump’s immigration policies; yet such polarization is asymmetric, as independents’ views are more closely aligned with Democrats. Republicans and Democrats differ widely in their support for Trump’s immigration policies, ranging from whether undocumented immigrants should be arrested and detained if they have no criminal record, be detained in internment camps or deported to foreign prisons without due process, or whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers should be allowed to conceal their identities with masks or use unmarked vehicles. Independents, while not as strongly opposed to many of these policies undertaken or proposed by the Trump administration as Democrats, are still broadly opposed to such measures. Religion shapes views on immigration policies, with white Christians being more supportive of most of Trump’s immigration agenda than Christians of color, members of minority faith traditions, and the religiously unaffiliated. White evangelical Protestants hold the most consistently conservative positions on immigration policies: just 39% agree that immigrants, regardless of legal status, should have basic rights and protections, and 34% agree that ICE officers should not be allowed to conceal their identities; 57% agree that undocumented immigrants who have resided in the U.S. with no criminal record should be arrested and detained. While not as supportive of Trump’s immigration agenda as white evangelical Protestants, white Catholics and mainline/non-evangelical Protestants are consistently more supportive than other religious Americans and the religiously unaffiliated. Hispanic Protestants’ views on Trump’s more restrictive immigration policies are far more aligned with Hispanic Catholics than white Christians. Just three in ten Americans support Trump’s immigration agenda, according to PRRI’s newly developed immigration policy scale. PRRI developed a comprehensive scale combining responses to eight questions measuring support for eight of Trump’s immigration measures. Among those, three in ten favor Trump’s agenda, including one in ten Americans who strongly favor it. Two-thirds of Americans oppose Trump’s immigration agenda, including four in ten Americans who strongly oppose it. Americans who most trust far-right news (81%) and Fox News (71%), Republicans (63%), Christian nationalism Adherents (57%), and white evangelical Protestants (55%) are the most likely to strongly favor or favor Trump’s immigration agenda. Multivariate analysis shows which factors are best able to predict support for, or opposition to, Trump’s immigration agenda. Republicans, those with confidence in ICE, and those who view immigration as a critical issue are each at least twice as likely as their counterparts (Democrats, those without confidence in ICE, and those who do not see immigration as critical) to support Trump’s immigration agenda. Compared with religiously unaffiliated Americans, Hispanic Catholics and Hispanic Protestants are less likely to support Trump’s immigration policies once controlling for other factors. Christian nationalism Adherents, Sympathizers, and Skeptics are each twice as likely as Rejecters to support Trump’s immigration agenda. Americans who disagree that immigrants strengthen American society are about three times as likely to support Trump’s immigration policies as those who agree that immigrants strengthen American society. Similarly, believing that being born in America is important to being truly American is a strong predictor of support for Trump’s immigration agenda. Americans who are very concerned that their families will not be able to pay for housing and basic living expenses over the next year are less likely to support Trump’s immigration agenda.
Topic:: Immigration, Public Opinion, Domestic Politics, Donald Trump, and Polarization
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

354. Trump’s Unprecedented Actions Deepen Asymmetric Divides

Author:: PRRI Staff
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: PRRI: Public Religion Research Institute
Abstract:: Executive Summary Americans remain pessimistic about the country’s direction and the state of the country, with sharp partisan reversals since 2024. Six in ten Americans (62%) believe things in the country are going in the wrong direction, including most Democrats (92%) and independents (71%), compared with 24% of Republicans. In 2024, 94% of Republicans, 70% of independents, and 41% of Democrats said the same. While partisanship has always colored Americans’ outlook on the direction of the country, partisan polarization has dramatically increased on this measure over time. In 2011, during Obama’s presidency, 85% of Republicans and 54% of Democrats said the country was going in the wrong direction — a 31-point gap. Today, the 68-point gap between Republicans and Democrats represents an all-time high. Majorities of Americans say the economy (65%) and the ways the federal government is functioning (65%) or dealing with undocumented immigrants (57%) are headed in the wrong direction. Most Americans (60%) also say the way the U.S. is dealing with other countries is going in the wrong direction. Republicans rate these areas far more positively than Democrats and independents. Inflation remains a main concern among all Americans; among Republicans, immigration and crime are the top critical issues, while the protection of basic rights, the health of democracy, and health care are the top critical issues for Democrats and independents. Majorities of Americans across party lines rate increasing the cost of housing and everyday expenses as a critical issue, though Democrats and independents are roughly 10 points more likely to do so than Republicans. Aside from inflation, Republicans are most likely to rank immigration (56%) and crime (53%) as critical issues. Majorities of both Democrats and independents rate the protection of basic rights such as free speech (65% vs. 52%) and health care (64% vs. 52%) as critical issues. More than seven in ten Democrats (72%) rate the health of our democracy as a critical issue, an increase from 61% in 2024.
Topic:: Domestic Politics, Inflation, Donald Trump, and Polarization
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

355. The Cape Assurance Corridor: Turning Maritime Security into a Regional Export for Southern Africa

Author:: Erika van der Merwe
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:: Red Sea insecurity has rerouted significant volumes of global trade around the Cape of Good Hope, shifting both demand and opportunity toward Southern Africa’s waters. The region can convert this diversion into a durable preference by offering an exportable public good in the form of assurance. This means delivering safe, predictable, and increasingly low‑carbon passage that insurers can price and operators can plan around. This brief proposes a SADC‑led Cape Corridor Assurance Framework that integrates existing regional centres with national Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) feeds to produce daily risk bulletins, incident metrics, and audited port KPIs in formats recognised by underwriters and Protection and Indemnity Clubs (P&I Clubs). A Clean‑Corridor Compliance Code with continuous automatic identification systems (AIS) for high‑risk calls, designated and monitored Ship-to-Ship (STS) zones, and beneficial‑ownership disclosures can help deter shadow‑fleets without penalising compliant traffic. Cable resilience should be treated as core corridor infrastructure through charted no-anchor/no-trawl areas, VTS integration, and pre-contracted rapid repair capabilities. Service reliability should be showcased through transparent KPI dashboards at Durban, Cape Town, and Ngqura, regularised offshore bunkering at Algoa Bay, and green-fuel bunkering at Saldanha and Walvis Bay, all under strict safety and environmental protocols. This package complements the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by standardising essential security and regulatory practices, while also endeavouring to respect national sovereignty through a minimum‑standards approach. In a world of geopolitical detours, the most profitable route is the one whose risks are visible, managed, and insurable. With pragmatic governance and disciplined execution, Southern Africa can make the Cape Corridor that route.
Topic:: Exports, Trade, Resilience, Shipping, Supply Chains, Instability, and Maritime Security
Political Geography:: Africa, Iran, Middle East, South Africa, and United States of America

356. Black Intergenerational Mobility, Libertarian Capitalism, and Authoritarian Government, 1877–1941: A Case Study

Author:: Patrick Mason
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: There are persistent multigenerational Black-white gaps in occupational attainment. These racial differences in intergenerational mobility are not caused by differences in family values and behavior (Mason, 2007). For three decades, I have gathered evidence on my family’s intergenerational transition from enslavement to present social and economic circumstances. Charles and Susan Rollins were 32 and 29 years-old, respectively, as enslavement ended in 1865. During Reconstruction, they accumulated wealth, established a successful dairy and other farming, helped found a church and religious organizations, helped found multiple civic organizations, served on boards affiliated with the local university and high school, were elected to County and State public office, had savings and bank accounts for the entire family, and were leaders among an extensive social network. Jim Crow in the South and anti-black racism in the north stymied upward mobility for the Rollins family for the three generations after Charles and Susan, despite the fact that their descendants obtained greater education than their ancestors, displayed a willingness to relocate 100s of miles away from their home, possessed a culture of achievement (hard work, future orientation, married couple families, etc.), were blessed with exceptional social capital, and, perhaps, the relative advantage of being mulattoes.
Topic:: Race, Authoritarianism, Capitalism, Slavery, Economic Mobility, Libertarianism, and Intergenerational
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

357. The Temporal Demands of Parental Child Care: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey

Author:: Nancy Folbre and Jooyeoun Suh
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: Most research on parental time devoted to child care is based on survey questions regarding explicit care activities or co-presence of parents and children in the same room, factors clearly relevant to child development. Time spent keeping an eye and/or ear on young children while engaging in other activities deserves attention for a different reason—it represents an even larger constraint on maternal employment. Analysis of pooled time-diary data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) from 2004-2019 focuses on an underutilized question that asks respondents when own household children under the age of 13 were “in their care,” and shows that reported parental time likely devoted to supervision parental time likely devoted to supervision exceeds time devoted to active care by a factor of 2.9 and is more negatively related to maternal hours in paid employment. In-your-care time is an important indicator of the opportunity costs of motherhood, especially in low-income households unable to purchase or otherwise unable to obtain “babysitting” assistance.
Topic:: Economics, Women, Employment, Inequality, Time, Gender, and Child Care
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

358. The Impact of the War on Drugs on Union Density, 1973-2022

Author:: Michael J. Naples
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: The War on Drugs (WoD) notoriously targeted poor people and communities, especially people of color. Its negative impact on the formation and defense of unions has only recently been studied. This paper explores the magnitude of the WoD’s role in increasing arrests and imprisonment, and its long shadow in probation and parole. It details the way it divided workers by race, and hammered the poor under the pretext of fighting drugs. Incorporating unemployment and manufacturing’s employment share, the paper shows that the WoD and the conservative turn it represented contributed substantially to the decline in union density.
Topic:: Race, War on Drugs, Prisons/Penal Systems, Unions, Incarceration, and Probation
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

359. Stabilizing Cobalt Markets: A Price Floor for U.S. Minerals Security

Author:: Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Achieving economic viability for minerals security is one of the most pressing hurdles facing U.S. minerals security objectives. While this challenge spans the entire critical minerals landscape, it is particularly acute for cobalt. Despite cobalt’s central role in both energy security and the defense industrial base, its market remains highly distorted in the critical minerals ecosystem. Prices have swung wildly over the past decade, driven less by supply-and-demand fundamentals than by strategic behavior, particularly persistent oversupply from People’s Republic of China (PRC) producers that dominate global mining, refining, and processing. Between May 2022 and May 2025, cobalt prices plunged 59.5 percent, falling from $41 to $16.62 per pound. This sharp decline coincided with China Molybdenum Company Limited (CMOC) nearly doubling its annual cobalt production in 2024, reaching record output levels despite market prices falling more than 60 percent. The surge in PRC output has pushed several Western operations out of the market. In 2022, Jervois opened the United States’ only cobalt mine in Idaho, only to shutter it that the following year as prices cratered. While cobalt prices have begun to show upward momentum after a long period of weakness, the benchmark price for refined cobalt remains around $22.30 per pound as of late November 2025. But this relief is fleeting. The DRC has already signaled that it will move away from an export ban—an action that will flood the market once again and put renewed downward pressure on cobalt prices. To avoid another collapse that forces non-PRC producers offline, the United States and its allies must move quickly to deploy price support mechanisms that keep Western mines operating and prevent the market from reverting to PRC dominance.
Topic:: Security, Markets, Supply Chains, Cobalt, and Critical Minerals
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

360. The Depleting Missile Defense Interceptor Inventory

Author:: Wes Rumbaugh
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The prolific use of missiles and drones in the June 2025 war between Israel and Iran illustrated the growing role of these weapons in modern conflict. The significant expenditure of air and missile defense interceptors, especially by the United States, over the course of the 12-day conflict highlighted both the scarcity and importance of these critical military capabilities. Estimating interceptor inventories presents certain challenges, but examining the available budget data allows for a better contextualization around reported expenditure numbers. This data raises concerns about the inventory of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, in particular, suggesting the need to invest in additional capacity. Nevertheless, these investments must be coupled with measures to provide a more sustainable demand signal to industry if the goal is to build a more resilient and responsive industrial base for air and missile defense interceptors.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Drones, Missile Defense, Defense Spending, and Interceptors
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

361. Three Steps to Protect the United States Against Extreme Heat: A Report of the CSIS Alliance Working Group on Climate and Health

Author:: J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, and Christina E. Zielke
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Extreme heat is becoming an urgent priority in the United States and beyond. The threat posed by extreme heat has become a matter of national security, impacting U.S. military readiness, while threatening economic growth, productivity, and global competitiveness. The negative health, social, and economic effects of extreme heat have become a common, lived experience among broad sectors of the American public, cutting across income, racial, ideological, and geographic lines. As extreme heat events have become more politically salient, they have raised popular expectations and prompted state, municipal, and local leaders, working in partnership with universities, community groups, businesses, and philanthropies, to seek pragmatic solutions that draw support across the partisan divide. In the fall of 2024, the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security launched a working group to develop policy recommendations for addressing climate-related health challenges that have implications for national security. The working group argues that three actions lay the foundation of a strategy to better protect Americans, strengthen preparedness, and protect U.S. national interests: the launch of a high-level bipartisan panel, the establishment of a data consortium, and the strengthening of essential core federal functions. In combination, these measures will make the United States stronger, more secure, and more prosperous.
Topic:: Climate Change, Health, National Security, Infectious Diseases, Global Health, and Heat
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

362. Identifying Pathways for U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation with Northeast Asian Allies

Author:: Henry H. Carroll and Cynthia R. Cook
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Military conflict in the Indo-Pacific would demand overwhelming U.S. naval power. Yet the shipbuilding sector faces capacity shortages, industrial base constraints, cost overruns, and delayed delivery, suggesting that Washington should explore alternative pathways for delivering naval capability. One approach is to enhance cooperation with close allies such as Japan and South Korea. Options for cooperation include allied participation in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO); allied purchase and revitalization of U.S. shipyards; various methods of coproduction, including modular construction; and U.S. purchase of allied-built ships. Novel strategies that leverage the United States’ strong and unique network of allies and partners will require thoughtful implementation of industrial cooperation policy, which has historically been challenging. For the United States to strike the right balance between leaning on its allies and partners to alleviate its shipbuilding problems and investing in its own capabilities at home—for these approaches are not mutually exclusive—it should understand the implications of its various cooperative options with its allies.
Topic:: Security, International Cooperation, Navy, Defense Industry, and Shipbuilding
Political Geography:: Japan, Asia, North America, Korea, and United States of America

363. A New Era in Health Security: A Call to Action from the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security

Author:: J. Stephen Morrison, Michaela Simoneau, Katherine E. Bliss, Enoh T. Ebong, Elizabeth Cameron, and Paul Friedrichs
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security has evaluated the policy changes unfolding in the past several months as a new era in national, economic, and health security begins. This call to action is an appeal to the administration and Congress to protect and strengthen investments in health security programs, which make Americans safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The first order of business is to restore confidence and trust in health security policies and their execution. To that end, the alliance calls on the administration and Congress to (1) stabilize and modernize core health security capabilities; (2) secure and sustain U.S. leadership in science and biomedical research; and (3) accelerate innovations in financing that enable efficient, effective, and accountable health security investments. Together, these actions will ensure Americans remain protected, U.S. innovation remains competitive, and U.S. government programming is more efficient and sustainable going forward, assured of strong support among Americans.
Topic:: Infectious Diseases, Global Health, and Health Security
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

364. Friendshoring Copper: A New Pillar of the U.S.-Brazilian Economic Partnership

Author:: Gracelin Baskaran, Meredith Schwartz, and Bryan Harris
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Brazil holds some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals, including niobium, rare earths, graphite, manganese, bauxite, zinc, and lithium. However, the next frontier is copper, which now accounts for one-third of all mineral exploration investment in the country. Market enthusiasm for Brazil’s copper aligns with a global outlook in which copper demand is projected to nearly double by 2035. China has already secured a strong foothold in Brazil’s mining ecosystem through trade agreements, concessional financing, and infrastructure investments. By contrast, the United States remains in the early stages of building a minerals partnership with Brazil. Unlocking Brazil’s potential as a major copper producer—and securing U.S. access to this strategic metal—will require bilateral efforts. Brazil must strengthen geological mapping, expand infrastructure, and streamline its overly bureaucratic permitting system. On the U.S. side, deploying strategic financing, promoting vertical supply chain integration, and offering targeted tariff exemptions to advance national and economic security objectives will be critical to a successful partnership.
Topic:: Economics, Partnerships, Mining, Trade, Economic Security, Copper, and Friendshoring
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

365. Left-Wing Terrorism and Political Violence in the United States: What the Data Tells Us

Author:: Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: In recent years, the United States has seen an increase in the number of left-wing terrorism attacks and plots, although such violence has risen from very low levels and remains much lower than historical levels of violence carried out by right-wing and jihadist attackers. So far, 2025 marks the first time in more than 30 years that left-wing terrorist attacks outnumber those from the violent far right. Despite its decline this year, right-wing terrorism could easily return to previous high levels. It is important to resource counterterrorism efforts against both right- and left-wing terrorism and work with communities to gain their support against extremists. Leaders across the political spectrum must condemn violent extremism of all kinds, denying it legitimacy and reducing its appeal.
Topic:: Political Violence, Terrorism, Leftist Politics, and Data
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

366. Community Insights on Weather-Induced Energy Insecurity: A Case Study of Extreme Heat and Power Outages in North Lawndale, Chicago

Author:: Qëndresa Krasniqi, Helen Yibrah, and Rachel Scheu
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: Extreme heat and power outages are two growing climate-driven threats that endanger the health and safety of vulnerable households and communities. Heat waves are among the deadliest natural hazards in the United States, and they are becoming more frequent, longer lasting, and more intense. Power outages, also on the rise, compound the risks posed by heat waves. These threats not only intersect, they also disproportionately impact communities with high economic, health, and social vulnerability—many of which have been shaped by a legacy of structural discrimination. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Black residents are 40% more likely to live in areas with higher mortality rates from rising temperatures than non-Black residents. This report, part of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, explores how residents of North Lawndale, a predominantly Black and historically under-resourced neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, experience the compounded effects of heat waves and power outages. With rates of chronic health issues, poverty, unemployment, and energy burden (the percentage of income used to pay energy bills) well above state averages, North Lawndale contends with more frequent and longer outages as well as greater barriers to coping with extreme heat compared to wealthier neighborhoods in Chicago. By sharing concerns expressed by local residents during a focus group discussion, this report adds community voices to existing research on weather-induced energy insecurity to ensure that the experiences of affected people are better understood by policymakers weighing reform options. Participants described significant impacts from outages—from trauma and food loss to isolation and disruption of caregiving responsibilities.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Security, Heat, and Power Outages
Political Geography:: North America, Chicago, and United States of America

367. Maternal and Child Mortality: How Do U.S. States Compare Internationally?

Author:: Evan D. Gumas, Munira Z. Gunja, and Irene Papanicolas
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:: In the United States, the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes is more than four times higher for someone giving birth in Louisiana than in California, and a child born in Mississippi is nearly three times more likely to die before age 5 than a child in Massachusetts. National averages can obscure this dramatic variation, much of which stems from state-level policy choices around Medicaid, reproductive health, hospital regulation, and social welfare, among others. To examine variations within the U.S., this brief compares maternal and child mortality rates at the national, state, and racial and ethnic level to 200 countries. Comparing disaggregated U.S. rates to nations with similar population sizes and economies can illuminate how different policy environments shape health outcomes. Historically, states that invest more in health coverage, reproductive care, and social protections tend to have better health outcomes, in some cases on par with high-income countries, while states that invest less and pass more restrictive policies have outcomes similar to low- and middle-income or politically unstable countries.1 Disaggregating by race and ethnicity is critical for a full picture of maternal and child mortality in the U.S. as state and national mortality rates often mask worse outcomes for Black, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities. This brief draws on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), national registries, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) (see “How We Conducted This Study” for more details).
Topic:: Race, Public Health, Child Mortality, Disparity, and Maternal Mortality
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

368. Five Key Decisions to Revitalize US Critical Mineral Stockpiles

Author:: Tom Moerenhout, Cina Vazir, and Irina Patrahau
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: The United States is at a pivotal moment to modernize its approach to critical mineral stockpiling. Minerals are increasingly central to American strategic interests, yet the US remains heavily reliant on foreign suppliers, particularly China, for processed materials. This dependency exposes the US to major vulnerabilities in national, economic, and climate security. The National Defense Stockpile (NDS) can be a key policy lever to reduce these vulnerabilities. At present, however, the NDS is underfunded, covering only a fraction of projected needs in a national emergency. It also may not be realizing its potential to address underlying market failures that threaten US economic interests in addition to its historical defense role. This report, part of the Critical Materials Initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, finds that an economic stockpile with market-shaping quantities of material may cost more than six times the amount of a defense-oriented stockpile. It is therefore important to integrate stockpiling choices into the wider array of policy options, analyzing whether a stockpile is the most efficient tool to address the specific market failure at hand for each material and transaction. The report outlines five foundational choices if a stockpiling strategy is adopted, as bipartisan support suggests is possible, and offers related recommendations for US policymakers designing such a system.
Topic:: Energy Policy, Science and Technology, Innovation, Critical Minerals, and Stockpiling
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

369. A World Adrift: Reordering and New Pathways of Cooperation

Author:: Mely Caballero-Anthony
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Global governance is under severe strain as geopolitical conflicts, climate risks, pandemics, technological disruptions, and widening inequalities unfold amid the United States’ retrenchment from the international arena and China’s assertiveness in global affairs. A more pluralistic global landscape is emerging where new and old institutions coexist. Regional and middle powers, including groupings like ASEAN, can shape a more stable and cooperative order through inclusive, rules-based frameworks that strengthen resilience and revitalise multilateralism.
Topic:: Governance, Geopolitics, Institutions, ASEAN, Regional Power, and Middle Power
Political Geography:: China and United States of America

370. After the American Retreat: How Southeast Asia Can Seize its Climate Future

Author:: Adam Hansen and Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: The Trump administration’s aggressive rollback of US climate policy has left a global void. Yet, for Southeast Asia, this is not just a crisis but a catalyst. By leveraging critical minerals to sustain US engagement and through strengthening ties with new partners, the region can forge a resilient, independent green path.
Topic:: Climate Change, Partnerships, Donald Trump, Critical Minerals, and Political Engagement
Political Geography:: North America, Southeast Asia, and United States of America

371. Deterioration of relations between the US and India

Author:: Patryk Kugiel
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: The imposition by Donald Trump’s administration of 50% tariffs on goods from India, a tightened migration policy, as well as the strengthening of US cooperation with Pakistan, have all led to the most serious crisis in Indian-American relations in 25 years. Although both sides will try to ease tensions and return to normal cooperation, the shift in US policy has undermined India's trust in the US. As a result, India will be more willing to cooperate with other partners, including the BRICS countries. It will be important for the EU to strengthen its cooperation with India in order to try to prevent a deeper anti-Western drift in Indian policy.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, European Union, Donald Trump, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, India, North America, and United States of America

372. The political scene in Israel a year before the Knesset elections

Author:: Michał Wojnarowicz
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: The parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2026 will be the first chance for Israeli political forces to renew their social mandate since the Gaza Strip war began. Polls show that Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition may lose its majority. This could prompt the government to use foreign policy more for electoral purposes. The opposition’s chances depend on how well it consolidates and how effective the new parties' messages are. External influences on the campaign, especially from the US, will likely intensify.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Politics, Elections, Knesset, Parliament, and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United States of America

373. Energy Derussification of Poland's Visegrad Partners

Author:: Łukasz Ogrodnik and Tymon Pastucha
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: While Czechia has moved away from importing Russian energy resources, Hungary and Slovakia remain the most dependent EU countries. As a result of EU and US sanctions against Russia, both countries will have to make efforts to reduce this dependence. This prospect represents an opportunity for Poland to deepen cooperation in its role as a provider of energy security.
Topic:: Sanctions, European Union, Visegrad Group, Energy, and Energy Security
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, United States of America, and Czechia

374. Brazil Faces Mounting Pressure from the United States

Author:: Mateusz Piotrowski and Bartłomiej Znojek
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: A political motivation was the main driver of the U.S. measures against Brazil and its authorities in July and August, as President Donald Trump tried to protect former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro from criminal charges of plotting a coup d’état. The Trump administration responded to Bolsonaro’s conviction on 11 September with new threats and additional sanctions. The Brazilian government will intensify its attempts at dialogue with the U.S. and seek support from other BRICS+ members, among other partners, and assistance for domestic industries affected by the punitive U.S. tariffs. The conflict with the United States will influence the course of the campaign ahead of next year’s general elections in Brazil.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Sanctions, Elections, Tariffs, Coup, Donald Trump, BRICS, and Jair Bolsonaro
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and United States of America

375. U.S. Implements "Reciprocal" Tariffs, Significantly Altering Foreign Trade Conditions

Author:: Damian Wnukowski
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: After a suspension period, the so-called reciprocal tariffs came into force on 7 August, establishing new conditions for trade between the U.S. and its partners. This will increase predictability in international trade, but will also likely weaken global economic growth. The diversity and complexity of the regulations may hinder their implementation and undermine the principles of international trade within the WTO system.
Topic:: International Trade and Finance, Economic Growth, Tariffs, and WTO
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

376. U.S. Fosters Rwanda-Congo Peace Deal for Mineral Rights

Author:: Jędrzej Czerep
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: On 27 June in Washington, the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement, reached under U.S. auspices. It is based on a “security for minerals” formula. Although it carries the promise of development by linking the economies of the DRC, Rwanda, and the U.S. in the extractive sector, the chances of its full implementation are slim.
Topic:: Security, Bilateral Relations, Economy, Extractive Industries, and Critical Minerals
Political Geography:: Africa, Rwanda, United States of America, and Congo

377. Development cooperation at a tipping point: how, why and through what mechanisms do policy norms break?

Author:: Andy Sumner and Stephan Klingebiel
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: This paper applies the concepts and theories of “policy norms” to the disruptive effects of the second Trump administration on global development cooperation. We argue that recent US actions represent more than a domestic political shift. They signal a tipping point to longstanding norms of the development cooperation system and specifically multilateralism as well as notions of global solidarity. This paper's objective is to explain how, why and through which political and institutional mechanisms policy norms break down or are reconstituted in global development cooperation. It uses the current moment as a case study of “norm antipreneurship”, potentially even “norm imperialism” illustrating the political and institutional strategies through which policy norms are currently being contested, dismantled or displaced. This paper addresses a set of questions: (i) What are the core mechanisms through which development cooperation norms are formed, contested and fragmented? (ii) How is the second Trump administration seeking to reshape normative regimes in development cooperation? (iii) What research agenda is needed to understand norm change in a multipolar and contested development cooperation landscape?
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Multilateralism, Donald Trump, and Multipolarity
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

378. China Facing Domestic Economic Challenges and Trade War with the U.S.

Author:: Marcin Przychodniak
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: A session of China’s parliament in March confirmed that the main source of the country’s economic growth in 2025 is to be state-supported industrial production, including the development of the high-tech sector, along with increasing domestic consumption and exports. The shape of China’s economic policy will be influenced by, among other things, the course of the trade conflict with the United States. For the EU, China’s economic plans imply the need to further protect the single market and increase competitiveness.
Topic:: Economy, Economic Growth, Trade Wars, and Industry
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

379. Up against Trump, Canada's unlikely European destiny

Author:: André Gattolin
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:: Caught up in the offensive launched last December by Donald Trump against his northern neighbour, Canadians are now grappling with existential questions, leading them to rethink the ties that have bound them to the United States until now. America's ‘betrayal’ has prompted the country to question its real sovereignty and its future place in a disrupted world order. As a direct consequence of this upheaval, Europe is the focus of renewed interest within Canadian society. But is it a credible alternative to Canada's excessive dependence on its neighbour? Is it conceivable that the country could one day join the European Union? If not, what paths could lead to a shared future between these two major entities of the Western world? Since 29 November 2024, Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to annex Canada and make it the 51st state of the United States. What initially appeared to be mere bluster on the part of the White House occupant quickly turned into a real threat with the immediate enactment of coercive customs and border measures. Once the initial shock had passed, a genuine wave of spontaneous and peaceful revolt quickly swept across the country. The boycott of American products and retail chains, as well as mass cancellation of planned trips to the United States were the first signs of this. Far from being short-lived, this defiance seems to be here to stay. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of Canadians continue to reduce their purchases of American goods, and 70% now prefer products of Canadian origin [1].
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Transatlantic Relations, and Boycott
Political Geography:: Europe, Canada, North America, and United States of America

380. Facing New Migration Realities: U.S.-Mexico Relations and Shared Interests

Author:: Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Doris Meissner, and Andrew Selee
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: Migration patterns in the Western Hemisphere have changed considerably in just a few years, with large numbers of migrants from dozens of countries across the Americas and around the world traveling through the region. Many hoped to reach the United States, but others have remained within Latin America and the Caribbean. These shifting realities pushed many countries to deepen collaboration on migration management. No country has been more critical to U.S. border enforcement efforts than Mexico, which at times in 2024 recorded more migrant encounters in its territory than the U.S. Border Patrol did at the southwest border every month. Mexican policies have been central catalysts for sustained reductions in unauthorized migration at the U.S.-Mexico border that began in 2024 and have continued under the countries’ new administrations. Whether and in what form collaboration between the two countries will continue now rests in the hands of the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. This policy brief provides an account of shifts in unauthorized migration and humanitarian protection trends in recent years, and the role the U.S.-Mexico relationship has played—and will continue to play—in responding to critical migration challenges. It examines the shift from burgeoning hemispheric cooperation on migration to a U.S. strategy based on large-scale deportations and threatened tariffs. The analysis was informed by in-depth interviews and roundtable discussions with U.S. and Mexican policymakers, researchers, and representatives of international and civil-society organizations.
Topic:: Migration, Bilateral Relations, Law Enforcement, Employment, Trafficking, Borders, and Labor Market
Political Geography:: North America, Mexico, and United States of America

381. AI Standard Choices Under Geopolitical Competition

Author:: Sangjun Yea
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: This study examines how global competition over artificial intelligence (AI) standards is unfolding amid growing geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. It develops a theoretical model to analyze how a third country decides whether to align its domestic AI standard with the U.S. or Chinese framework once both standards exist. The analysis highlights that the choice depends primarily on global and local network effects, market competition, and the role of domestic platforms intermediating AI services. The findings suggest that the technological superiority of foundation AI models and the expanding global user base are key determinants of international standards adoption, implying that AI standardization has become a strategic domain of global economic and political competition.
Topic:: Economics, Geopolitics, Artificial Intelligence, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

382. Making Preschool Classroom Assessments Work for Dual Language Learners

Author:: Katherine Habben, Victoria Kim, and Lorena Mancilla
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: To effectively support the growth and learning of young children in their care, early childhood educators need to understand and be able to monitor the progress these children are making toward important milestones. Developmentally appropriate assessment practices are often used for such purposes with children whose home language is English, but for Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children who have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English at home—such practices are often a poor fit. Many widely used assessment tools and practices are not designed to account for their cultural and linguistic backgrounds, even though DLLs now comprise one-third of all children ages 0–5 in the United States. These assessments’ frequent reliance on English language proficiency and emphasis of mainstream cultural norms to gauge children’s learning and development can result in inaccurate measures of DLLs’ abilities and thereby lead to faulty conclusions about their developmental progress and educational needs. Federal policies and frameworks such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework acknowledge the importance of linguistically appropriate assessment. Similarly, national organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children have offered guidance on developmentally appropriate practices in diverse settings. While efforts such as these provide a strong foundation, they lack specific requirements or actionable steps that would help ensure widespread adoption and implementation of appropriate assessment tools and practices for DLLs. Several states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, and Oregon, have gone a step further and introduced early learning standards and assessment tools that reflect DLL needs. These initiatives represent meaningful progress toward effective assessment of all young children; however, they have not yet been widely or consistently implemented even within these states’ systems.
Topic:: Education, Children, Immigrants, Language, and Integration
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

383. Breaking the Cycle of Dysfunction at the U.S. Immigration Courts

Author:: Kathleen Bush-Joseph, Doris Meissner, and Muzaffar Chishti
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: With 3.8 million deportation cases pending, the U.S. immigration courts are in crisis, and both administrative and legislative reforms are urgently needed to transform the system. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Justice Department agency that houses the immigration courts and their appellate body, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), has tried to modernize and speed up case completions. Yet in recent years, the filing of millions of new removal (deportation) cases and asylum applications from recent border arrivals have layered new pressure upon long-standing challenges and overwhelmed the courts. Consequently, it takes an average of four years for noncitizens to receive an asylum hearing, and a final decision can take much longer with appeals. These delays undermine the goals of the U.S. asylum and immigration enforcement systems: to determine who is eligible to stay in the United States, and to order those who are ineligible to depart or be removed in a timely manner. To understand how the courts have reached this point, this policy brief provides an overview of former President Joe Biden’s policies at the immigration courts as well as the initial actions of President Donald Trump’s second administration. Since retaking office, Trump has announced a number of new policies restricting access to asylum and rescinding other protections from deportation, while speeding the adjudication of removal cases. But his mass deportation campaign has also led to the filing of many new removal cases as immigration officers seek to arrest thousands of noncitizens per day.
Topic:: Immigration, Courts, Donald Trump, Deportation, Joe Biden, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

384. International Student Mobility: A Post-Pandemic Reset or a Broader Challenge?

Author:: Elizabeth Collett
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: International education has become a huge market, estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Tertiary-level institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada continue to draw large numbers of international students, but other destination countries have also entered the mix. And while Chinese and Indian nationals are among the largest groups of international students, enrollment is growing from countries as varied as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Brazil. Yet after years of recruitment and growth, during which attracting international students was seen as an unalloyed good—for university research budgets, local economies, and knowledge circulation—attitudes are shifting in some major destination countries. The post-COVID-19 pandemic rebound in international student arrivals has raised concerns about their impact on already strained housing markets and led some governments to take steps to limit admissions. But this focus may obscure broader questions about the sustainability of rising numbers, some universities’ reliance on international student tuition, and whether international education is in fact helping countries meet critical skills needs. This Transatlantic Council on Migration report outlines important considerations for governments seeking to answer these questions. It provides an overview of recent developments in the international education sector and explores policy levers that can be used to shape demand for international study, the form learning opportunities take, and how they can be smartly aligned with future labor market needs.
Topic:: Immigration, Economic Mobility, Students, and International Education
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and United States of America

385. All in for a Thriving Connecticut: Opportunities to Support Upward Mobility for the State’s Immigrant Families

Author:: Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter, and Julie Sugarman
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: Immigrants and their children are a vital part of Connecticut’s present and its future. Comprising 15 percent of the state's residents, immigrants have driven all population and workforce growth over the last decade and a half. In addition, about 30 percent of Connecticut children are part of immigrant families. Most immigrants in the state, as in the country overall, are successful and self-sufficient. However, many face periodic economic challenges, and most immigrants can benefit from integration support in their first several years in the United States. With an eye to the state’s future vitality, this report focuses on key state policies and services that aim to support upward mobility for all Connecticut families, examining ways in which they meet the needs of low-income immigrants and their children and how they might more effectively do so. Drawing on interviews with state and local actors, the study considers the following issue areas: adult education and workforce development, housing, low-wage workers, health care and social assistance, small businesses, immigration legal services, K-12 education, and early childhood services. The study also highlights opportunities to improve statewide coordination on immigrant integration and immigration policy issues.
Topic:: Education, Immigrants, Language, Social Mobility, and Adult Education
Political Geography:: North America, United States of America, and Connecticut

386. Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures

Author:: Jacob Hofstetter and Alexis Fintland
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: Across the United States, a growing number of states, counties, cities, and individual agencies within state and local governments are developing language access measures. These measures aim to ensure that individuals with limited proficiency in English—of whom there were more than 27 million in 2023—can access public information and services for which they are eligible, such as through the use of interpreters, multilingual staff, and translation of written documents. The proliferation of language access measures reflects both longstanding obligations under federal civil rights law and regulations and a practical acknowledgment that state and local governments need to be able to effectively communicate with all members of the communities they serve. This report offers one of the first in-depth examinations of how state and local governments and their component agencies design, implement, and sustain language access measures. Drawing from interviews with state and local government staff, the study finds that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach for implementing language access, there are many lessons that can be learned from efforts to date and strategies that governments can adapt to their own contexts, needs, and capacities.
Topic:: Immigration, Language, Integration, Local Government, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

387. Assessing the impact of US funding cuts on communities and humanitarian response: Case studies from South Sudan and Mali

Author:: ALNAP
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: The report examines two country contexts – Mali and South Sudan – which both combine a strong prior presence of US funding, active humanitarian coordination structures and acute levels of needs. The findings shed light on how funding fluctuations influence humanitarian access, service delivery and community coping mechanisms, offering a crucial perspective on resource-driven shifts in the aid system from the perspective of both implementing actors and communities.
Topic:: Foreign Aid, USAID, Humanitarian Assistance, and Aid Cuts
Political Geography:: Africa, Mali, South Sudan, and United States of America

388. When the Facts Change: The Future of the Global Monetary System

Author:: Barry Eichengreen
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: This paper considers possible futures for the international monetary system in light of recent economic and political events in the United States and globally. It contrasts scenarios pre- and post-inauguration of the second Trump administration. Earlier scenarios foresaw very gradual rebalancing of the international monetary system away from post-Bretton Woods dollar-centric international financial architecture. Recent developments have pointed toward the possibility of a more abrupt shift away from a system centred on the dollar and the US correspondent banking system. The paper considers economic, financial, geopolitical and technological considerations bearing on possible futures.
Topic:: Economics, Monetary Policy, Geopolitics, and Dollar
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

389. ‘King Makers And The King Breakers’ Perspectives On The Role Of Intelligence Services In Shaping Geo-Politics And Power Dynamics At Global Level.

Author:: Matthew Mare
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: The goal of the research was to demonstrate the role of the intelligence service as king makers and king breakers shape geo-politics and power dynamics at global level. The theory by Kent was the fulcrum of this research and the CIA-BRICS power dynamics were cited to bring the nexus between intelligence service and the geo-politics are at play in shaping world events. The background to the interaction between intelligence service and geo-politics was well articulated. The study relied on secondary data sources and the research went on to formulate applied theory of intelligence in global power dynamics. The study noted that, world over and western world in particular the intelligence service is the fulcrum of making and breaking kings. The major findings of the study were that countries which politicize intelligence for personal glory suffers from external interference and political convulsions than those that differentiate the two. It was also noted that, the CIA play an important role in the American foreign policy by shaping and creating the future the country, for the USA to remain a unipolar giant. The study observed that the intelligence is objective in a stable and mature democracy than in autocratic political environment. It was noted that, most countries think of security interms of military hardware and overlook intelligence. In mature democracies intelligence conduct covert and overt operations to safeguard national interests over interests and vice versa in non-democratic states. In nondemocratic states the diplomatic missions are packed with political opponents, it is a political way of dealing with perceived political opponents to the leader. Whereas in mature democracy, diplomatic missions are packed with declared and undeclared intelligence officers to push the national agenda. The study created applied Kentism in foreign policy. The study made several permutations in the global arena on how the intelligence will make and make kings through direct interference, regime change, assassinations, destabilizing weaker states, induced coups, discrediting states through NGOs and CSOs and hybrid warfare to achieve the Western interests.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Geopolitics, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Strategic Interests, and Power Dynamics
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

390. Cutting Through the Tangled Webs of Civil and Military Aviation Toward a Practical Cybersecurity Framework

Author:: Kristen Csenkey and Jason Furlong
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: North American defence and security require trusted partnerships to detect, deter, and defeat threats from foreign adversaries. The United States and Canada cooperate through the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) organization to build a layered network of defence that jointly enhances operational capabilities with a traditional emphasis on the air domain. However, as the aviation ecosystem becomes increasingly digitized and interconnected, it is essential that strategic and high-level policy decisions be supported with the necessary conceptual tools to keep the skies safe. We propose that one way to deepen cooperation in aviation cybersecurity is through the integration of a human-centric framework. In this article, we introduce, define, and contextualize our Inter-Organization Learning Culture Framework for policy-makers and academics alike. The integration of this framework has implications for NORAD in terms of cooperation, modernization initiatives, and the continued protection of the interlinked civil and defence aviation ecosystems.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Cybersecurity, Aviation, and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Political Geography:: Canada, North America, and United States of America

391. The Evolution of Japan's Limited Sovereignty: From the Era of Unequal Treaties to the Japan-U.S. Alliance

Author:: Yukio Sakurai
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: This paper examines the evolution of Japan's limited sovereignty across two distinct historical periods: the nineteenth-century era of unequal treaties and the post– World War II era shaped by the Japan–U.S. alliance. In the earlier period, treaties imposed by Western powers curtailed Japan’s jurisdictional and tariff autonomy. Paradoxically, these constraints catalysed rapid modernisation and a national drive to restore sovereign equality. In contrast, the post-war period introduced a different model of limited sovereignty: one characterised by strategic dependence through the Japan–U.S. Security Treaty and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). These legal arrangements grant the United States significant military rights on Japanese territory, including base maintenance and jurisdictional authority, raising ongoing concerns about Japan’s territorial and legal autonomy. Further tensions arise from the opaque operation of the Japan–U.S. Security Consultative Committee, whose limited transparency and perceived imbalance in representation have prompted criticism regarding undue U.S. influence. Evolving regional security dynamics and potential shifts in U.S. foreign policy further complicate Japan’s sovereignty posture. Additionally, growing secrecy surrounding national security and the technical nature of defence policy hinder public deliberation and raise broader questions about democratic accountability. Employing an interdisciplinary framework that draws from international law, political science, and history, this study analyses the legal instruments and socio-political contexts that shaped these two periods. By comparing externally imposed and internally accepted constraints on sovereignty, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how nations negotiate autonomy within global power structures. This analysis, grounded in a comprehensive review of English and Japanese scholarship, offers a nuanced perspective on Japan’s evolving relationship with limited sovereignty and its implications for democratic governance and strategic positioning in East Asia.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Treaties and Agreements, Bilateral Relations, Alliance, and Autonomy
Political Geography:: Japan, Asia, North America, and United States of America

392. Implications of Military Aid on Global Arms Sales and Productio

Author:: Zekeri Momoh
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: This study examines the implications of increasing military aid on arms sales and production. This study adopted the historical research design, with data collected from secondary sources, and content analysis was used for its analysis. The study argues that increasing military aid to especially belligerent states has influenced global arms sales and production. It equally argues that the consequences of the cumulative military aid to Israel and Ukraine include human rights violations, humanitarian crisis, growth in arms production, increasing military budgets and revenue for arms manufacturers, among others. Nevertheless, justifications of the military aid are to ensure the survival of the state and its sovereignty, as well as the survival of the political regime. Lastly, this study recommends, among other things, that the United Nations Security Council should employ a more democratic approach to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war and Russia-Ukraine war to produce a win-win outcome for the interests of international peace and security, as against the interests of conflict profiteers from military aid.
Topic:: Military Aid, War, Arms Sales, and International Security
Political Geography:: United States of America, Ukraine, Israel, Middle East, Europe, and North America

393. Liberty, Affect, and The Rise of Populism

Author:: Colin Anthony MacNairn
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: In this essay, I reinterpret Hartley B. Alexander’s early 20th-century account of liberty and democracy in light of the 21st-century populist resurgence, integrating the economic analysis of Jonathan Hopkin and Mark Blyth. By combining Alexander’s concerns surrounding the ethical collapse of democratic citizenship with Hopkin and Blyth’s diagnosis of structural economic disenfranchisement, I construct a dual account of populism’s rise as the convergence of moral atrophy and institutional decay. From Trump’s America to Modi’s India, populism emerges as a liberty weaponised against itself. I argue that populism is a condition wherein the form of democracy is preserved, but its substance is debased, thereby reduced to spectacle, demagoguery, and institutional dysfunction. Drawing on specific examples and institutional analysis, I further argue for a reconstruction of liberty grounded in moral formation and institutional responsiveness, thus offering a normative pathway beyond the populist condition.
Topic:: Economics, Ethics, Populism, Liberty, and Political Philosophy
Political Geography:: India, South America, North America, and United States of America

394. U.S. Military Aid to Israel During a Genocide in Gaza with Josh Paul ( Episode 36)

Author:: Sahar Aziz and Josh Paul
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: Sahar Aziz speaks with Josh Paul about the law, politics, and policies surrounding the United States decades long military aid to Israel and specifically how such aid makes the U.S. complicit in Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza since October 2023. Josh Paul resigned from the State Department due to his disagreement with the Biden Administration’s decision to rush lethal military assistance to Israel in the context of its war on Gaza. He had previously spent over 11 years working as a Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which is responsible for U.S. defense diplomacy, security assistance, and arms transfers. He previously worked on security sector reform in both Iraq and the West Bank, with additional roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army Staff, and as a Military Legislative Assistant for a Member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. he is a recipient of the 2023 Callaway Award for Civic Courage and 2024 MedGlobal Award for Courage. Currently, Josh Paul serves as the co-founder of a New Policy, an organization dedicated to transforming American foreign policy toward Israel/Palestine to reflect American values and foundational principles of liberty, equality, democracy, and human rights. At the time of the conversation in late May 2025, Israel’s bombings and targeted assassinations in Gaza of doctors, journalists, and professors had killed over 65,000 Palestinians including more than 18,000 children and injured over 150,000 Palestinians. Israel’s military has destroyed every university. Its military fully destroyed more than 70% of hospitals, and partially destroyed the remaining 30 percent, resulting in an unknown number of Palestinians dying from otherwise treatable diseases and injuries. For 11 months in the spring of 2025, Israel banned the entry of all humanitarian aid and food into Gaza as part of an intentional mass starvation campaign that has caused unprecedented severe malnutrition for tens of thousands of Palestinian children. The devastation that Israel has wreaked upon the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza – as collective punishment for Hamas’ militant attacks and war crimes on October 7, 2023 – so extensive that even supporters of Israel are acknowledging the genocidal nature of Isreal’s military campaign. Such violence inflicted upon a helpless civilian population would not have been possible without $20 billion in military aid from the United States of America since October 2023 – all funded by American taxpayers. Listen to the conversation about the policies and practice of U.S. arms exports to Israel that has become a permanent stain on U.S. foreign policy and undermined the rule of law internationally.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Genocide, Humanitarian Aid, Military Aid, and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:: Middle East, Palestine, Gaza, North America, and United States of America

395. Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism (6/16/2025)

Author:: Dheepa Sundaram
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: Join us for an analysis of the groundbreaking report "Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism issued by the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights." Hindutva is a transnational far-right political ideology grounded in Hindu supremacy with a growing following in the United States. Hindutva advocates undermine American pluralism and spread hate against Muslims, Sikhs and other minority groups within American society. To be sure, Hindutva is not Hinduism, both in terms of genre and its impact on American politics and society. Whereas the religion of Hinduism contributes to American pluralism and religious diversity, the political ideology of Hindu nationalism works against those core American values by perpetuating supremacist ideas and discriminatory conduct, especially against non-Hindu South Asians. This event is co-sponsored with Hindus for Human Rights (HHR); SALDEF; and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).
Topic:: Hindutva, Pluralism, Religion, and Equality
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

396. The European Union's 'New' Migration Policy: Between Containment and Crisis with Juan Ruiz Ramos

Author:: Juan Ruiz Ramos
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: The European Union's 'New' Migration Policy: Between Containment and Crisis with Professor Juan Ruiz Ramos September 3, 2025 What lies behind the EU’s recently adopted Migration and Asylum Pact? This lecture will unpack controversial measures such as border detention, the externalisation of asylum, and voluntary resettlement, while also comparing them with similar policies in the U.S. system to highlight broader trends in international refugee protection.
Topic:: European Union, Borders, Resettlement, Asylum, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:: Europe and United States of America

397. A Global Enemy: Muslims and 21st Century Racism with Professor Saher Selod (9/11/2025)

Author:: Saher Selod
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: Based on her critically acclaimed book, Dr. Saher Selod examines how Muslims experience racialization on a global scale with a focus on the United States, China, India, and the United Kingdom. Counterterrorism policies, hyper-surveillance and racialized policing are grounded in transnational negative representations of Islam which in turn legitimize and institutionalize state-sponsored racism against Muslim minorities.
Topic:: Racism, Muslims, Racialization, and Policing
Political Geography:: China, United Kingdom, Europe, India, Asia, North America, and United States of America

398. Joe Biden Administration’s Security Policy and What It Means for the Baltic States

Author:: Martinas Malużinas
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: The aim of this article is to analyse the US security policy during the presidency of Joe Biden, with the main emphasis on military security and its importance for the Baltic states, which perceive the US as the main guarantor of their security. This is particularly important in the context of challenges related to China’s expansion in the region or Russia’s display of strength. Based on realist theories of international relations, using methods of content analysis, synthesis, and comparison, it was possible to analyse the role of the so-called B3 Baltic states in US foreign policy. There is no doubt that the US is positioning itself as one of the key strategic partners of the B3 states; therefore, in this context, it is necessary to consider the US strategic options toward the B3, which have evolved along with the change in the geopolitical situation in the European region. The Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine confirmed the decisive response of the B3 states, perceiving Russia as a threat to the security of the region. The time frame is limited to Biden’s four-year term in 2021–2024. For research purposes, the contemporary literature in the field of political science and security was used, as well as primary sources related to US decisions and presidential statements that are relevant to this article.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Military Security, and Security Policy
Political Geography:: Russia, Ukraine, United States of America, and Baltic States

399. Welcoming the tired and poor: Grassroots associations and immigrant assimilation during the age of mass migration

Author:: Davide M. Coluccia
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: I examine the impact of the Progressive-era Settlement movement on immigrant assimilation in the United States between 1880 and 1940. Settlements provided services such as job training and childcare to immigrants. Using an individual-level triple difference strategy based on cross-cohort and over-time variation in settlement exposure, I find that settlements increased labor force participation and income for men but not for women. These responses persisted into the generation exposed to settlements during childhood. The gendered effects stem from increased fertility and in-group marriage that excluded women from labor markets, particularly among immigrants from countries with more conservative gender norms.
Topic:: Politics, History, Immigration, Labor Market, Grassroots Organizing, and Assimilation
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

400. Political polarization and US-Mexico migration

Author:: María Esther Caballero, Giuseppe Ippedico, and Giovanni Peri
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: We study how the US presidential election of 2016 affected the subsequent inflow of Mexican-born immigrants. We use the “Matricula Consular de Alta Seguridad” data to construct proxies for annual inflows and internal movements of Mexican-born individuals, including undocumented immigrants, across US commuting zones. We find that a 10-percentage point increase in the Republican vote share in a commuting zone reduced inflows by 1.8 percent after the 2016 Trump election. The internal relocation of established Mexican immigrants primarily explains this reduction, though inflows of new immigrants decreased as well.
Topic:: Migration, Domestic Politics, Donald Trump, Deportation, and Polarization
Political Geography:: North America, Mexico, and United States of America

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS