Global Issues

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro – starting today – had the potential to boost Brazil’s international image. Director of the Wilson Center’s Brazil […] More

Today, five years after democratic protests against Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s regime turned into open civil conflict, the ebb and flow of inconclusive military […] More

After six years of war, I find it difficult to imagine what Syria will look like after it all ends. Villages resemble ghost towns, while […] More

It is now almost six years since the Syrian Revolution began, and to this day, the concept of an “ideal” end state remains vague and […] More

Kenya’s new Private Security Regulation Act will regulate the private security industry and allow more cooperation between the private sector and the government on national […] More

Parties on the extreme ends of the political spectrum – along with anti-establishment candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders – are moving into the […] More

For the past decade, the world has experienced a mild but persistent recession of freedom and democracy. More countries have been declining, rather than gaining, […] More

Democracy in Europe is in a parlous state at the moment. The British vote for exit (Brexit) from the European Union (EU) has highlighted deep-seated […] More

The Arctic is shifting, along with U.S. economic and strategic interests in the region. To respond to increasing temperatures and melting ice, the U.S. needs […] More

As global warming continues, the geography of the Arctic changes, and, subsequently, human activity in the Arctic increases.  Countries with economic and national security interests […] More

The reduction of sea ice in the Arctic has increased prospects for shipping to and from the Northwest Passage, development of offshore oil in the […] More

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) releases its 2016 Global Peace Index (GPI) today at the United Nations. The index uses a wide range […] More

World leaders met in Qatar over the weekend for the 16th annual Doha Forum on security. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attended, as well as […] More

A May 15 test of India’s anti-ballistic missile system fanned the flames of a nuclear standoff 45 years in the making. Pakistan voiced “serious concern” […] More

The adversarial history between India and Pakistan is compounded by each nation’s firm stance on the possession of nuclear weapons. As each country moves to […] More

On April 17, the thirteen members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and five other major producers met in Doha to negotiate a long-awaited […] More

The international oil market has been in a state of chaos over the past two years, as prices dropped more than 75 percent. Last month, […] More

In November 2014, the thirteen members of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) shocked oil markets by announcing that, in order to “restore market […] More