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1681. Weekly Conflict Summary

Author:
The Carter Center
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
During the reporting period, opposition forces advanced once more against ISIS fighters in the southeastern desert of Syria, opposition forces fought with one another once again in the Eastern Ghouta area of rural Damascus, and the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued to advance against ISIS in Tabqa city west of Raqqa. Additionally, pro-government forces advanced against feuding opposition forces in Eastern Damascus, and international and pro-government forces were deployed within YPG-held territory following recent exchanges of fire between Turkey and Kurdish forces.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
Middle East

1682. The U.S.-Japan-ROK Strategic Triangle & Maritime Security: Building Capacity in Northeast Asia and in the Broader Indo-Pacific Region

Author:
Charles Perry and Bobby Anderson
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA)
Abstract:
This report summarizes key findings and policy recommendations developed by IFPA over the course of a two-year research and workshop project on the prospects for and future direction of U.S.-Japanese-South Korean maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Topic:
International Affairs and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Japan, America, and South Korea

1683. Returning Education to the Schools and Parents

Author:
Vicki E Alger
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
President Donald Trump has called for major changes to federal education policy. During his bid for the White House, he vowed to cut wasteful federal spending on education while preserving funding for services; he pledged to champion school choice; and he promised to return educational policymaking to the state and local level. “We cannot have the bureaucrats in Washington telling you how to manage your child’s education,” he said in a television campaign ad. All of these goals can be accomplished during the Trump administration, but not without a major overhaul of the US Department of Education (ED).
Topic:
Education
Political Geography:
America

1684. Southeast Asian Perspectives on U.S.–China Competition

Author:
Aaron Connely
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
In April 2016, the Lowy Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations' International Institutions and Global Governance program held a workshop on Southeast Asian perspectives on U.S.–China competition, which informed this publication. That workshop was made possible in part by the generous support of the Robina Foundation. This report is a collaboration between the Lowy Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations. The views expressed in this report are entirely the authors' own and not those of the Lowy Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, or the Robina Foundation.
Topic:
Governance and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
China and America

1685. Interactive: Oil Exporters' External Breakeven Prices

Author:
Brad Sester and Cole Frank
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The 2014 fall in global oil prices, from over $100 a barrel to around $50 a barrel, reduced the export proceeds of the world’s main oil- and gas-exporting economies by about $1 trillion. After a decade of largely uninterrupted high oil prices, this dramatic swing has tested the economic resiliency and political adaptability of oil-exporting countries. One of the best single measures of the resilience of an oil- or gas-exporting economy is the oil price that covers its import bill—the external breakeven price.
Topic:
Oil and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
America

1686. Geostrategic Implications of China’s Twin Economic Challenges

Author:
William Norris
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The Chinese government has embarked on an effort to reorient its economy from an investment- and export-driven model toward one predicated on a larger role for consumption and market forces. At the same time, China is also experiencing a new normal of much slower economic growth. The economic downturn and concomitant structural shift in China’s economy has already begun affecting its foreign policy. Security, not economics, is becoming one of President Xi Jinping’s—and China’s—top strategic priorities.
Topic:
Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
China

1687. The Case for Reforming Section 702 of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Law

Author:
Laura K. Donohue
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
On December 31, 2017, section 702 of the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FAA) will expire. Section 702 governs the domestic interception of foreigners’ communications, when the targets are believed to be outside the United States. Although externally directed, this statute is being used by agencies to monitor, collect, and search U.S. citizens’ communications for foreign intelligence and criminal activity. Congress has an opportunity to amend section 702 to safeguard U.S. national security, protect citizens, and comply with the Constitution.
Topic:
Global Security
Political Geography:
America

1688. Council of Councils Sixth Annual Conference

Author:
The Council of councils
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
On May 7–9, 2017, the Council on Foreign Relations hosted the sixth annual conference of the Council of Councils. The conference was made possible by the generous support of the Robina Foundation for CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance program. The views described here are those of workshop participants only and are not CFR or Robina Foundation positions. The Council on Foreign Relations takes no institutional positions on policy issues and has no affiliation with the U.S. government. In addition, the suggested policy prescriptions are the views of individual participants and do not necessarily represent a consensus of the attending members.
Topic:
International Cooperation and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1689. Lessons From Guatemala’s Commission Against Impunity

Author:
Matthew Taylor
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Guatemala has made notable gains in the fight against corruption and impunity in the last decade. President Otto Perez Molina resigned in 2015 and was tried and jailed on charges of corruption, alongside his vice president and several ministers. Several prominent criminal figures have been extradited to the United States, including another former president, Alfonso Portillo. Supreme Court justices and members of congress have been removed from office, drug lords jailed, and extortion rings dismantled. The overall impunity rate for homicides fell from 95 percent to 72 percent [PDF] between 2006 and 2012.
Topic:
Corruption, International Security, and Political stability
Political Geography:
Guatemala

1690. Building Inclusive Economies How Women’s Economic Advancement Promotes Sustainable Growth

Author:
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Rachel B. Vogelstein
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The connection between women’s economic participation and prosperity is undeniable. Over the past two decades, a growing number of international organizations and world leaders have recognized that the economic empowerment of women is critical to economic growth and stability. Multilateral bodies such as the Group of Twenty and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have ratified agreements to promote women in the economy as a means to stimulate growth, and governments from the Ivory Coast to Rwanda to Japan have adopted reforms to increase women’s ability to contribute to their economies
Topic:
Gender Issues and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus