Region Related Event Feeds

U.S. Department of Defense Services Contract Spending and the Supporting Industrial Base, 2000-2011

gsanders — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Spending by the Department of Defense (DoD) on services contracts, which range from clerical and administrative work to vehicle maintenance to research and development (R&D), has been largely neglected by past studies of DoD spending trends.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 12 - May 21, 2012

Mgraybeal — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "How will the Colombia-U.S Free Trade Agreement affect Ecuador?"

IN THE NEWS: Mexico, Haiti, Costa Rica/Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, UNASUR

PROGRAM NEWS: Conversation on El Salvador with secretar Alex Segovia; recent publications; upcoming events

Mexico's Election and the Economy - Voters Face a Tough Decision

Mgraybeal — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Although security is commonly seen as the defining issue in Mexico's upcoming presidential election, the country's economic development ranks a close second in voters' minds.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 11 - May 14, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Open Skies in the Americas"

IN THE NEWS: Canada/Mexico, Mexico, Honduras/Nicaragua, Haiti, The Bahamas, Colombia, Peru

PROGRAM NEWS: Event on Mexico - elections and prospects for structural reform; Peru's drug czar Carmen Masías at CSIS

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 10 - May 7, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Asian Investment in Venezuela"

IN THE NEWS: Central America, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program host Ambassadors' Council cochairs; recent blog posts; upcoming events

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 9 - April 30, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Peru's Booming Energy Sector"

IN THE NEWS: Mexico, The Bahamas, Guatemala/Belize, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Venezuela

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program discussion - social inclusion in the Americas; Americas Program hosts Fulbright NEXUS scholars; upcoming events

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 8 - April 23, 2012

Mgraybeal — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Health Challenges in Haiti"

IN THE NEWS: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program cohosts Prime Minister of Barbados; new blog posts, reports, and commentary; and upcoming events

The United States, India, and the United Nations: Divergence and Convergence

rbhasker — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The promising U.S.–India bilateral partnership that New Delhi and Washington have fostered over more than a decade has sometimes contrasted with the two nations’ relationship at the United Nations. Multilateral diplomacy has often highlighted the diverging, not the converging, worldviews of India and the United States.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 7 - April 16, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Costa Rica's Tax Reform - Back to the Drawing Board"

IN THE NEWS: Mexico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic/Haiti, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program launches police reform report; Americasts; upcoming events

The Americas: Risks and Rewards of Decaying Authoritarianism

ian — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Pushing regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan cost the United States trillions of dollars and involved the sacrifices of many nations. Regime change is starting to take place on its own in the Western Hemisphere without the loss of thousands of lives or draining the U.S. treasury.

2012 Global Forecast

ian — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 6 - April 9, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Trouble Brewing? Latin America's Economic Ties with Slowing Economies"

IN THE NEWS: Mexico, Costa Rica, Haiti, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia

PROGRAM NEWS: Recent publications; upcoming events

Sixth Summit of the Americas - A Primer

Mgraybeal — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

On April 14 and 15, President Barack Obama will gather with 33 other hemispheric leaders at the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Catagena de las Indias, Colombia. The meeting is sponsored by the Organization of American States (OAS) and offers heads of state and delegations a chance to discuss mutual concerns and promote cooperation throughout the region.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 5 - April 2, 2012

Mgraybeal — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: Nuclear Energy and Alternatives in Latin America

IN BRIEF: Mexico, El Salvador, Caribbean, Haiti/Dominican Republic, Colombia/Venezuela, Chile, Brazil

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program cohosts Peru's Minister of Defense; recent commentary and blog posts; upcoming events

Issues & Insights Vol. 12 - No. 1

bMizuno — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This Trilateral Strategic Cooperative Mechanism is a part of the Japan-US-X Project promoted by Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) Fellows of the Pacific Forum CSIS. This project has three objectives: first, it seeks to revitalize the alliance by reaching out to new partners and engaging the region. The Japan-US-X mechanism can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or even larger.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 4 - March 26, 2012

Mgraybeal — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: Haiti - Bringing Tourism Back to Port-au-Prince

IN BRIEF: Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program hosts U.S. chiefs of mission to Central America; CSIS Americas Program at Chile's Army War College; recent blogs and upcoming events

PacNet #21 - Time for an Alliance Caucus

bMizuno — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The post World War II “hub-and-spoke” alliance structure has served the United States and its allies well for the past six decades. Yet the transnational nature of current Asia-Pacific security challenges highlights the limitations of bilateral US ally relationships to handle regional security threats, traditional or not.

PacNet #20 - Wen Signals Something New

bMizuno — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

After years of delay, crackdowns, and failures, the time seems to have arrived for political reform in China. This coincides with a major demotion in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): on March 15 controversial Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai was replaced by Jiang Dejiang.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 3 - March 19, 2012

Mgraybeal — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: Colombia's Growing Trade Relations with Japan

IN BRIEF: Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala, Guatemala, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina

PROGRAM NEWS: Americas Program releases new reports; recent podcasts and blogs

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 2 - March 12, 2012

Mgraybeal — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

IN DEPTH: "Guatemala: Initial Stab at Tax Reform"

IN BRIEF: Mexico, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Brazil/Colombia, Ecuador, Summit of the Americas

PROGRAM NEWS: Anton Edmunds joins Americas Program as senior associate; Howard Wiarda honored in Dominican Republic.

Hemisphere Insider: Volume II, Issue 1 - January 2012

Mgraybeal — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

IN BRIEF: Cuba, Honduras, Southern Cone, Foreign Relations

UPDATES: Chile's Former President Ricardo Lagos Discusses New Book; Upcoming Events; Elections 2012

Hemisphere Insider: Volume I, Issue 8 - December 2011

Mgraybeal — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

IN BRIEF: Peru, Bolivia, El Salvador, Brazil

PROGRAM UPDATES: Ambassadors' Council, U.N LAC Chief Discusses Near Term Outlook

Critical Questions for 2012

ian — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

From international security and regional study to global challenges, CSIS experts will address many of the world's most difficult policy concerns and critical questions in 2012. To kick off the new year, we asked 25 of our scholars to identity what worries them most and what are the biggest opportunities in their respective areas of study.

U.S.-Mexico Migration—Prospects for Reform

Mgraybeal — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Recent evidence points to a dramatic shift in migration patterns involving Mexico, traditionally the United States’ biggest migrant contributor. According to a recent Pew Hispanic Center report, 35 percent of the 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States have been U.S.

Colombia: Post-Conflict Politics

Mgraybeal — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

UP CLOSE: Colombia's Post-Conflict Politics, Economic Reform in Cuba

IN BRIEF: Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Oil, and Inauguration Updates

Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Services Industrial Base, 2000-2010

gsanders — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has a permanent and, until recently, growing reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of services. For the past six years, the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has tracked the trends driving the services industry.

Mexico's Retrogression: Implications of a Bankruptcy Reorganization Gone Wrong

Mgraybeal — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

An earlier essay (“Corporate Workouts in Mexico: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”) told of how Mexico had made considerable progress in the past decade-and-a-half in matters pertaining to corporate law, the strengthening of property rights, and the ease of doing business. It highlighted in particular the benefits of a new law governing the Mexican insolvency regime—the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles (LCM, best translated as the “Business Reorganization Act” of 2000, as amended in 2007).

It pointed out that the Mexican insolvency regime was being put to the test by the creditor-unfriendly precedent that Vitro S.A.B. was trying to set. Vitro, one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of glass products, is one of several major Mexican corporations that found themselves at the losing end of various currency derivative contracts in late 2008, when in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers debacle, the Mexican peso unexpectedly took a big hit while the U.S. dollar rallied.

Nonproliferation, Congress, and Nuclear Trade: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

jwoo — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

In this policy perspective, Jodi Lieberman, writes that the Fukushima nuclear accident undoubtedly has dampened the appetite of a few countries for nuclear power, but there are still many more that still seek to build nuclear power plants. Competition for this new business, given the relatively moribund growth of the last few decades, is fierce.

Hemisphere Focus: Belize Is Emblematic of Counterdrug Dilemma in Central America

Mgraybeal — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Poor Belize. It reportedly has no air surveillance radar, only one working light airplane in its air wing, 19 patrol boats, and a handful of 4 x 4 vehicles to transport its 2,000-member defense and police forces over an area the size of Vermont.

Managing Brazil's Boom

Mgraybeal — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

UP CLOSE: Brazil's Global Reach, Argentina's Election

PROGRAM HIGLIGHTS: Central American Security Integration: The Greater Regional Response

IN BRIEF: Mexico, Haiti, Peru, and Trade Updates

DIIG Current Issues No. 26: Framing Defense Cuts

rlivergood — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Since the crisis over America’s debt rating and the formation of the super committee, there has been a surge in debate about how to reduce defense spending. Despite talk of “all options being on the table,” the lack of both breadth and depth in active proposals is remarkable. Efficiency initiatives and across-the-board cuts have been advanced as solutions.

Elevating India's Higher Education

NLombardo — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

India is today one of the world's largest and most dynamic emerging economies. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently stated that India can sustain 8-9% growth over the next 30 years. With only half its 1.2 billion population under the age of 25, this economic growth should be sustainable. However, without more quality institutions of higher education and greater investmen

TWQ: Will Obama Be Running Against the Economy? - Fall 2011

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

When the conversation turns to the 2012 presidential race, it usually doesn’t take too long before someone suggests that Republicans have little chance of winning next year.

TWQ: American and European Responses to the Arab Spring: What’s the Big Idea? - Fall 2011

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

How can Europe and the United States support democratic transitions in a way that is acceptable to the Arab countries, effective in inducing genuine change, and affordable at a time when both continents are confronting fiscal crises?

TWQ: Should the United States Abandon Taiwan? - Fall 2011

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Is it time for the United States to rethink its Taiwan policy and walk away from Taiwan? Prominent Americans in influential publications insist that it is. The argument is not unprecedented. In a long and often discordant history of dealings between Washington and Taipei, there have been repeated calls for severing this uncomfortable and dangerous relationship.

Indo-U.S. Space Cooperation: Aiming Higher

NLombardo — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Indo-U.S. space cooperation may not yet be in orbit, but it certainly is in the boost phase. At the end of their Strategic Dialogue Joint Statement, issued on July 19 in New Delhi, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton included a status report on the recently concluded meeting in Bangalore of the U.S.-India Space Working Group.

Venezuela’s House of Cards

ian — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez’s mysterious four-week disappearance and treatment for cancer in Cuba may or may not result in a momentous political event. Nonetheless, it underlines the faulty logic of surrendering too much control to one man.

Central America’s Costly Drug Dilemma

ian — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In this issue:

Up Close: Central America’s Costly Drug Dilemma
Program Highlights: El Salvador, the OAS, and Citizen Security and Colombia 2020
In Brief: Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Energy Updates

TWQ: The Trust Deficit: Seven Steps Forward for U.S.–Arab Dialogue - Summer 2011

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

“We are in an information war...and we are losing” declared U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, describing U.S. efforts to counter extremists and engage Arab publics during this year’s unprecedented and historic change in the Middle East. She is right.

TWQ: Beware the Duck Test

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In explaining why the United States was scheming to overthrow the government of Guatemala—democratically elected but allegedly with communist leanings during the Cold War—the U.S.

Mexico State Gubernatorial Election

ian — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The July 3 vote for governor of Mexico State is a trial run for the nation’s mid-2012 presidential showdown in the jurisdiction with the most registered voters—10.5 million.

Issues & Insights Vol. 11 - No. 16

bMizuno — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Contemporary regional issues in Asia and the Pacific have diversified to include non- traditional security concerns. This has triggered a call to revisit the US “hub-and-spoke” approach for solutions.

TWQ: Did the State Department Get the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review Right? - Spring 2011

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Considered on its own, the QDDR deserves praise in several respects. First, it is full of smart, concrete changes based on a coherent analysis of a changing world. Second, it embraces a more proactive role for the State Department operating beyond the confines of embassies, particularly in responding to crises and conflicts, and outlines measures to prepare the department for that role.

Issues in International Political Economy - Corporate Workouts in Mexico - April 2011 - Special Issue 1

Mgraybeal — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

It is now more than ten years that the law governing the Mexican insolvency regime— the Ley de Concursos Mercantiles (LCM, best translated as the "Business Reorganization Act" of 2000)—was enacted and has been successfully applied in hundreds of cases of corporate debt workouts.

TWQ: The Focus Now Shifts to 2012 - Spring 2011

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

It is hardly unusual for the party holding the White House to incur midterm election losses; indeed, such defeats for the president’s party are the norm, having lost congressional seats in 15 out of 17 post-World

TWQ: The Ties that Bind? U.S.–Indian Values-based Cooperation - Spring 2011

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In his November 2010 speech before the Indian Parliament, President Barack Obama cited shared values as a key element in the U.S.-India relationship. Pointing to a “final area where our countries can

Global Aging and the Future of Emerging Markets

tpeter — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The rich world may be leading the way into humanity’s graying future, but much of the developing world is not far behind. The CSIS Global Aging Initiative’s latest report, Global Aging and the Future of Emerging Markets, looks at the potential impact of shifting demographics on economic growth and social and political stability in emerging markets.

PacNet #11 - Answering the Questions About Smart Power

bMizuno — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The US State Department has put forth a strategic vision embodied in its first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). Modeled after the Defense Department’s own four-year planning effort, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the QDDR describes the priorities of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Professional Services Industrial Base, 1995-2009

gsanders — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has a permanent and growing reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of professional and support services. For the past five years, the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group has tracked the trends driving the professional services industry since 1995.

Hemisphere Highlights Volume IX Issue 8 - November 2010

cwatson — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Lawmakers in Panama repeal a controversial law affecting labor codes and environmental considerations. Mexican president Felipe Calderón submits to Congress a proposal to overhaul and unify the Mexico’s disparate police forces.