Our Insights

Featured Posts Selected by Our Experts

The Overnight Collapse of the Assad Regime: A New Era for Syria and the Middle East
Hailey Hartigan Hailey Hartigan

The Overnight Collapse of the Assad Regime: A New Era for Syria and the Middle East

The unexpected and rapid collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has reshaped the Middle East overnight. Rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), advanced from their stronghold in Idlib, capturing Aleppo, Hama, and Homs before isolating Damascus. Within 12 days, Syria’s capital fell, signaling the end of over five decades of Assad family rule. Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power since 2000, reportedly fled Damascus early Sunday, leaving a power vacuum that is both historic and precarious.

Read More
From Free Trade Beneficiary to Leader: China Extends Zero Tariffs to the World’s Poorest Nations
Hailey Hartigan Hailey Hartigan

From Free Trade Beneficiary to Leader: China Extends Zero Tariffs to the World’s Poorest Nations

At the G20 meetings in Brazil, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that China stands with the least-developed countries (LDCs) and announced it would grant zero-tariff treatment to 100% of tariff lines for all LDCs with diplomatic ties to China, effective December 1, 2024. China is trying to position itself as a leader of free trade globally, in contrast to the United States and the incoming Trump administration’s proposal to significantly raise tariffs on most imports to the U.S., including up to 60% on all Chinese goods. 

Read More
Lost Treasures: Crisis and Guardianship
Hailey Hartigan Hailey Hartigan

Lost Treasures: Crisis and Guardianship

For centuries, the looting and trafficking of antiquities have never ceased. Yet the strength humanity shows in safeguarding its heritage is no less than the creative power of its ancestors. At the 4th Dialogue of the C.E.A. Museums Cooperation Initiative, Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO of Basilinna and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition, and Tess Davis, Basilinna and Antiquities Coalition Executive Director, both focused on the astonishing creativity of museums as guardians of culture.

Read More
How Latin America Factors Into the U.S.-China Rivalry
Hailey Hartigan Hailey Hartigan

How Latin America Factors Into the U.S.-China Rivalry

In the most headline-grabbing tech battle, the U.S.-led international efforts to ban Huawei from the build-out of the global 5G infrastructure, some Latin American governments have been less susceptible to U.S. pressure.

Read More