19 Results for:

May 15, 2024

China
Religion in China

A significant proportion of China’s population claims to follow a religion. However, the government continues to toughen oversight, increase persecution of some religions, and attempt to co-opt state…

Chinese Hui Muslim women gather for a group photo before a flag raising ceremony before Eid al-Fitr prayers at the historic Niujie Mosque on April 22, 2023 in Beijing, China.

December 22, 2023

Venezuela
Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate

Venezuela’s ongoing descent into economic and political chaos is a cautionary tale of the dangerous influence that resource wealth can have on developing countries.

People walk past an oil-themed mural in Caracas, Venezuela.

December 22, 2023

Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Fentanyl and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

Opioid addiction has become one of the United States’ biggest killers, endangering public health, the economy, and national security. But closing the floodgates on fentanyl poses a significant foreig…

Photos of fentanyl victims are on display at The Faces of Fentanyl Memorial at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters.

September 19, 2022

Brazil
Brazil’s Global Ambitions

Brazil has long sought a greater role on the world stage, but political upheaval and other enduring challenges have complicated its efforts.

President Jair Bolsonaro attends Brazil’s National Flag Day celebration.

September 7, 2022

Mexico
Mexico’s Long War: Drugs, Crime, and the Cartels

Violence continues to rage more than a decade after the Mexican government launched a war against drug cartels.

A Mexican Army expert shows crystal meth paste at a clandestine laboratory in Tecate, Mexico.

February 6, 2013

Europe
Germany’s Central Bank and the Eurozone

Germany’s Bundesbank remains an influential actor in eurozone policymaking, and its recent disagreements with the ECB raise concerns about managing the zone’s debt crisis. This Backgrounder explains.