188 Results for:

April 3, 2024

United States
What Does the U.S. National Guard Do?

The National Guard is a special part of the U.S. military that answers to both state governors and the president. While it began as a “strategic reserve,” the guard has come to play an important role…

A member of the National Guard patrols the southern U.S. border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

March 7, 2024

China
The China-North Korea Relationship

China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and has leverage over Kim Jong-un’s regime, yet its policies focus more on border stability than nuclear threat.

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves at photographers as North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un claps at the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea.

March 4, 2024

Haiti
Haiti’s Troubled Path to Development

Hobbled by foreign interventions, political instability, and natural disasters, the former French colony is paralyzed by multiple crises.

A Haitian girl walks through a garbage-filled ravine in Port-au-Prince.

February 16, 2024

United Kingdom
Moving Past the Troubles: The Future of Northern Ireland Peace

The Good Friday Agreement has dampened sectarian conflict and brought stability to Northern Ireland, but the peace deal has been challenged by Brexit-related border tensions that have thrown the regi…

A peace mural adorns a building in a loyalist neighborhood of Belfast

October 12, 2023

International Organizations
The World Bank Group’s Role in Global Development

Since its founding in 1944, the World Bank has evolved from a lender focused on European reconstruction to the preeminent international institution for economic development and poverty reduction.

A woman reads in front of a chalkboard in an outdoor classroom in Niger.

October 20, 2023

Monetary Policy
What Is the U.S. Federal Reserve?

Over the past decade, the Fed kept interest rates low while it deployed trillions of dollars in stimulus and expanded its regulatory oversight. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its …

A stone bald eagle perches on the Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

February 2, 2023

China
China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative

China’s colossal infrastructure investments may usher in a new era of trade and growth for economies in Asia and beyond. But skeptics worry that China is laying a debt trap for borrowing governments…

Aerial view of a railway that cuts through lush Indonesian jungle.