Resources Archive

For months, the critical issue for Iraq has been its capacity to win back territory in its western provinces controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS). The focus abroad has been on building an international coalition to support Iraqi forces; enabling various Kurdish militias to do their part in the war against IS; and strengthening Iraqi resolve, particularly among Sunnis, to see the IS threat in all its dimensions and reinvigorate Iraq’s national capacity and purpose. But in Baghdad, other dynamics are in play. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi followed through on pledges to take on corruption and […]

Over the last two years, the notion that the impasse over Iran’s nuclear program could be solved has gone from being a theoretical possibility to becoming a reality, with the landmark agreement between Tehran and six world powers. The potential lifting of Western economic sanctions on Iran has, in turn, quickly boosted interest in the Iranian economy, especially in Europe, which sees a market re-emerging with significant potential, ready for international investments, technology and goods. But in a somewhat contradictory way, the Iranian economy has both been underestimated during the last five years of sanctions, and now runs the risk […]

On July 20, an honor guard of three Cuban soldiers in full dress uniform raised the island country’s flag over the embassy in Washington for the first time since January 1961. The re-establishment of diplomatic relations concluded “the first stage” of the dialogue between the United States and Cuba, said Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, but a “complex and certainly long process” of negotiations still lay ahead before the two countries would have truly normal relations. “The challenge is huge,” he added, “because there have never been normal relations between the United States of America and Cuba.” Indeed, myriad issues still […]

During a session of the Angolan parliament late last month, members of the main opposition party, UNITA, boycotted a vote on a private investment law because of concerns over transparency. It was a rare display of dissent against President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, with some UNITA lawmakers questioning the details surrounding recent loan deals with China, struck during dos Santos’ visit to Beijing in June. “How much did our president get from China? Nobody knows. How will we pay for it? Nobody knows,” Raul Danda, a UNITA legislator, told his fellow parliamentarians. “We asked our president to explain what he […]

In May, Costa Rica’s National System of Conservation Areas tested the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor collect evidence of illegal fishing and poaching. In an email interview, Marco Quesada Alpízar, the director of Conservation International’s Costa Rica program, discussed Costa Rica’s fishing industry and fisheries policy. WPR: What is the current state of Costa Rica’s fishing industry? Marco Quesada Alpízar: Over 90 percent of Costa Rica’s fishing industry operates on the Pacific coast. The main fishing fleet comprises small-scale operations, composed of thousands of fishermen—4,000 to 6,000 in the Gulf of Nicoya alone—30 to 50 percent of which […]