Mara Caputo

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Closing the Gender Gap

Watch out for the still pervasive gender gap, photo: The Lab/flickr

This week the ISN assesses the status of women from the US to the United Arab Emirates. While sweeping progress has been made in recent decades, resistance to gender equality remains in all corners of the globe.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Gail Harris, the first woman in US Navy history to be successfully assigned to a combat unit, on the challenges facing women in the military – then and now.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations about the rise of Islamic feminism.
  • Security Watch articles about crimes against women from Burma to the DRC – and about female legislative empowerment from Kuwait to India.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including the Overseas Development Institute’s look at gender and the MGDs and the Kiel Institute’s assessment of women’s suffrage.
  • Primary Resources, like the full-text of Hillary Clinton’s famous 1995 speech, ‘Women’s Rights are Human Rights’, to the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as The New York Times 2010 series, ‘The Female Factor’, which explores the most recent shifts in women’s power, prominence and impact on societies.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring the UN Division for the Advancement of Women.
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Happy Birthday, Latin America

Latin American countries are celebrating 200 years of independence, photo: John K/flickr

While much of Latin America is focused on celebrating 200 years of independence from Spain and Portugal, numerous security challenges are begging for answers – and soon. This week the ISN examines the opportunities and obstacles Latin America must face if it is to succeed in its third century of Republican history.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Dr Markus Schultze-Kraft, director of the Latin America and Caribbean program at the International Crisis Group, on the security challenges facing Latin America after 200 years of Republican rule.
  • A Podcast interview with Sam Logan on the drug-trafficking challenges that plague Mexico in the midst of its 200th anniversary celebration of independence from Spain.
  • Security Watch articles about organized crime rings from Mexico to Brazil and Paraguay, US-Mexico border tensions, and much more.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including CrisisWatch updates on emerging and ongoing conflicts around the globe, including across Latin America.
  • Primary Resources, like the full-text of the Mercosur Free Trade Agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as the Observatory on Latin America’s page on ‘Building Latin American Bicentennials in the Age of Globalization’.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring the Latin American Network Information Center, affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin, which boasts one of the largest guides for Latin American content on the internet.
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Feast or Famine?

Wrestling with questions of how to feed a burgeoning population, photo: Mr Kris/flickr

Growing population demands and the shrinking availability of arable land and groundwater resources raise questions about the sustainability of agricultural production. This week the ISN takes a closer look at the threats to the future of agriculture, and the technological advances that could help promote – or in some cases undermine – global food security.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Peter Buxbaum on the promises and pitfalls of agricultural biotechnology.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Ronnie Coffman on the dangers of wheat rust and the global efforts to develop more resistant varieties of wheat to mitigate the coming epidemic.
  • Security Watch articles about reducing pesticide use, racially motivated land grabs and much more.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including the recently published Center for Global Development Working Paper on ‘Pulling Agricultural Innovation and the Market Together’.
  • Primary Resources, like the full-text of the US Department of Agriculture’s projections to 2019.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as to the World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring The Borlaug Global Rust Initiative, which pursues the systematic reduction of vulnerability to stem, yellow and leaf rusts of wheat.
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Elusive Employment

Sign of a sickly job market in Chicago, photo: ChiBart/flickr

With unemployment in many parts of the world the worst of the post-World War II era, policymakers are scrambling for solutions. This week the ISN examines the long-term unemployment trends of this ‘Great Recession’ and puts forward some potential policy prescriptions.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Dr Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, on the worst US unemployment figures in the post-World War II era – and why Europe is faring better.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Johannes Jütting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development examines how workers in developing countries are adjusting to increasing job insecurity – namely by moving deeper into the informal labor market.
  • Security Watch articles about job security crises from Spain to Honduras, the US to India, and much more.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including an analysis from the US Congressional Research Service on the current trend in long-term unemployment compared with that during previous recessions.
  • Primary Resources, like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report on how governments measure unemployment.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as the International Labor Organization’s Youth Employment Network.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy.
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Françafrique: The Ties That Bind

France maintains close links with its former African colonies, photo: Dezz/flickr
France maintains close links with its former African colonies, photo: Dezz/flickr

The Franco-African relationship is alive – but is it well? This week the ISN takes a closer look at France’s postcolonial ties with its former African colonies 50 years after independence.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Jennifer Brea about the unique colonial and postcolonial history between France and its former African colonies that shapes relations to this day.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Elisio Macamo examines what he perceives as a French withdrawal from francafrique.
  • Security Watch articles about the burgeoning drug trade in West Africa and the threat that corruption and graft hold over many francophone African countries.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including US Congressional Research Reports on the influence of the ICC in the former French colonies and Guinea’s new transitional government.
  • Primary Resources, like French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s infamous 2007 address at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as FRANCE 24’s look at each of the 17 sub-Saharan African nations that gained independence in 1960.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring the locally based International Relations Institute of Cameroon.