This report provides the results of recent elections in Latin America and the Caribbean. It contains three tables organized by region that list the date of each country's independence, the name of the newly elected president or prime minister, and the projected date of the next election. Information in this report was gathered from numerous sources, including the U.S. State Department, the CIA's Open Source, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and other news sources.
This report provides policy and historical background about Puerto Rico's political status--a term of art referring to the relationship between the federal government and a territorial one. It emphasizes recent developments that are likely to be most relevant for Congress. Congress has not altered the island's status since 1952, when it approved a territorial constitution.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974. Greek Cypriots, nearly 80% of the population, live in the southern two thirds of the island. Turkish Cypriots live in the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (recognized only by Turkey), with about 30,000 Turkish troops providing security. U.N. peacekeeping forces maintain a buffer zone between the two. Members of Congress have urged the Administration to be more active, although they have not proposed an alternative to the U.N.-sponsored talks.
Cuba was first added to the State Department's list of states sponsoring international terrorism in 1982. At the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba's ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America. Cuba remains on the state-sponsored terrorism list with four other countries: Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea. Cuba's retention on the terrorism list has received more attention in recent years in light of increased support for legislative initiatives to lift some U.S. sanctions under the current economic embargo. Supporters of keeping Cuba on the terrorism list argue that there is ample evidence that Cuba supports terrorism. Critics of retaining Cuba on the terrorism list maintain that the policy is a holdover from the Cold War and that Cuba no longer supports terrorism abroad.
Iraq's current government, the result of a U.S.-supported election process designed to produce democracy, is instead a sectarian government incapable of reconciliation. The Administration says that the passage of some key laws represents progress on national reconciliation, and is a result of the U.S. "troop surge." Others say that combat among Shiite groups since March 2008, possibly motivated by provincial elections planned for October 2008, shows that force will not stabilize Iraq.
This report analyzes the prospects for rebuilding an inclusive Iraqi security force that transcends Iraq’s various ethnic and sectarian communities. U.S. policy makers and Iraqi officials aim to create a unified Iraqi security force; however, the predominately Sunni Arab insurgency has hampered this effort, and many believe that the new Iraqi security agencies will ultimately be composed of mostly Shiite and Kurdish recruits with both communities separately maintaining their own militias.
This report discusses the constitutional issues that may arise with respect to a federal law that would require disclosures of efforts to stimulate so-called “grassroots” lobbying activities by those entities and persons who are compensated to engage in such activities.
This report discusses the current political conditions of Cuba, as well as its relationship with the United States. In particular, the report focuses on U.S. policy regarding Cuba, including various economic sanctions, human rights issues, and foreign aid appropriations.
This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This brief country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, trade, and environmental arenas.
This report discusses how the Obama Administration differs from the Bush Administration regarding strategy in Iran relations; it also discusses the current political state of Iran, including incidents of violence and unrest. Much of the debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has centered on the nature of the current regime; some believe that Iran, a country of about 70 million people, is a threat to U.S. interests because hardliners in Iran's regime dominate and set a policy direction intended to challenge U.S. influence and allies in the region.
This report discusses the current political state of Kosovo, which, on February 7, 2008, declared its independence from Serbia. Since then, Serbia has contested Kosovo's declaration of independence, leading to parallel governing institutions and ongoing talks between the two nations. This report discusses challenges Kosovo faces regarding international recognition and the status of its ethnic minorities. This report also discusses Kosovo's relationship with the United States, and U.S. foreign aid efforts to Kosovo.
This report provides a brief historical background of Chile, examines recent political and economic developments, and addresses issues in U.S.-Chilean relations.
This report provides an overview of Egyptian politics and current issues in U.S.-Egyptian relations. It briefly provides a political history of modern Egypt, an overview of its political institutions, and a discussion of the prospects for democratization in Egypt.
This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This brief country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, trade, and environmental arenas. The report is updated annually.
This report discusses the current state of Serbia; the country is seeking to integrate into the European Union (EU), but its progress has been hindered by a failure to arrest remaining indicted war criminals, and by tensions with the United States and many EU countries over the independence of Serbia's Kosovo province. This report discusses these issues in addition to issues regarding U.S.-Serbia relations.
The U.S. program of assistance to Afghanistan is intended to stabilize and strengthen the Afghan economic, social, political, and security environment so as to blunt popular support for extremist forces in the region. Since 2001, nearly $52 billion has been appropriated toward this effort. This report provides a "big picture" overview of the U.S. aid program and congressional action. It describes what various aid agencies report they are doing in Afghanistan. It does not address the effectiveness of their programs.
This report discusses U.S. policy and assistance regarding Uzbekistan, including basic facts and biographical information. Uzbekistan is a potential Central Asian regional power by virtue of its relatively large population, energy and other resources, and location in the heart of the region. It has failed to make progress in economic and political reforms, and many observers criticize its human rights record.
Report discussing the efforts made by the Bush Administration regarding Iran and U.S. foreign policy. The report also highlights major concerns surrounding Iran's human rights practices, strict limits on democracy, and attempts to exert influence over a destabilized Iraq by way of providing arms and other assistance to Islamic extremist groups.
The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-130) authorizes the President to cancel discretionary budget authority, new entitlements, and limited tax benefits. This authority became available on January 1, 1997; will Congress now resort to a variety of techniques and strategies to circumscribe the President's power? Legislators and legislative committees at the state level have used various tactics to counteract, blunt, or neutralize the governor's item-veto power.
This report briefly discusses recent political, economic, and security issues in Turkey, especially relating to Turkey's relationship with Greece, the European Union, and the United States.
This report discusses the current state of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its relationship with the United States, and future initiatives to further develop U.S.-Saudi relations.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.
This report analyzes the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) policy platform and reviews the implications for U.S. strategic and economic interests in the event that the party takes control of the Japanese government after the August 30 parliamentary elections.
This report analyzes China's mixed record on human rights -- major human rights problems, new human rights legislation, and the development of civil society, legal awareness, and social and political activism. This report discusses major areas of interest but does not provide an exhaustive account of all human rights abuses or related incidents.
This report assesses some of the policy implications of recent and ongoing events in the Middle East region, provides an overview of U.S. responses to date, and explores select case studies to illustrate some key questions and dilemmas that Congress and the executive branch may face with regard to these issues and others in the future.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, in both the short and long term, and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
This report provides an overview of opinions addressing issues related to the law of church and state written by Judge Alito while serving on the Third Circuit and Supreme Court precedent relevant to those cases.
This issue brief discusses a number of Supreme Court cases that heavily concern church and state from the 2001-2002 Term. It provides detailed summaries on two decided cases, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc v. Stratton, Ohio and Zelman v. Selmon-Harris.
This report discusses the history of the implementation of the 1998 "Good Friday" Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland, ongoing challenges in the peace process, initiatives to further peace, and current issues surrounding the collapse of the devolved government and the refusal to form a coalition by either major party and the Brexit negotiations.
This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and with the United States.
This report offers background information on Ukraine's current political and economic situation. It also discusses U.S. policy, U.S. aid to Ukraine, the congressional response, and related legislation.
This report discusses the coup and its aftermath in Kyrgyzstan, and its implications for Kyrgyzstan, U.S. interests, Russia and other Euroasian states.
This report examines the current crisis in Iraq regarding the Islamic State, a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that has expanded its control over areas of parts of Iraq and Syria since 2013. There is debate over the degree to which the Islamic State organization might represent a direct terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland or to U.S. facilities and personnel in the region.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, and the Afghan government. It also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
This report discusses the current political and social climate of Iraq, specifically in regards to the influence of the U.S. military presence over recent years. This report addresses planned and possible future efforts under the Obama Administration, including the scheduled gradual troops withdrawal. Some U.S. officials believe that a U.S. military presence is needed beyond the scheduled August 31, 2010 date, by which point all U.S. troops will have been withdrawn. This report also discusses the continued tensions between various Iraqi sociocultural groups.
This report provides background information on terrorist attacks in Russia's North Caucasus that includes the formerly breakaway Chechnya and other ethnic-based regions, which appeared to increase substantially in 2007-2009. The report discusses impacts of the August 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict and the recent development in the Northern Caucasus.
This report presents an overview of the economic and political situation in Bosnia. It starts out by describing the current situation, the negotiations on forming a new central government, the international role in Bosnia, and the last part discusses the implications of U.S. policy.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan and the Afghan government. It also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan and the Afghan government. It also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
This report provides an overview of the history of U.S.A - Belarus relations. The report discusses the political and economic situation in Belarus, the relations with Russia, European Union and NATO.
This report discusses Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, which probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against Pakistan, but Islamabad's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called "full spectrum deterrence" have led to concern about an increased risk of nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India.
This report discusses Israel's relations with the U.S. and its neighbors, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the domestic political scene amid allegations of corruption against the Prime Minister.
This report discusses the current political and economic situation in Ukraine. It also discusses Ukraine's foreign policy, especially in respect to NATO, European Union, and Russia. The Ukraine's energy issues are also briefly deliberated in this report.
This report discusses the current crisis involving the Islamic State, which is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that has expanded its control over areas of parts of Iraq and Syria since 2013.
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