Overview The contentious July 2006 Mexican presidential election has placed Mexico squarely back on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. Following months of unrest in which supporters of Manuel Lópe…

Overview Immigration reform is one of the most divisive issues confronting U.S. policymakers. The rise in the number of illegal immigrants in the United States over the past ten years—from five…

Overview The UN Security Council remains an important source of legitimacy for international action. Yet despite dramatic changes in the international system over the past forty-five years, the co…

Overview The drug war in Mexico has caused some U.S. analysts to view Mexico as a failed or failing state. While these fears are exaggerated, the problems of widespread crime and violence, governm…

Overview Violent crime in Central America—particularly in the "northern triangle" of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—is reaching breathtaking levels. Murder rates in the region are among the …