Books on politics, international affairs, defense and military topics, economics and history.
In total, 154 African Americans have served in Congress. This total includes: * 144 African Americans (138 Representatives and 6 Delegates) elected only to the House of Representatives; * 9 African Americans elected or appointed only to the Senate; and * 1 African American who has served in both chambers. The first African American Members,… Continue Reading African American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2018
Prior to the establishment of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) in 1976 and 1977, respectively, Congress did not take much interest in conducting oversight of the intelligence community (IC). The Subcommittees on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the congressional Armed Services Committees had… Continue Reading Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Background and Selected Options for Further Reform
When federal agencies and programs lack funding after the expiration of full-year or interim appropriations, the agencies and programs experience a funding gap. If funding does not resume in time to continue government operations, then, under the Antideficiency Act, an agency must cease operations, except in certain situations when law authorizes continued activity. Funding gaps… Continue Reading Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects
U.S. world trade has grown steadily over the past decade. In 2017, the United States exported $2.4 trillion in goods and services and imported $2.9 trillion. Since 2009, when trade flows declined sharply in the midst of the financial crisis, U.S. exports have grown—in nominal terms—48.5%, while U.S. imports have grown 47.6%. More broadly, since… Continue Reading U.S. Trade with Major Trading Partners
The economic and trade relationship with Mexico is of interest to U.S. policymakers because of Mexico’s proximity to the United States, the extensive trade and investment relationship under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the conclusion of the NAFTA renegotiations and the proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and the strong cultural and economic ties that… Continue Reading U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications
Cryptocurrencies are digital money in electronic payment systems that generally do not require government backing or the involvement of an intermediary, such as a bank. Instead, users of the system validate payments using certain protocols. Since the 2008 invention of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have proliferated. In recent years, they experienced a rapid increase… Continue Reading Cryptocurrency: The Economics of Money and Selected Policy Issues
Successive Administrations have described the U.S. relationship with Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of oil and its largest economy, to be among the most important on the continent. The country is Africa’s most populous, with more than 200 million people, roughly evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. Nigeria, which transitioned from military to civilian rule in… Continue Reading Nigeria: Current Issues and U.S. Policy
MAJ Roland Minez’s Art of War Paper, At the Limit of Complexity: British Military Operations in North Persia and the Caucasus, 1918 highlights the volatile, complex, and ambiguous operating environment likely to face future military operations in unanticipated and far-flung corners of the globe. As World War I wound down, Commonwealth forces entered the Caucasus… Continue Reading At the Limit of Complexity: British Military Operations in North Persia and the Caucasus 1918
This monograph examines the conflicts in the Middle East region between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the so-called proxy wars that are being fought between them, and discusses ways that the United States needs to maneuver carefully in this struggle to preserve its long-term interests in the area. Although Washington has political, economic, and strategic… Continue Reading Maneuvering the Saudi-iranian Rivalry in the Middle East: How the United States Can Preserve and Protect its Long-term Interests in the Region
Sections 3 and 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provide for presidential disability or inability. Section 3 of the amendment sets the procedure whereby a President may declare himself or herself “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the office by transmitting a written declaration to this effect to the President… Continue Reading Presidential Disability Under the TwentyFifth Amendment: Constitutional Provisions and Perspectives