• CHINA WATCHBook Review: How Xi Jinping Derailed China’s Peaceful Rise

    By Robert Wihtol

    In just one decade, Xi Jinping managed to dismantle the collective leadership system carefully crafted by Deng Xiaoping; sour China’s relations with most of its neighbours; and set China on a collision course with the United States. A new book offers an answer.

  • IMMIGRANTS & INNOVATIONThe Contribution of High‐Skilled Immigrants to Innovation in the United States

    By Shai Bernstein, Rebecca Diamond, Abhisit Jiranaphawiboon, Beatriz Pousada, and Timothy McQuade

    Innovation and technological progress are key determinants of economic growth. There is growing evidence that immigrants play a key role in U.S. innovation. Based on a 2003 survey, U.S. immigrants with a four‐year college degree were twice as likely to have a patent than U.S.-born college graduates.

  • ENERGY SECURITYWind and Solar Power Could Significantly Exceed Britain’s Energy Needs

    Britain’s energy needs could be met entirely by wind and solar, according to a policy brief from Oxford University. Wind and solar can provide significantly more energy than the highest energy demand forecasts for 2050 and nearly ten times current electricity demand (299 TWh/year). The research shows up to 2,896 TWh a year could be generated by wind and solar, against the demand forecast of 1,500 TWh/year.

  • U.S. & BRICSThe BRICS Expansion and the Global Balance of Power

    In early September, the BRICS group of five countries with emerging economies announced it would expand its ranks by six nations. This would loosely link together countries representing about 30 percent of global GDP and 43 percent of global oil production. MIT political scientist Taylor Fravel examines the potential and limitations of a bigger BRICS group of countries — and what it means for the U.S.

  • CYBERSECURITYU.S., Latin America to Boost Cybersecurity

    By Jeff Seldin

    Countries up and down the Western Hemisphere are looking to eliminate weaknesses in their cyber infrastructure that could give potential adversaries, including China and Russia, the ability to do extensive damage by exploiting a single vulnerability.

  • INFRASTRUCTUREGermany: Copper Theft Hits Critical Infrastructure, Business

    Metal theft by criminal gangs in Germany is alarming the public and businesses. This year, the newspaper found, copper thefts have already led to 2,644 train delays, totaling well over 700 hours. The disruptions will worsen as copper prices rise.

  • CHINA WATCHTech War: Is Huawei's New Chip a Threat?

    By Yuchen Li

    The US-China chip war is heating up after Huawei launched a new phone featuring technology that Washington was hoping to keep out of China’s reach: China’s largest chipmaker SMIC has surprised the West by creating a homegrown 7nm chip. Will the United States respond with more sanctions?

  • CLIMATE CHALLENGESClimate Risks Place 39 Million U.S. Homes at Risk of Losing Their Insurance

    By Tik Root

    From California to Florida, homeowners have been facing a new climate reality: Insurance companies don’t want to cover their properties. According to a report released today, the problem will only get worse. “Sound pricing is going to make it unaffordable to live in certain places as climate impacts emerge,” says one expert.

  • MICROCHIPSU.S. Investment in Semiconductor Manufacturing: Building the Talent Pipeline

    By Sherry Van Sloun

    To reverse the three decade long decline in the United States’ share of semiconductor manufacturing, a concerted effort is required. Right now, the United States does not have the talent pool to support the ambitious goals of the August 2022 CHIPS Act.  

  • ENERGY SECURITYHow Do We Dismantle Offshore Oil Structures Without Making the Public Pay?

    By Martin Lockman and Martin Dietrich Brauch

    More than 12,000 offshore oil and gas installations straddle the globe, and industry analysts anticipate annual offshore oil and gas investments to reach $173 billion by 2024. A number of oil companies are expected to significantly expand their offshore drilling activities in the coming years. At the same time, many jurisdictions face a growing need to dismantle offshore infrastructure, whether because it is aging, the resources are depleted, or mandated net-zero strategies require some installations to be decommissioned earlier than expected.

  • ARGUMENT: FALLING SHORT ON CYBERSECURITYA Review of NIST’s Draft Cybersecurity Framework 2.0

    Cybersecurity professionals, and anyone interested in cybersecurity, have noted that the gold standard of cybersecurity is getting a needed polish. “But all that glitters is not gold,” Melanie Teplinsky writes. NIST’s voluntary cybersecurity framework leaves organizations vulnerable to the nation’s most capable cyber adversaries. NIST’s proposed overhaul won’t change that.

  • SURVEILLANCEApple and Google Are Introducing New Ways to Defeat Cell Site Simulators, But Is it Enough?

    By Cooper Quintin

    Cell-site simulators (CSS)—also known as IMSI Catchers and Stingrays—are a tool that law enforcement and governments use to track the location of phones, intercept or disrupt communications, spy on foreign governments, or even install malware.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSLarge Lithium Deposits Discovered in a Caldera on the Nevada-Oregon Border

    Geologists estimate that about 20 to 40 million tons of lithium metal – among the world’s largest deposits – are available in the McDermitt Caldera on the Nevada-Oregon border. “If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium,” says one expert. “It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics.”

  • INVESTMENTS & SECURITY Do Gulf States Investments in the West Pose a Threat?

    By Nik Martin

    From football clubs to phone companies, Gulf Arab states are on an investment binge in the West, thanks to high oil prices. Several analysts have warned that the pervasiveness of Chinese snooping technology in the Middle East will likely pose additional security concerns for the West.

  • ENERGY TRANSITIONRailroads May Use Their Monopoly Power to Buffer Coal Plants from a Carbon Emissions Tax

    Railroads are likely to cut transportation prices to prop up coal-fired plants if U.S. climate policies further disadvantage coal in favor of less carbon-intensive energy sources. A new study argues that “If policymakers ignore real distortions in the market, like monopoly power in rail shipping, their climate policy efforts may not achieve the intended results.”