Issue Brief

Oct 6, 2025

Chinese demand for timber and wildlife in West Africa: Responding to the environmental and social impacts

By Ebagnerin Jérôme Tondoh, Roland Balgah, Caroline Costello, Moses Fayiah, Jean-Luc Kouassi, and Christine A. I. Nougbodé Ouinsavi

West Africa’s forests are vital for climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and economic growth.

China Climate Change & Climate Action

Issue Brief

Oct 6, 2025

Chinese fishing in West Africa: Responding to the environmental and social impacts

By Ebimboere Seiyafa, Awa Niang Fall, Ellis Adjei Adams, Kadidia Kane, Isa Elegbebe Olalekan, Kodjo N’Souvi, and Salamatu Joana Tannor

Chinese companies have rapidly expanded into West Africa’s fishing sector, often operating illegally in prohibited coastal waters.

China Climate Change & Climate Action

Issue Brief

Oct 6, 2025

Chinese mining in West Africa: Responding to the environmental and social impacts

By Abosede Omowumi Babatunde, Richard Asante, Joseph Asunka, Joshua Eisenman, Fancies Egu Lansana, Sanusha Naidu, Igwe Ogbonnaya, Youmanli Ouoba, and Boukary Sangare

Chinese entities are expanding legal and illegal mining for minerals in West Africa.

Africa China

Issue Brief

Oct 3, 2025

Dissolving the fence: Improving utility privatization for defense installations’ resiliency

By Benjamin Byboth, Ariel Coreth, Travis Nels

US bases depend on increasingly vulnerable electricity systems. Utility privatization offers a key tool to ensure military installations’ energy resilience.

Energy & Environment Renewables & Advanced Energy

Issue Brief

Oct 3, 2025

Enhancing NATO’s operational readiness through energy interoperability

By Jason Knapp, Christopher Olson, Chamai Shahim

NATO forces are facing significant energy-related constraints that put interoperability at risk. The recent Hague Declaration committing 1.5 percent of GDP for infrastructure offers a way to address this.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

Report

Sep 30, 2025

Turkey in the changing transatlantic trade environment

By Charles Lichfield

Exploring Turkey’s position in the changing global trade order and analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing the country.

Economy & Business European Union

Issue Brief

Sep 30, 2025

As Europe’s neutral states shift closer to NATO, Ireland approaches a turning point for its security

By Maeve Drury and Jason C. Moyer

Ireland spends the least of any EU country on defense. Taoiseach Micheál Martin wants to change that. In a country with a policy of military neutrality deeply rooted in the country’s history of violent civil conflict, what will re-armament take?

Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security

Report

Sep 30, 2025

404 Accountability not found: Spyware accountability through software liability

By Sara Ann Brackett, Jen Roberts

This report proposes a legislative safe harbor framework that would incentivize technology companies to engage in spyware accountability.

Cybersecurity United Kingdom

Report

Sep 29, 2025

Partnering for economic security: A comprehensive strategy for greater United States–Dominican Republic integration

By the DR-US Economic Strategy Advisory Group

As global supply chains shift and geopolitical competition intensifies, the United States and the Dominican Republic have a timely and strategic opportunity to deepen their partnership across economic, security, and institutional dimensions. This report outlines six key pillars where coordinated engagement can enhance resilience, unlock new avenues for growth, and strengthen regional stability.

Americas Caribbean

Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2025

Stable US-EU trade requires a new approach to globalization

By Beth Baltzan

From the China shock to the breakdown of free trade, any assessment of the US-EU trade agreement and the future of transatlantic trade hinges on understanding the leverage that both parties brought to Scotland.

Economy & Business European Union
One dollar bill folded on paper banknote. Business concept.

Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2025

How to dismantle a reserve currency

By Daniel McDowell

For the economic tumult that the dollar has faced over the last eighty years, its political foundations have remained steadfast—until now. As the political order on which the dollar system rests grows creaky, dollar preeminence is also looking wobbly.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2025

What drives the divide in transatlantic AI strategy?

By Alisha Chhangani, Ananya Kumar

The US and EU share AI ambitions but diverge on regulation, risking a fractured Western front. Nowhere is this tension sharper than in financial services, where details matter most.

Artificial Intelligence Digital Policy

Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2025

The dollar’s role in the fight for US primacy

By Martin Mühleisen

The contours of the second Trump administration’s trade and exchange rate policies are becoming clearer. Economic policies have now become inextricably linked with US foreign policy priorities, including the role of the dollar.

Economy & Business Eurozone

Issue Brief

Sep 29, 2025

Waiting for the Big Bang: Executing the European defense build-up in Germany

By Robin Fehrenbach, Jakob Flemming, and Julia Friedlander

When it comes to European defense spending, Germany can and should be the first mover. By leveraging private capital, the 5% NATO spending target can be seized as an opportunity to avert deindustrialization.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Report

Sep 23, 2025

The critical minerals boom is an opportunity to integrate public health into mining operations

By Connor Gregory, Ciara M. Weets, and Rebecca Katz

Africa is central to the global push for cleaner energy, including the continent’s stocks of critical minerals that power green-energy technologies. But a race to extract more minerals poses public health risks, from the occupational hazards miners suffer to new disease outbreaks in mining camps. There’s a better course for investors and African governments.

Africa Economy & Business

Report

Sep 23, 2025

Natural gas has a small but important role in Africa’s energy transition

By Neil Ford

Limited access to electricity has long constrained both quality of life and economic growth across much of Africa. About 42 percent of the continent’s population still lives in homes without any access. While it is technically possible to rapidly increase African electrification rates through renewables, change on such a scale would require massive global investment that is not a realistic prospect in the foreseeable future. Africa’s untapped and associated gas reserves can provide part of the solution by supporting renewable energy in boosting electrification rates.

Africa Energy & Environment

Issue Brief

Sep 22, 2025

A three-pillar strategy for institutional reform in Central and Eastern Europe

By Stephen Nix and Megan Tamisiea

This paper is the first in the Freedom and Prosperity Center’s “Future of Democracy Assistance” series, which analyzes the many complex challenges to democracy around the world and highlights actionable policies that promote democratic governance.

Central Europe Democratic Transitions

Issue Brief

Sep 22, 2025

Expanding Syria’s multilateral development bank engagement

By Basil Kiwan

Estimates of Syria’s post-civil war cost of rebuilding range from $250 billion to $400 billion. To help finance reconstruction and development, Syria’s transitional government should expand its partnerships with international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks (MDBs), as these institutions can play a key role in mobilizing global capital.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

Issue Brief

Sep 19, 2025

Secure supply chains for the US run through its closest neighbors

By Jose Manuel Restrepo and Martin Cassinelli

Central America and the Dominican Republic are emerging as key partners for US economic security. Strengthening rule of law, workforce skills, and trade frameworks can secure lasting, mutually beneficial economic integration.

Americas Caribbean

Issue Brief

Sep 17, 2025

Preparing US industry for a more competitive world

By David L. Goldwyn, Andrea Clabough

US companies must stay the course on decarbonization to ensure long-term global competitiveness—or risk being left behind as the world’s other major economies continue to prioritize sustainability.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance
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