Democracy as a political system has not advanced around the world in the past decade and by some measures it has actually declined, a new report from the Congressional Research Service observes.
The obstacles are not all located abroad. Unlike its predecessors, the Trump Administration does not include democracy promotion as part of its national security strategy, CRS noted. And for the first time last year, the Economist Intelligence Unit categorized the United States as a “flawed democracy.”
See Global Trends in Democracy: Background, U.S. Policy, and Issues for Congress, October 17, 2018.
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues, October 16, 2018
The Peace Corps: Current Issues, updated October 12, 2018
NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2019, updated October 15, 2018
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding for FY2019, CRS In Focus, updated October 15, 2018
America’s affordability problem is bigger than home prices and rents. The best housing policies make it easier to build homes, and recognize how housing connects to other domains.
America’s affordability problem, for instance, is bigger than home prices and rents. How we build affects household costs like insurance and utilities.
As humans expand our geographic reach, encroach on untouched natural territories, and interact more with animal populations, we will encounter novel zoonotic diseases that threaten the human body. The sooner we act to address these risks, the better.
This report serves as a landscape assessment and toolbox from which local governments can negotiate an informed position when it comes to the levers available to them and includes a first-of-its kind analysis of eight executed community benefits agreements.