International trade has historically been considered “gender neutral.” Yet, in practice, even seemingly neutral trade policies can discriminate against women. To increase market access for women, policymakers should advocate for the inclusion of gender-specific language in trade agreements—only 27 percent of regional trade agreements notified to the WTO have explicitly referenced gender as of December 2020.

SOURCE: "Women and Trade: How Trade Agreements Can Level the Gender Playing Field" by CSIS' William Reinsch, Ally Brodsky, and Jasmine Lim. 

Youth unemployment, corruption, and a lack of quality public services has added to emigration in the Balkans. In the past five years, the working-age population in the region has declined by more than 400,000 people. These negative dynamics call for a new approach to U.S. assistance in the Balkans.  

SOURCE: "Confronting Stabilocracy in the Western Balkans: A New Approach for U.S. Assistance" by CSIS' Heather Conley and Donatienne Ruy. 
 

China’s ongoing suppression of Uyghur and other minority populations in Xinjiang continues to incite alarm among U.S. policymakers and polysilicon—a high-grade form of silicon used to create solar panels—is at the heart of the issue. Currently, China is the world’s leading producer of polysilicon, with Xinjiang alone accounting for 50 percent of the global output in 2020.

SOURCE: "Beyond Polysilicon: The Ties between China's GCL-Poly and the United States" by CSIS' Matthew Funaoile.

In the past two and a half months, the Philippines has increased its patrols across the South China Sea beyond anything seen in recent years. From March 1 to May 25, Philippine law enforcement or military vessels were observed paying a total of 57 visits to waters around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. This was a substantial increase over the previous 10 months (May 2020-Februray 2021), when vessels were tracked making 7 total visits to contested features.

SOURCE: "Out in Force: Philippine South China Sea Patrols are Way Up" by CSIS' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.