The Biden administration has repeatedly expressed conviction that tackling the climate crisis requires concerted action at both the domestic and international levels. To make progress, the administration must also contend with the fact that—according to a survey from Pew Research Center—only 38 percent of Americans say dealing with climate change should be a top priority for Congress, with beliefs differing starkly between the two parties.

SOURCE: "U.S. Views on the Trade and Climate Policy Nexus" by CSIS' William Reinsch and Emily Benson.

On Sunday July 25, Tunisian president Kais Saied invoked emergency powers, fired the prime minister, and suspended parliament for 30 days. While Western states have urged adherence to the Tunisian constitution, they also have a keen interest in ensuring that post-revolutionary Tunisia is “a success,” economically and politically—which may explain why the Biden administration merely expressed “concern” about the weekend’s events, hoping that Saied can install a more effective government to address Tunisia’s many crises.

SOURCE: "A Coup in Tunisia?" by CSIS' Will Todman.

Facial recognition technology (FRT) has become a commercial product available to almost any government or business in the world. However, FRT deployments also carry substantial risks to fundamental human rights. An investigation in facial recognition accuracy by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that demographic factors had a large effect on false positive rates—where differences in the error rate between demographic groups could vary by a factor of 10 or even 100.

SOURCE: "Facing the Risk" by CSIS' Amy Lehr and William Crumpler.

The United States produced almost 7 million tons of e-waste (discarded electronics) in 2019, of which only 15 percent was recycled. To mitigate the negative environmental impacts of e-waste, fortify supply chains, and create economic opportunity, the U.S. should implement a more robust application of urban mining—the process of the process of recovering raw materials from e-waste largely found in cities.

SOURCE: "A Canary in an Urban Mine: Environmental and Economic Impacts of Urban Mining" by CSIS' William Reinsch and William Crumpler.