Last year our Global Food Security team was contacted by the Lugar Series, a political leadership development program, Class of 2016 informing us that in choosing their class project, they wanted to focus on a topic that would reflect Senator Lugar’s legacy in addressing the plight of hungry people across the globe.

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It is not easy and often impossible to reach a consensus in Washington these days. When it occurs, it is worth noting. With regard to how the United States manages its foreign aid programs and the President’s Executive Order calling for a redesign of government departments and agencies, including our lead development agency, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), we are approaching consensus and may achieve it with a little more work.... Read More

Corruption costs $2 trillion a year around the world, and is a leading cause of the poverty that breeds terrorism and triggers destabilizing flows of economic migrants. The problem is particularly acute with natural resource extraction--oil, gas and mining--where despite years of effort, there has been virtually no overall progress in reducing the level of corruption. In resource-rich developing nations across the globe, an estimated 1.8 billion people live in poverty because their country’s wealth is dissipated by corruption.... Read More

Let’s face it. We are, in the early portion of the Trump Presidency, in a period of foreign policy contentiousness in the United States: Russia; China; Iran; international trade; how to view refugees; ISIS; Israeli settlements; North Korea; Trans-Atlantic relations. The list of potential flash-points seems endless. ... Read More

Corruption in developing countries is a leading cause of violent extremism, including the international terrorism that directly threatens the United States. For the West to counter such threats from radical groups, we have to address the root causes of extremism, which means, “Tackling corruption must be a first-order priority.”... Read More

The new administration has undertaken a herculean task to reform government, with the goal of making it more effective and efficient. The President’s Executive Order calls for each department or agency to submit a plan to the Office of Management and Budget for achieving greater efficiencies. OMB would then presumably approve or modify those plans in crafting future budgets.... Read More

Famines rising in four regions of the world, millions of people fleeing from wars, and more refugees than after WWII make for almost overwhelming burdens and responsibilities for our international humanitarian system.  Much of that falls on the UN World Food Program (WFP), considered one of the most effective humanitarian agencies in the world. ... Read More

Okay, I admit it:  at first glance there seems to be little overlap between core beliefs of the Trump Administration and the logic of foreign assistance programs managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).... Read More

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”—Oscar Wilde

The Cardin-Lugar anti-corruption rule was voted off the books Friday, Feb. 3, executed at dawn during a highly unusual morning Senate session that began at 6:30 am. The 52-47 vote came swiftly, following a brief debate and vote in the House of Representatives Wednesday, and a few hours of Senate debate around dinner time Thursday.  There were no subcommittee reviews, no committee hearings: Congress took fewer than five days from the beginning of the legislative process to the end.... Read More

Today marks the 56^th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell speech.  It was delivered on television three days before he left office fourteen presidential terms ago.  The speech is best known for his admonition to guard against the accumulation of too much power and influence by the growing “military-industrial complex.” Coming from Eisenhower, a leader of unsurpassed military prominence in his era, this was a powerful and credible warning to the nation.... Read More