Ninety percent of Persian Gulf oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz each day. Given the narrow nature of the official designated shipping channel, many experts worry that an attack on tankers could "close the strait," disrupting oil prices and making waves through the entire global economy. In a Foreign Policy article, Strauss Center Senior Fellow Eugene Gholz lays out reasons why the conventional wisdom may be wrong.

The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law has announced the 2009 William H. Crook Fellowship awards. The summer fellowships are awarded to graduate students at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin working in the developing world for nonprofit organizations, and assist the students in covering travel and living expenses while abroad.   The fellowships are presented through the William H. Crook Chair in International Affairs, which is dedicated to promoting global economic development and fighting poverty.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announced today that Strauss Senior Fellow Alan Kuperman will be a member of the Center’s 2009-2010 fellowship class.  As a Woodrow Wilson fellow, Dr. Kuperman will work on a project on “Moral Hazard of Humanitarian Intervention.”

The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law announced today that Ambassador Gregory W. Engle (Ret) has joined the leadership team as Associate Director. Ambassador Engle has served as the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomat-in-Residence at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin and most recently as Senior Advisor for International Affairs at The University of Texas International Office.