This article examines whether the institutional design of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) constraints its capacity to function as a national safety net. While prior research documents declining participation rates and substantial interstate variation, this analysis argues that these outcomes are not merely implementation failures but predictable consequences of TANF’s block grant structure and incentive framework. Drawing on economic theory and administrative evidence, the paper evaluates how fixed nominal funding, expansive state discretion, and work participation shape program results. The findings suggest that TANF’s fiscal and administrative architecture incentivizes caseload reduction over poverty reduction, limits responsiveness during economic downturns, and produces persistent cross-state inequities in access and benefit adequacy. By linking observed outcomes to institutional design, this article reframes debates about TANF's effectiveness and contributes to broader discussions about the governance of decentralized social assistance programs.

The world after the Cold War, once led by the United States (US), is shifting to a more intricate global system driven by rising competition between Washington and Beijing. As the US reconsiders the future of its ‘rules-based international order’ and views China as a competitor, the latter is pushing its own idea of shared growth and global partnerships through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This rivalry is unfolding across military, economic and tech fields, while smaller nations, uncomfortable with Western hegemony, are building new alliances. The outcome is a changing and unpredictable world order where fewer diplomatic links and shifting loyalties increase the chance of US-China friction, impacting regional and international stability and order. Pakistan finds itself in a tricky spot between its strong bonds with China and the US that is building a closer relationship with India. As Washington and New Delhi get friendlier and Beijing strengthens its strategic ties with Islamabad, Pakistan's decisions will be crucial in shaping not just its own path but also the stability of South Asia. Against this backdrop of evolving global and regional power dynamics, we convened leading foreign policy thinkers for our written symposium, ‘Navigating the Emerging US-China Power Balance: Implications and Pathways for Pakistan.’ They included Pakistan’s former foreign secretary and current director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) Sohail Mahmood, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, China and United Nations (UN) and former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan and Pakistan’s former ambassador and permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations Zamir Akram. What follows are the questions we asked and the in‑depth perspectives they shared.

In the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) apparently shares more foundational grounds with Iran than with Israel, prompting a comprehensive reassessment of the GCC relations with Tehran. Employing the prisoner’s dilemma framework, the paper explores how hardline Gulf states could shift from a punitive stance toward Iran to a collaborative approach, encouraging cooperation over confrontation. The war in Gaza presents an ongoing dilemma to the governing regimes in the GCC trying to uphold both their domestic political stability vis-a-vis regional solidarity toward Palestine, and their international alliances. Ultimately, the GCC is urged to adopt a more measured and pragmatic approach toward Iran, considering potential pathways for cooperation, while carefully reconsidering the implications of normalization with Israel on broader Arab security concerns. The paper explores the prisoner’s dilemma as the theoretical basis for the cooperative paradigm and then investigates GCC and Iran dynamics in the wake of the Gaza War, highlighting the proximities between both sides, on which the GCC can capitalize. The paper, then, examines the GCC relations with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, underscoring the threats that the GCC needs to recognize.

The current labor shortage in China echoes a historical trend from the 1980s, first observed in Japan. A decline in fertility rates after the 1970s led to a gradual reduction in the available working population in Japan, resulting in a decrease in the overall labor force from 2000 onwards. The Japanese labor shortage has returned as Japanese workers face high workplace pressures and employers opt to maximize productivity with existing staff rather than recruiting or increasing wages. This approach has indirectly intensified pressure on employees, leading to self-isolation and widespread workplace discrimination against women. Such conditions have hindered the expansion of the labor supply. The shared socioeconomic backdrop of labor shortages extends to other East Asian communities, where an unwelcoming workplace atmosphere has discouraged the younger generation from participating in the labor force. Many have chosen to withdraw voluntarily, maintaining a basic standard of living despite lacking sources of income. This trend, compounded by a reluctance to enter marriages and the financial challenges of raising children, further contributes to declining fertility rates in the region's future.

International Relations, Pakistan Affairs, Faith, Society & Law, Science & Technology, and Leadership & Governance are the core themes of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, which remained the focus of discussions held at IPS during the past few months. The following write-up summarizes these discussions under the aforementioned themes.