Middle East
Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Foreign Policy

Washington’s Ill-Fated Mideast Ambitions
U.S. administrations have backed efforts for societal change in the Middle East in recent decades, with poor results. But Washington can still achieve more modest, essential goals in the region.

Expert Brief by Steven A. Cook May 31, 2024

Middle East and North Africa

The End of Ambition
A clear-headed vision for the United States' role in the Middle East that highlights the changing nature of U.S. national interests and the challenges of grand strategizing at a time of profound change in the international order.

Book by Steven A. Cook June 3, 2024

Palestinian Territories

Who Governs the Palestinians?
Power in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the so-called Palestinian territories, has been divided among three entities: a governing body called the Palestinian Authority, the militant group Hamas, and the state of Israel. But as Israel now seeks to destroy Hamas, it is unclear who would administer Gaza instead.

Backgrounder by Kali Robinson May 28, 2024

European Union

European Union

What’s at Stake in the EU Elections?

Yves Herman/Reuters
The European Union’s governing bodies could see a significant shake-up as millions of voters head to the polls across the twenty-seven-member bloc.

Article by Matthias Matthijs and Caroline Kapp May 31, 2024

 

Ukraine’s Perilous Path to EU Membership Link

via Foreign Affairs May 31, 2024

European Union

How Does the European Union Work?
The European Union has navigated a thicket of external and internal crises in recent years, including mass migration and Brexit. What are the union’s core institutions, and what roles do they play?

Backgrounder by James McBride March 11, 2022

U.S.

Election 2024

Trump’s Conviction and the U.S. Election
Each Friday, I look at what the presidential contenders are saying about foreign policy. This Week: Trump’s conviction on thirty-four felony counts takes the U.S. presidential election into uncharted waters.

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay May 31, 2024 The Water's Edge

 

When Leaders Are Lawbreakers Link

via Foreign Affairs May 31, 2024

U.S.

Trump’s Foreign Policy Moments
Donald J. Trump’s presidency marked a profound departure from U.S. leadership in areas such as trade and diplomacy, as well as an across-the-board toughening of immigration policies.

Timeline by Ankit Panda, Rocio Cara Labrador and Amelia Cheatham October 18, 2022

NATO

NATO

NATO Looks to Asia
The transatlantic alliance has begun to connect its traditional security interests in Europe with the geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region, including tensions between China and Taiwan.

Expert Brief by David Sacks May 30, 2024 Asia Program

Taiwan

Why China Would Struggle to Invade Taiwan
Although China’s ambition to gain control of Taiwan is clear, doing so through force would prove enormously difficult and costly.

Interactive by David Sacks January 10, 2024

NATO

What Is NATO?
The alliance is bolstering its military deterrent in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expanded to include Finland and Sweden.

Backgrounder by Jonathan Masters March 18, 2024

Mexico

Mexico

Mexico’s Historic Elections

Podcast
Andrés Rozental, a distinguished retired Mexican diplomat, president of Rozental & Asociados, and the founding president of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the dynamics of Mexico’s upcoming election and its consequences for the Mexican people as well as for U.S.-Mexico relations.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Andrés Rozental May 28, 2024 The President’s Inbox

Mexico

What to Know About Mexico’s Elections
Against a backdrop of widespread violence, a record number of voters will look to elect Mexico’s first woman president in a June election that polls predict will go to Claudia Sheinbaum.

Expert Brief by Shannon K. O'Neil May 24, 2024 Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy

Shannon K. O'Neil

Mexico

A Reset for America and Mexico? Link

with Shannon K. O'Neil via Foreign Affairs May 27, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Previewing the AI for Good Summit Link

via Council of Councils May 28, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

How to Govern AI

Podcast
Kat Duffy, a senior fellow for digital and cyberspace policy at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the capacity of the U.S. government to lead in creating a framework for regulating artificial intelligence (AI). 

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Kat Duffy February 13, 2024 The President’s Inbox

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence breakthroughs promise unprecedented opportunity but also economic, political, and social disruption. Experts say AI needs oversight to ensure the changes it engenders are for the better.

Backgrounder by Noah Berman December 27, 2023

Events
View All

Middle East and North Africa

Oil and National Security: U.S.-Middle East Relations

Play
Steven Cook discusses the modern history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East and how economic interests, including secure access to oil reserves, continue to influence U.S. priorities in the region today. In a preview of his forthcoming book The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East, he provides his vision for the future of U.S.-Middle East relations and what that could mean for U.S. energy security and global trade.  

Virtual Event with Steven A. Cook and Helima Croft May 29, 2024

Ukraine

Ukraine’s Economic Recovery: Remarks and a Conversation with Penny Pritzker

Play
U.S. Special Representative Penny Pritzker discusses ongoing Ukraine recovery and reconstruction efforts, having just returned from three trips to Ukraine in six weeks, including joining the Secretary of State in mid-May. She outlines U.S. priorities for supporting Ukraine in advance of the Ukraine Recovery Conference on June 11-12 in Berlin.

Event with Penny Pritzker and Michael Froman May 28, 2024

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

Play
Panelists review the humanitarian situation in Gaza and discuss U.S. policy options to address the crisis.  

Virtual Event with James Eugene McGoldrick, Kate Phillips-Barrasso, David M. Satterfield and Ethan Bronner May 24, 2024

Hong Kong

The Trial of Jimmy Lai and the Future of Hong Kong

Play

Virtual Event with James B. Cunningham, Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Elliott Abrams May 23, 2024

View All

Experts in the News

Michael B.G. Froman
Link

Froman: There Is a Regional Realignment Going On Amid the Israel-Hamas War

Via CNBC Squawk Box May 29, 2024

Sheila A. Smith
Link

Smith: This Is a Very Difficult Time for China, Japan, and South Korea to Find Common Ground

Via Bloomberg Daybreak Asia May 26, 2024

David J. Scheffer
Link

Scheffer: ICC Warrants Can Diminish an Indicted Individual's Political Power

Via CBS News May 21, 2024

View All

Explainers

South China Sea
China’s Maritime Disputes
South China Sea
China’s Maritime Disputes
Timeline by Beina Xu, Eleanor Albert, Lindsay Maizland and Clara Fong
Disputes between China and its neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnam, in the South China Sea have intensified in recent decades. This timeline traces the recent developments.
The Push to Conserve 30 Percent of the Planet: What’s at Stake?
Energy and Environment The Push to Conserve 30 Percent of the Planet: What’s at Stake?
Article by Lindsay Maizland
What Is Avian Flu?
Public Health Threats and Pandemics What Is Avian Flu?
Backgrounder Redesign by Mariel Ferragamo
Why Fentanyl Is a Huge Foreign Policy Problem
U.S. Why Fentanyl Is a Huge Foreign Policy Problem
Article by Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy
View All

Expert Spotlight

Willem H. Buiter
Willem H. Buiter

Adjunct Senior Fellow

Budget, Debt, and Deficits Monetary Policy Financial Markets

Why U.S. Taxes Must Increase

Offsite Via Project Syndicate June 28, 2023

Matthias Matthijs
Matthias Matthijs

Senior Fellow for Europe

Europe European Union NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

David P. Fidler
David P. Fidler

Senior Fellow for Global Health and Cybersecurity

International Law Cybersecurity Health

At COP28, the Climate-Health Nexus Turned a Corner, for Better and Worse

Offsite Via Think Global Health December 22, 2023

View All

Featured Publications

Colombia

From Peril to Partnership
Paul J. Angelo provides the first headlining case studies of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative.

Book by Paul J. Angelo March 8, 2024 Latin America Studies Program

Political History and Theory

The World That Wasn’t

A dramatic and powerful new perspective on the political career of Henry Wallace—a perspective that will forever change how we view the making of U.S. and Soviet foreign policy at the dawn of the Cold War.

Book by Benn Steil January 9, 2024 Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

Radicalization and Extremism

God, Guns, and Sedition
A riveting exploration of the current state of far-right terrorism in the United States—and recommendations to stop its rise.

Book by Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware January 2, 2024 National Security and Defense Program

View All