Informing U.S. engagement with the world

Four charts illustrate the global decline in public trust in vaccines and the threat it poses to decades of progress in immunization coverage.

Longtime Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suffered a massive defeat in his country’s elections, with the opposition party claiming a supermajority. The country’s new leader, Péter Magyar, now has the chance to unwind sixteen years of illiberalism and play an important role in the future of NATO and European integration.

Declines in vaccination rates and funding cuts have fueled measles outbreaks worldwide.

Peru is South America’s most politically unstable country, having cycled through eight presidents in the last decade. Here’s a rundown of Peru’s recent leaders.

The future of the world’s most successful military alliance is in doubt.

Five CFR experts weigh in on the effects of Trump’s Liberation Day on American consumers, businesses, and credibility, and the uncertainty that lays ahead for the global economy and supply chains.

The Trump administration has tightened sanctions and restricted oil shipments to Cuba. The moves are part of a broader pressure campaign aimed at driving significant economic and political change on the communist-led island.

A gap in private funding for companies and projects inhibits energy innovation in the United States. This “missing middle” slows or blocks technologies that could help the energy system become more secure, affordable, reliable, and sustainable from advancing through the demonstration and scale-up stages. Recent events have made the missing middle wider.

Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program, recommends that the United States reconsider its assumptions around eventual leadership change in Tehran, revive regime accountability efforts, prepare for opportunistic escalation by proxy groups, and ready itself for renewed nuclear diplomacy.

CFR International Affairs Fellow in National Security Roxanna Vigil argues that the United States should engage early with Colombia’s next administration to signal support for full implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords and provide targeted assistance.

The United States cannot out-mine and out-process China. Instead, it should leapfrog China’s dominance by scaling disruptive innovation, recovery, and recycling.

CFR Senior Fellow Robert D. Blackwill outlines the conceptual pillars of five grand strategy schools and analyzes arguments for and against those strategies advanced by their proponents and critics. He then proposes an alternative American grand strategy: resolute global leadership.

The world continues to grow more violent and disorderly. According to CFR’s annual conflict risk assessment, American foreign policy experts are acutely concerned about conflict-related threats to U.S. national security and international stability that are likely to emerge or intensify in 2026. In this report, surveyed experts rate global conflicts by their likelihood and potential harm to U.S. interests and, for the first time, identify opportunities for preventive action.

The primary U.S. response to China’s first-mover advantages in emerging auto technologies has been protection. A smarter strategy would seek to compete by supporting producers and collaborating with allies, while managing security risks.