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Updated: July 22, 2009
Interview
A leading Iranian expert, Shaul Bakhash, says a speech by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and a call for a referendum by former President Mohammad Khatami have given new life to the opposition
See more in Iran, Democracy and Human Rights, Diplomacy
July 20, 2009
Interview
Mark Fitzpatrick, a nonproliferation policy expert on Iran, says the chance exists that in the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential election, a "new need for legitimacy could make it more willing to accept some tactical compromise" to resume talks.
See more in Iran, Diplomacy, Weapons of Mass Destruction
July 13, 2009
Interview
Daniel P. Serwer, who served as executive director of the Baker-Hamilton Commission on Iraq, says the "serious" crisis between Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government "needs to be resolved" to some degree before the U.S. troops leave."
See more in Iraq, Nationalism
July 10, 2009
Interview
CFR's Charles A. Kupchan says President Obama's summit meetings have advanced relations with Russia and consensus with industrialized states on climate change but that difficult work is ahead on both fronts.
See more in United States, Climate Change, Missile Defense, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 9, 2009
Interview
Latin America expert Kevin Casas-Zamora says that by putting its diplomatic weight behind a mediation effort by Arias to settle the Honduran crisis, the Obama administration has demonstrated sensitivity to Latin sensibilities.
See more in Central America, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy
July 6, 2009
Interview
CFR's top arms control expert, Charles D. Ferguson, says "nothing revolutionary" was agreed to on arms control issues at the U.S.-Russia summit, despite a pledge to cut nuclear arsenals down from current levels.
See more in Russian Fed., Arms Control and Disarmament
June 30, 2009
Transcript
CFR Experts Charles D. Ferguson and Stephen Sestanovich discuss the Obama-Medvedev summit.
See more in Russian Fed., Defense/Homeland Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 1, 2009
Interview
CFR's top Russia expert, Stephen Sestanovich, says there is a potential for some hard bargaining to take place over arms control at the July 6-8 summit of U.S. and Russian leaders.
See more in Russian Fed., Defense/Homeland Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 30, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR Experts Charles D. Ferguson and Stephen Sestanovich discuss the Obama-Medvedev summit.
June 30, 2009
Interview
As U.S. combat forces begin to withdraw from Iraq's cities, expert Kenneth M. Pollack says he remains "very concerned" about the political situation in Iraq. He stresses the need for the "continued attention" of the United States to bring about a stable Iraq.
See more in Iraq, National Security and Defense, Nation Building
June 26, 2009
Interview
CFR President Richard N. Haass says in the aftermath of the Iranian regime's crackdown on post-election protesters, the Obama administration will need to revive efforts to negotiate an end to Tehran's nuclear program.
June 24, 2009
Interview
Following the 2009 disputed Iran presidential election, CFR's Isobel Coleman, a leading expert on women's issues, says that if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory stands, "you'll see a much more restricted Iran." This will "fall heavily on women, but it won't stop them," she says.
See more in Iran, Elections, Women
June 22, 2009
Interview
Farideh Farhi, an Iran expert, says powerful forces are arrayed on both sides of Iran's electoral dispute and that a resounding victory by either side is unlikely.
Updated: June 18, 2009
Interview
Following massive protests over Iran's presidential election results, Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert, says Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have to sacrifice President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to save himself.
June 16, 2009
Interview
Arang Keshavarzian, an expert on Iranian politics at New York University, says the decision by the Iranian leadership to peremptorily announce President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory has alienated many Iranians and will greatly complicate U.S. plans to engage the Iranian government.
June 15, 2009
Interview
Aaron David Miller, a former senior U.S. negotiator in the Mideast, says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closely watched speech on June 14 "was less about pursuing Arab-Israeli peace and much more about pursuing the U.S.-Israeli relationship."
See more in Israel, International Peace and Security
June 14, 2009
Interview
Gary G. Sick, an expert on Iranian affairs, says the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amounted to an internal coup. The prospect of U.S. talks with Iran is now "infinitely more complicated," he says.
June 8, 2009
Interview
Following the Lebanon's parliamentary elections, CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says a crucial question for the new government is whether it can operate without allowing Hezbollah and its allies to retain their veto power in the cabinet.
See more in Lebanon, Elections
June 4, 2009
Interview
Veteran Mideast diplomat Edward P. Djerejian sees President Obama's speech to the Muslim world as a "powerful public diplomacy statement." But the task now, he says, will be crafting the policies that help undercut terrorism and extremism.
See more in Middle East, Diplomacy
June 2, 2009
Interview
Reflecting on the twentieth anniversary of the Chinese government crackdown on pro-reform protests in Tiananmen Square, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof says China is likely to evolve toward more political freedom, following Asian models such as South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, or Indonesia.
See more in China, Democracy and Human Rights
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
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