CFR scholars provide policy options for preventing a major crisis in the territories immediately adjacent to China: North Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

In this globalized world, countries will need to cooperate on policies that extend across borders to address issues that affect them all, including conflict prevention and peacemaking. The authors of this report assess the strengths and weaknesses of international institutions and provide a set of practical recommendations for how the United States can strengthen the global architecture for preventive action by partnering with those organizations.

Further provocations by North Korea as well as other dangerous military interactions on or around the Korean peninsula remain a serious risk and carry the danger of unintended escalation.

President Obama's first National Security Strategy departs from Bush administration doctrine by redefining the war against terror groups and embracing multilateralism, and may expect too much from global partners, say CFR experts in an analytical roundup.

President Obama's Washington summit has spurred progress on global cooperation in securing nuclear materials from theft and has asserted U.S. leadership on a vital issue, says CFR's Paul Stares.

Paul Stares writes, "North Korea's leader no longer seems lame, which opens the door to further talks that could have beneficial--if not conclusive--results."

The United States can ill afford the burden of additional foreign policy challenges, making it imperative that the U.S. government find ways to identify, delay, and avert international crises that could harm U.S. interests or even lead to military engagement. In this report, the authors provide an actionable road map for how the U.S. government should revamp its existing U.S. prevention architecture to make it more effective in dealing with potential crises abroad.

This module features teaching notes by CFR Senior Fellow and Director of CFR's Center for Preventative Action Paul B. Stares, coauthor of Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea, along with other resources to supplement the text. This Council Special Report addresses the foreign policy challenge of how the United States and its allies can prepare for the possibility of sudden and destabilizing change in North Korea.

North Korea's nuclear test raises new concerns about its nuclear capabilities, regime succession, and the limits of both international pressure and engagement. Four experts address the policy options available to influence Pyongyang.

Paul B. Stares and Alexander Noyes argue that "A conditional suspension of the ICC's warrant for Bashir is the best way to prevent a collapse of the CPA, protect those still in need, and force Khartoum to act toward ending the conflict in Darfur."

Paul Stares argues in the Los Angeles Times that "Kim Jong Il's uncertain health and longevity make it vital for the U.S. to plan ahead with its Asian allies and China."

North Korea has long been a serious concern to Washington. Now, with President Kim Jong-Il reportedly in bad health and possibly naming a successor, the United States must consider possible outcomes should the situation deteriorate and the current North Korean government collapse. This report examines the challenges that these scenarios would pose--ranging from securing Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal to providing humanitarian assistance--in the context of the interests of the United States and others in its valuable recommendations.

In response to the devastating typhoon that has ravaged Burma, Ivo Daalder and Paul Stares argue that the UN must invoke its “responsibility to protect” clause and intervene.