Must Reads of the Week: Malaise in China, Intrigue in Turkey, and More
What CFR.org Editors are reading the week of October 10–14, 2016.
See more in Global; Peace, Conflict, and Human Rights
What CFR.org Editors are reading the week of October 10–14, 2016.
See more in Global; Peace, Conflict, and Human Rights
Three African members of CFR's Global Board of Advisors discuss the geopolitical and geoeconomic issues facing the continent today. CFR's Global Board of Advisors, founded in 2012, fosters a dialogue between business and global leaders from the United States and abroad.
See more in Africa (sub-Saharan); Economics
Experts discuss trends in the global economy.
The long-reigning Thai king’s tacit support of military coups over the last decade undercuts his past image as a force for stability, writes CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick.
See more in Thailand; Presidents and Chiefs of State
The final U.S. presidential debate takes place, the UN discusses Yemen, and India hosts the eighth annual BRICS summit.
See more in Global; Politics and Strategy
Our democracy is under attack by Russia, but almost no one is treating the situation with the gravity it deserves. President Obama is loathe to retaliate. Would-be president Donald Trump denies that any attack is happening. And the media are acting as enablers for the attackers.
See more in Russian Federation; United States; Technology and Foreign Policy; Cybersecurity
James M. Lindsay discusses the role that foreign policy will play in the upcoming presidential election.
See more in United States; Elections; Presidents and Chiefs of State
In this biography of Alan Greenspan, Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly explores Greenspan's life and legacy and tells the story of the making of modern finance.
See more in United States; International Finance; Monetary Policy
American voters still favor an active U.S. role in the world but disagree more than they used to about how that role should be exercised. They are increasingly at odds about two big issue clusters—globalization and military intervention. These divisions will not keep a new president from trying to build bipartisan support for foreign policy, but the poll numbers are clear—the job is getting harder.
See more in United States; Polls and Opinion Analysis
Social media has altered the nature of war, argue Emerson T. Brooking and P.W. Singer. The viral propaganda of the self-declared Islamic State, Russian disinformation campaigns, and Chinese cyber-nationalism are all indications of a more fundamental shift in conflict—a revolution that threatens to catch U.S. policymakers and social media companies off guard.
See more in Global; Technology and Foreign Policy; Social Media
Experts discuss deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
See more in Brazil; Energy and Environment
Experts discuss the policies and priorities of the Ronald Reagan administration and the lessons to be learned for U.S. foreign policy today.
See more in United States; History and Theory of International Relations; Diplomacy and Statecraft
Experts discuss Colombia’s failed peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and its implications for the country’s future.
See more in Colombia; Peace, Conflict, and Human Rights
Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan was once hailed as the omnipotent “maestro” of the U.S. economy, but his reputation suffered in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. In The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan, a new biography based on five years of research and unmatched access to Greenspan, Sebastian Mallaby presents a nuanced assessment of one of the most influential economic statesmen of the twentieth century and issues a warning about the future of finance. The story of Greenspan, according to Mallaby, is the story of the making of modern finance, for good and for ill.
See more in United States; Financial Crises; Banks and Banking
Trump’s rhetoric at the debate was more dictator than leader of the free world. The grass-roots fervor for Trump suggests that the Republican Party may be beyond salvation — and that the republic itself could be in peril if in the future we see some demagogue who is smoother than Trump and devoid of his debilitating personal flaws.
See more in United States; Elections
Despite evidence that shows that women make unique contributions to peace and security processes, they remain severely underrepresented in military, policy, and peacekeeping forces around the world. Jamille Bigio highlights a new bill led by Senators Barbara Boxer and Jeanne Shaheen that would “require the U.S. State Department to encourage other countries to increase the number of women recruited and promoted in their security forces.” She also argues for better quality training among security forces and conversation of the U.S. National Action Plan on women, peace, and security into legislation.
See more in United States; Global; Women; Defense and Security
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon highlights the need for renewed attention on the war in Afghanistan. Nearly 10,000 U.S. troops remain in the country and U.S. casualties are close to 2,300, but little about Afghanistan has made headlines in recent years or received mention by political leaders.
See more in Afghanistan; Military Operations; Wars and Warfare
What CFR.org Editors are reading the week of October 3–7, 2016.
See more in Global; Diplomacy and Statecraft; Elections
As America prepared for the foreign-policy fireworks in Sunday night’s second presidential debate, a town hall format co-moderated by ABC News’s Martha Raddatz and CNN’s Anderson Cooper, columnists posed the questions they’d want to put to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—and why it’s so important that America’s next president have the answer. In no particular order, here are their toughest questions.
See more in United States; Elections
Ten years after North Korea’s first nuclear test, sanctions and negotiations have done little to quell the regime’s ambition of becoming a nuclear weapons state, writes CFR’s Scott Snyder.
See more in North Korea; Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament
Securing a Democratic Future for Myanmar
To ensure the success of Myanmar's historic democratic transition, the United States should revise its outdated and counterproductive sanctions policy.
Xi Jinping on the Global Stage
Blackwill and Campbell analyze the rise of Chinese President Xi Jinping and call for a new American grand strategy for Asia.
Enhancing U.S. Support for Peace Operations in Africa
Williams argues that greater U.S. involvement is necessary to enhance the quality and success of peacekeeping missions.
State Capitalism
Kurlantzick offers the sharpest analysis yet of what state capitalism’s emergence means for democratic politics around the world. More
War by Other Means
In a cogent analysis of why the United States is losing ground as a world power, Blackwill and Harris explore the statecraft of geoeconomics. More
The Pragmatic Superpower
Takeyh and Simon reframe the legacy of U.S. involvement in the Arab world from 1945 to 1991 and shed new light on the makings of the contemporary Middle East. More
Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2015 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.
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