Only by getting its own house in order will the United States be in a position to set an example other societies will want to emulate, argues CFR President Richard N. Haass. And only by fixing itself will the United States possess the resources necessary to discourage or deal with the emergence of a serious political and military competitor.

"Grand strategy" is defined as a coherent plan to use diplomatic, military, and economic instruments in certain ways to achieve national, overarching objectives. Grand strategies are usually identified by simple labels such as "containment," "détente," or "engagement and enlargement." In reality, international politics is complicated, and a democratic political system at home imposes constraints from public opinion, mobilized interest groups, and Congress.

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Secretary of State John Kerry is launching new Mideast shuttle diplomacy, but President Obama's commitment to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement remains to be seen, says expert Martin Indyk.

National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon gave these remarks at Asia Society in New York on March 11, 2013. He discussed why the Obama administration "rebalanced" to Asia, how the United States will contribute to the region's security, and regional and economic architecture.

The founding father of modern Singapore answers the toughest questions that matter most to thoughtful Americans weighing the challenges of the next quarter century.

If there's one indisputable fact about this most polarizing of figures, it's that he is hard to get rid of -- and every retreat, even his most recent withdrawal from political life, lays the groundwork for an eventual counterattack.

Now, more than ever, the United States might be tempted to pull back from the world.

Distinguished professors Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry argue that the United States should initiate a new phase of democratic internationalism based on the "pull of success rather than the push of power."

The post-war U.S. approach to strategy is rapidly becoming insolvent and unsustainable. If Washington continues to cling to its existing role on the premise that the international order depends upon it, the result will be increasing resistance, economic ruin, and strategic failure with consequences harming U.S. credibility, diplomacy, and military operations.

Walter Russell Mead explains that American "decline" is a misnomer; international relations are still rebalancing following the end of the Cold War as regional powers take on international importance.

A mapping of the twenty-first-century world that provides a detailed strategy for reconciling the West with the "rise of the rest."

Nikolas Gvosdev and Ray Takeyh argue that the justifying of America's Libya campaign solely on humanitarian grounds marked a fundamental break with past U.S. policy prescriptions for such military interventions.

Richard N. Haass argues that the United States should adopt a doctrine of Restoration as its guiding foreign policy framework, focusing on "restoring this country's strength and replenishing its economic, human, and physical resources."

It's tempting to see the 9/11 attacks as having fundamentally changed U.S. foreign policy. It's also wrong.

Richard N. Haass says a doctrine of restoration can strengthen the U.S. position abroad by focusing on nation building -- at home.

Henry Kissinger's new book argues that the United States should yield gracefully to China's rise; Aaron Friedberg's gives the opposite advice.

With China's clout growing, the international community needs to better understand China's strategic thinking.

The Obama Administration released its first National Security Strategy on May 27, 2010.