President Obama gave this address to the UN General Assembly on September 21, 2011.

The Palestinian plan to ask the UN for statehood in September has provoked intense anxiety in Jerusalem and Washington.

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.

Stewart M. Patrick says President Obama's address to the United Nations General Assembly this year will be his most challenging yet.

The bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN sets President Mahmoud Abbas on a collision course with Hamas, the United States, and Israel. It is crucial to get back on track to a negotiated settlement, say experts.

Ray Takeyh states, "The Islamic Republic has entered its post-authoritarian stage."

Theresa May discusses UK counterterrorism policy, as well as security cooperation with the United States and other international actors.

Theresa May discusses UK counterterrorism policy, as well as security cooperation with the United States and other international actors.

Ryan Kaminski says that time and time again, criticism of the new UN Human Rights Council has been, at best, half-baked.

The Washington Post's Colum Lynch analyzes the Palestinian quest for UN state recognition, which highlights the role of the international organization despite its inability to resolve the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Robert Danin argues that by adopting a publicly confrontational approach, the Palestinians risk undermining the goodwill and security that Fayyad's nation-building program has so painstakingly created.

Max Boot says that while Qaddafi has fallen in Libya, it is too soon to tell whether Operation Unified Protector is a success.

Max Boot says the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi will create a dangerous situation in Libya, and NATO and the UN will likely have to send economic aid and peacekeeping troops.

Elliott Abrams argues that while the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi is a victory, President Obama's failure to act sooner and more resolutely in the Libyan conflict has caused NATO to suffer greater damage than necessary.

Richard N. Haass says international assistance, and most likely an international force, is likely to be needed for some time to restore and maintain order in Libya.

CFR's Director of Studies James Lindsay and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program Stewart Patrick preview major world events in the week ahead.

In this week's podcast: The famine in the horn of Africa continues to unfold; Rebel gains in Libya may accelerate talk of an end to the conflict; and the UN Security Council debates its peacekeeping operations.

As the uprising continues in Syria, the international community moved to condemn the Assad regime in the aftermath of the government's attacks on the city of Hama. CFR's Elliott Abrams and Robert Danin discuss how these developments affect U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Max Boot says recognizing the provisional government is important progress in Lybia, but it's time to deal with the Gadhafi regime.

UN Security Council resolution 1999 was adopted without vote on July 13, 2011. In the resolution, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that South Sudan be admitted to the UN.