In February, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Isobel Coleman met with business leaders, academics, journalists, and civic activists in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Among Wittes and Coleman's key findings are that many Saudis welcomed the emergence of a more open atmosphere, pointing to King Abdullah's ascension to the throne, dynamism in neighboring Gulf states, and a new "post-post-9/11" environment as key catalysts for the change. Yet, there was frustration at the unpredictability and arbitrariness of the newly expanded social and political space. The next U.S. administration may have a new, but narrow, window of opportunity to reintroduce itself to Saudi Arabia. Many Saudis argued for the creation of a deeper, multi-dimensional relationship between both countries that engages civil society, not just the government and business sectors.
Intuition tells us that oil-rich countries are not friendly to the United States, and that entreprenurial—or “smart”—countries are not endowed with oil. In this Center for Geoeconomic Studies Working Paper, the authors find a triangular relationship between oil wealth, entrepreneurial spirit, and friendliness to the United States. They confirm the idea that “oily” countries are not U.S.-friendly, in contrast to smart countries, which are friendly to the United States and do not have oil. The authors conclude that it is in the U.S. interest to support education and economic diversification in petro-states so those states can become more entrepreneurial and friendly.
How should the United States respond to Kenya’s political crisis in the wake of the power-sharing deal announced on February 28, 2008? In this POP, Adjunct Fellow Michelle D. Gavin suggests steps the Bush administration could take to promote political and ethnic reconciliation and to restore the viability of Kenya’s governing institutions.
In this paper, the first of a new publication type from the Council called the Policy Options Paper, Senior Fellow Daniel Markey poses a set of recommendations for the United States to consider in response to Pakistan’s ongoing political crisis—in particular, what position the Bush administration should take with regard to the country’s upcoming national elections.
Over the course of thirteen months, delegates from Africa, China, and the United States met three times in an effort to identify strategies of cooperation among their respective nations with the goal of accelerating economic development in Africa. This overview describes why the trilateral dialogue was established, how it was implemented, and what it achieved.
Note: The following is a rapporteur's report from the May 7, 2007 Council General Meeting "Is Male Circumcision the Key to Stopping the AIDS Epidemic?"
This report argues that Angola deserves priority attention in the formulation of U.S. foreign, national security, and economic policies, particularly in the design of policy toward Africa. This report is also available in Portuguese.
This report is a collaborative effort drawn up in a response to a request from Congress to examine the situation in Somalia, namely options for diplomacy.
This Critical Policy Choice, in the form of a memorandum to the president, suggests two alternative approaches the United States could take to trade policy.
A quadrennial poll on foreign policy issues finds both the public and U.S. opinion leaders taking a decidedly cautious view of America’s place in the world, reflecting concerns about the war abroad and growing problems at home.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is affecting the security of states throughout the world, weakening economies, government structures, military and police forces, and social structures. This is the principal conclusion of the Council Report, HIV and National Security: Where Are the Links?
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing policy-makers today. David G. Victor, a leading expert on environmental policy, takes a fresh look at this issue and persuasively marshals arguments for three distinct approaches to combat the problem, casting each as a presidential speech. A must-read for environmentalists, educators, and anyone else interested in the issue, Climate Change is a most useful reference in the growing public debate about how best to meet this environmental challenge.
Investing in girls’ education globally delivers huge returns for economic growth, political participation, women’s health, smaller and more sustainable families, and disease prevention, concludes a new report from the Council’s Center for Universal Education.
The United States spends approximately $700 million per year in the Andean region, but this Commission report concludes that current U.S. policy--focused narrowly on "drugs and thugs" in the Andes--cannot achieve U.S. regional goals of democracy, prosperity, and security. Andes 2020 offers bold new recommendations to recalibrate U.S. policy to better meet its objectives.
Authors: Frederick Barton, Bathsheba N. Crocker, John J. Hamre, Johanna Mendelson-Forman, and Robert C. Orr
To succeed in reconstructing Iraq, the United States and its allies will need to pursue a strategy over the next twelve months that: recognizes the unique challenges in different parts of the country; consolidates gains in those areas where things are going well; and wins hearts and minds even as it decisively confronts spoilers.
Almost exactly a year after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush released to Congress and the American public his National Security Strategy, the most detailed and comprehensive statement of how his administration intends to protect the security of the United States in the post-September 11 world. While few have disagreed with the goals of the strategy, a great deal of controversy has arisen about how these goals should be implemented. This innovative paper, written by Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb, an expert with decades of experience on national security issues, lays out the best case for three different ways in which the administration could implement the president’s strategy.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
The biggest threat to America's security and prosperity comes not from abroad but from within, writes CFR President Richard N. Haass in his provocative new book. More
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More
