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BOOKS
Foreign policy analyses written by CFR fellows and published by the trade presses, academic presses, or the Council on Foreign Relations Press.
November 2009
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies—produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
See more in Israel, Business & Foreign Policy
September 2009
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
June 2009
In this compact reference guide, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba’s unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
See more in Cuba, Society and Culture
May 2009
In this compelling book, Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare
May 2009
For over a quarter-century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.
See more in Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 2009
In this keenly argued book, the authors present a fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present and explore why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization.
See more in Economics
March 2009
In this book, inspired by Machiavelli’s classic The Prince, Leslie H. Gelb offers illuminating guidelines on how American power actually works and should be wielded in today’s tumultuous world, writing with the perspective of four decades of extraordinary access and influence in government, think tanks, and journalism.
See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 2009
This thoughtful and balanced text examines the development of Russian foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Presenting an even-handed treatment of controversial issues, Jeffrey Mankoff analyzes Russia’s interactions with major global actors and convincingly demonstrates that today’s Russia is more interested in restoring what its leaders consider to be its rightful place among the world’s major powers than in directly challenging the West.
See more in Russian Fed.
December 2008
In Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short-term and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.
See more in Middle East, Diplomacy
June 2007
In this timely book, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression. She traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers and the moving stories of individual citizens who, through their brave perseverance, helped establish the steadfast character we recognize as American today.
See more in United States, Financial Crises
September 2008
In this book, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
See more in United States, Defense/Homeland Security
July 2008
In this book, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how preferential trade agreements have recreated the unhappy situation of the protectionist 1930s, when world trade was undermined by discriminatory practices, and argues that the world trading system is definitely at risk again.
See more in Economics, International Finance
June 2008
The authors weave a compelling narrative of how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 2008
In this penetrating book, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
See more in Middle East, Society and Culture
November 2007
This book seeks to explain why governments contemplate regional monetary integration and why some country groups are more likely than others to exercise that option. It also explains why some country groups may be more successful than others, and the potential relevance of the European experience for those other country groups.
See more in Economics, International Finance
November 2007
In this book, Michael A. Levi draws from our long experience with terrorism and proposes new principles for understanding and defending against nuclear threats.
See more in Defense Strategy, Weapons of Terrorism
October 2007
Michael J. Gerson draws on his White House experiences as the chief speechwriter and a policy adviser to President George W. Bush to argue for a renewed idealism in domestic and foreign policy.
See more in United States, Society and Culture
October 2007
An illuminating account by Walter Russell Mead of the birth and rise of the global political and economic system that, sustained first by Britain and now by America, created the modern world.
See more in United States, U.K., Religion
September 2007
In this book, Lincoln contends that the best chance the United States has of ensuring peace and prosperity—for itself and for the rest of the world—will be found at conference tables rather than on the battlefield.
See more in United States, Economics
September 2007
From Mugabe’s Zimbabwe to conflict in the Horn, Africa has moved off the back burner of U.S. foreign policy. To address the growing importance of this region, the Council on Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs, the Council’s flagship magazine, present Beyond Humanitarianism, a citizen’s guide to deconstructing the complex issues and conflicts on the African continent and clarifying what’s at stake for the United States in Africa’s future.
See more in Africa, U.S. Strategy and Politics
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Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
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