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MUST READS
A sortable index of the best online analyses and inquiries on foreign policy.
November 22, 2009
Lally Weymouth interviews Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, the Copenhagen Climate Summit, trade, and India-Pakistan relations.
November 18, 2009
Joseph Cirincione outlines five myths that must be dispelled before a strategy to contain Iran's nuclear program can move forward with success.
See more in Iran, Diplomacy, Proliferation, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 18, 2009
Daniel Blumenthal criticizes President Obama's joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao, saying that the U.S. gave up too much ground on key issues such as Taiwan and India's role in the region.
See more in East Asia, Northeast Asia, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 15, 2009
John Yoo explains why the civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will "cripple" America's fight against terrorism.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, Terrorism
November 12, 2009
Roger Cohen raises questions about the U.S. government's expanding use of robotic warfare.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, Technology and Foreign Policy, Counterterrorism
November 11, 2009
The U.S. Treasury secretary and the finance ministers from Indonesia and Singapore outline the steps needed to ensure robust trade between the United States and Asia and spur growth among APEC member states.
See more in Asia, Economics, Emerging Markets, Trade
November 10, 2009
Robert Kagan and Dan Blumenthal argue that "strategic reassurance" vis-a-vis China is not in the interest of the United States and its allies.
See more in China, Diplomacy, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 9, 2009
Spiegel Online interviews Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia's relationship with the European Union, natural resource management, human rights, and corruption.
See more in Russian Fed., Democracy and Human Rights, Economics, Diplomacy
November 8, 2009
Thomas Friedman argues that it is time for the Obama administration to take a "radically new approach" towards Israel and Palestine by halting the peace process altogether.
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority, Peacemaking
November 5, 2009
Paul K. Kerr explains in this Congressional Research Service Report how several steps impede U.S.-India nuclear trade, including U.S. firm reluctance and India's adherence to IAEA safeguards.
See more in United States, India, Proliferation
November 5, 2009
Marifeli Perez-Stable discusses the leakage by El País of Obama's message to Raul Castro, warning that if the administration doesn't "break the tired two-step" of Cuban-American relations soon, it may be too late.
See more in Cuba, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Public Diplomacy
November 4, 2009
Timothy Garton Ash examines global politics twenty years since 1989 and questions whether today's Europe, ""mired in the narcissism of minor difference," can recapture the strategic boldness and historical imagination of 1989.
See more in EU, International Organizations, Society and Culture
November 2, 2009
Peter Galbraith reflects on the declaration of Karzai's victory as a "farce and failure," warns that Afghanistan has lost its legitimacy in the West, and grimly questions the purpose now of sending more troops.
See more in Afghanistan, Elections
October 30, 2009
A report from an independent task force convened by the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation argues in favor of economic engagement with North Korea that could change North Korea's "confrontational foreign policy" and its own "self interest."
See more in United States, North Korea
October 29, 2009
The Economist explores Turkey's new strategy of "reversing antagonism" with its Arab neighbors and puts it into the context of regional power vacuum.
See more in Turkey, Middle East
October 27, 2009
This Journal of Energy Security article reviews the changing energy security environment and the effect of energy infrastructure attacks on crude oil pricing.
See more in Economics, Energy Security, Targets for Terrorists
October 27, 2009
With waning public support at home, writes Mort Rosenblum, European leaders face the challenge of standing firm to their commitment in Afghanistan.
See more in Afghanistan, NATO, Defense Strategy
October 27, 2009
Seth Roberts writes that Moscow's close economic ties with Tehran will make it hard to convince Putin to put pressure on Iran's nuclear program.
See more in Russian Fed., Iran, Arms Control and Disarmament
October 25, 2009
Gary Sick comments on the sentencing of his colleague, Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbaksh, and calls accusations against Tajbaksh "deliberately false."
See more in Iran, Democracy and Human Rights
June 2009
Don Rassler's analysis of al-Qaeda's role in Pakistan reveals that the organization is "acting to shape Pakistan's militant environment and foster jihad against the Pakistani government."
See more in Pakistan, Terrorism, Terrorist Organizations
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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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