It's important to evaluate foreign aid programs and address questions of accountability and value, especially at a time of concern about the economy, but cuts or reductions in foreign assistance support aren't merited, says CFR's Laurie Garrett.

Arizona's new immigration law is unwise, unworkable, and probably unconstitutional. And who's to blame? Actually, the rest of the country, writes CFR's Edward Alden.

The U.S.-India relationship is troublingly adrift over disagreements on U.S. "AfPak" policy and logjams on expanding trade, says CFR's Evan Feigenbaum.

The $9.9 billion pledged toward Haitian reconstruction at last week's donors' conference will be ineffective without insisting that funding for housing and jobs be wedded to overall goals for Haitian political and economic stability, says CFR expert Kara McDonald.

Healthcare reform has been seen internationally as a test of President Obama's mettle, writes CFR's global health expert Laurie Garrett, and GOP challenges will force it to be a White House preoccupation until after the November elections.

International pressure must continue on China to allow its currency to appreciate, which would provide an important boost to the global economic recovery, writes CFR's Steven Dunaway.

Congress' call for a new federal agency to oversee insurers still relies too heavily on ill-equipped state regulators to stem risks posed by bond insurers, traders, and reinsurers, writes CFR's Marc Levinson.

CFR's Edward Alden says U.S. response to recent air-security failures should be to improve existing measures that identify genuine threats instead of imposing "knee-jerk initiatives that look tough" but may be less effective.

Amid the global economic downturn, the World Trade Organization has been reduced to a talking shop as the prospects for a new global trade deal grow dimmer, says CFR's Marc Levinson.

China's newly announced goal for cutting carbon intensity reflects important Chinese policy shifts of recent years, but fails to offer significant new measures to cut emissions, writes CFR's Michael Levi.

China's breathtaking economic growth and massive imbalances with the United States have given rise to some myths about the nature of the two powers' relationship that can impede sound policymaking, writes CFR's Steven Dunaway.

China has benefited enormously from Western-dominated global structures, writes CFR's Stewart Patrick, and Washington now expects it to contribute more significantly to world order.

China's continued impressive growth is by no means assured, writes CFR's Steven Dunaway. Without basic changes to its economic model, including rule of law reforms, it could face considerable struggles, he says.

The main U.S. bill on confronting climate change should adjust the way it proposes cushioning some vulnerable U.S. industries to avoid stirring protectionist fears, writes CFR's Michael Levi.

CFR International Affairs Fellow Brian P. Klein says that China's stimulus will not have a significant short-term impact on Japan's ailing economy.

While some G-20 leaders want to map out a "New Deal for the Twenty-First Century," CFR's Stewart Patrick says they risk spawning a twenty-first century version of the Great Depression if they don't agree on coordinated short-term steps to stimulate economic activity and to ensure both credit and trade flow freely.

CFR Senior Fellow Laurie Garrett says the recent Davos economic forum failed to provide any blue print for reconciling the financial crisis and development aid needs. She predicts donor nations will "face tough sells, trying to convince their voters that it is vital to spend money feeding starving masses abroad."

CFR's J. Anthony Holmes writes that the global economic decline will slow the pace of both foreign direct and portfolio investment in Africa.

Russia's toughest economic challenge since the collapse of 1998 could lead it to a less confrontational foreign policy and a loss of international standing, writes CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

CFR Senior Fellow Sheila A. Smith says Japan is well positioned to offer leadership on coping with the global financial crisis. But a domestic political stalemate, she says, threatens its ability to act.