The U.S.-UN roundtable meeting series seeks to organize high-level discussions with senior United Nations officials, including officials from member states and regional organizations, on timely issues related to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and international security. A core group of selected invitees from member state governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental communities participate in these discussions. The goal of these meetings is to raise awareness of the role of the United Nations in addressing critical issues of peace and security. This meeting series is cosponsored by CFR's Center for Preventive Action and the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance.

The United States has a fundamental stake in a more effective UN system--that is, improving the UN's many specialized agencies, departments, and programs. In the Making Multilateralism Work workshop series, the International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) program will engage U.S. and UN officials on practical steps to improve the UN system's performance in priority areas, including international peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and human rights. Each workshop will culminate in a meeting report and a briefing memo with recommendations for the U.S. government.

This workshop series is made possible by the generous support of the Robina Foundation.

The Global Stakes in Human Rights Roundtable Series examines the tangible interests of the United States and international community in promoting political, civil, economic, and labor rights.

Bringing together regular participants of diverse sectors and ideological positions, it identifies best practices of international institutions, governments, nonprofits, and corporations to advance democratic pluralism and the rule of law.

This project is made possible by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation.

The UN Roundtable meeting series seeks to organize high-level discussions with senior UN officials, including officials from member states and regional organizations, on timely issues related to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and international security. A core group of selected invitees from member state governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental communities will participate in these discussions. The goal of these not-for-attribution meetings is to raise awareness of the role of the UN in addressing critical issues of peace and security. The UN Roundtable meeting series is cosponsored by the Center for Preventive Action and the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance.

Taking place in New York, this series serves as a venue for policymakers, scholars, legal professionals, and journalists to exchange ideas and reach conclusions on issues at the intersection of law and United States foreign policy. Particular attention is given to matters of international legal policy involving the rule of law.

The United States and the Future of Global Governance roundtable series will focus on core global governance challenges and proposals for fundamental institutional reform. Topics will include overhaul of the UN Security Council; the reform and expansion of the G8; prospects for a global counterterrorism organization; the adaptation of U.S. sovereignty to a global age; the trade-offs between formal institutions and ad hoc coalitions; and the domestic and legislative preconditions for sustained U.S. multilateral engagement. This roundtable series is sponsored by CFR's Program on International Institutions and Global Governance and is supported by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation.

This workshop was made possible by the generous support of the Robina Foundation.

• Meeting Note: U.S. Space Policy and the Challenge of Integrating Emerging Powers (PDF)

• Meeting Note: The Future of U.S.-Pakistan Relations in an Asian Context (PDF)

• Meeting Note: The United States and the Future of Peacekeeping (PDF)

On Wednesday, May 19, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) held a multisession, half-day symposium in Washington, DC, on the implications of rising powers for global governance.

This event was made possible through generous support from the Robina Foundation.

Symposium Summary

Prospects for effective multilateral cooperation on global and transnational problems in the twenty-first century reflect the distinct national interests and world order visions of the great powers. But the identity and number of the world's leading states is changing, creating new challenges and opportunities for global governance. The world order that ultimately results from this transition period will reflect bargaining and negotiations between established powers—including the United States, European Union, and Japan—and emerging ones—most notably China, India, and Brazil. To better understand the priorities of today's emerging powers, and their potential contribution to resolving global challenges, the International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) program of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) held meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, New Delhi and Berlin.

This symposium is on the record.

This event was made possible through generous support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Alcoa Foundation, and the Robina Foundation.

Related Links:

Summary of Sessions I-III

This workshop was made possible through the generous support of CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program and the Robina Foundation.

Summary Report (PDF, 72K)

From the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression to the dangers of nuclear proliferation, from the specter of global warming to the threat of mass atrocities, the United States and the world community confront an array of global challenges requiring robust cooperation. Yet many multilateral frameworks have failed to keep pace with tremendous changes in world politics. Shifts in the global distribution of power, the emergence of influential non-state actors, and the rise of new transnational issues to the top of the global agenda now cloud the utility and effectiveness of international institutions and structures that in some cases date back to the Second World War. On May 7-8, 2009, the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) hosted its first annual conference. Over the course of six sessions the symposium explored the efficacy and strucutre of international institutions and their role in helping U.S. policymakers confront the challenges of the day.

This event was supported by a grant from the Robina Foundation.

Symposium Summary Report (PDF, 137K)

Session 1: American Leadership and Global Governance in an Age of Nonpolarity

Full Video

Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

"I don't think it's sustainable for the United States to continue to think that we can essentially dominate the international landscape -- the way we certainly did during the unipolar moments that we had during the Cold War, say, 9/11.  We need other countries to resolve nearly every issue on our top agenda.  We just can't exist alone anymore.

So, it's a reflection of reality...it's smart politics for us, but also a reflection that we have to govern and lead in a more consensual way."
-R. Nicholas Burns

Session 2: Strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime

Full Video

Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

We do have a very tremendous enforcement problem, and the international community has a miserable track record of late. The Iranian enrichment effort which began as part of a weapons program, continues. The North Korean program continues. Their defiance of the international community, in many respects, continues. The international community cannot afford to have a fifty percent track record in fighting nuclear weapons proliferation. That's not acceptable.
-Christopher Ford

Session 3: The Financial Crisis and Global Financial and Monetary Cooperation

Full Video

Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

"If you're thinking about stimulus globally, stimulus works when you give it to people who need it and are going to spend the money, and poor people really need it. If you're giving money to poor countries, you're going to get more stimulus."
-Sebastian Mallaby

Session 4: Tackling Climate Change

Full Video

Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

"...we will move forward, we will act, but we also believe for the end result, having a treaty and agreement, that others have to move forward as well and make commitments. Because if you only have a certain percentage of countries globally, you're not going to be effectively reducing greenhouse gas"
-Paula J Dobriansky

Session 5: The Use of Force and Accountability in International Law - A U.S. Perspective

Video Highlight

Full Video | Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

"I think the focus should be more on how do we structure our policies within widely accepted traditional frameworks of international law, but develop an approach to it such that if we are in non-compliance with that law, rather than trying to change it so that the law says you are in compliance now for doing X, Y, and Z, we have enough political capital internationally to be able to say to the rest of the world: 'Today we actually understand that your perspective is that we're not in compliance with international law. We may even agree with you on that point. But you know what we've done to get to this point. We had to do this, we think, to save the lives of 30,000 people at risk in northern Sri Lanka, or wherever it might be. And we'll accept the risk politically of how you view our action today.'"
-David J. Scheffer

Session 6: H1N1 - The Global Response to the Swine Influenza

Full Video

Transcript | Audio

Top Takeaway:

"...if we're really serious about protecting humanity we need to better integrate the sort of veterinary side, the animal and wildlife side, of our surveillance, our investigation, our monitoring and our response, with the public health side"
-Laurie A. Garrett

This symposium was made possible through the generous support of the European Commission, CFR's Program on International Institutions and Global Governance, and the Robina Foundation.

Symposium Summary Report (85K)