"Principled compromise, prioritizing China, compassion, democracy-support, addressing detainee and drone policy as blemishes on our brand, and re-balancing soft and hard power tools ought to be touchstones of a post-2012 GOP foreign policy," says Mark P. Lagon.
A broad-sweeping look at international efforts to combat climate change. This is part of the Global Governance Monitor, an interactive feature tracking multilateral approaches to several global challenges.
Stewart M. Patrick and Emma Welch assess the debate over an international conventional arms trade treaty and find that U.S. domestic objections are unfounded.
The upcoming NATO summit will include talks on the endgame in Afghanistan, a new smart defense doctrine, and bolstering global partnerships, all of it colored by fundamental questions about the role and mission of the alliance, says CFR's Stewart Patrick.
After emerging from the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed, Brazil's inevitable entrance into the club of major global powers is increasingly accepted. CFR's Stewart M. Patrick and Carlos Simonsen Leal of the Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation discuss Brazil's perspective on global finance and international security.
Speaker: Aung San Suu Kyi Presider: Paula J. Dobriansky
In a meeting conducted via video conference, Aung San Suu Kyi discusses recent changes in Myanmar, her decision to rejoin the political system, and Myanmar-U.S. relations.
In this Markets and Democracy Brief, CFR's Mark Lagon argues for a more consistent approach to human rights promotion than the United States has often pursued in the past.
Mark Lagon argues that President Obama's approach to foreign affairs suggests that while the president may be for “soft power,” he is not so sure about America's moral authority to project it.
President Obama's speech to the UK parliament was a proper reminder of the importance of the transatlantic alliance to global governance amid the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East, writes CFR's Stewart Patrick.
Stewart M. Patrick says U.S. national security officials should focus on strong developing countries--and not failed states--as sources of transnational threats.
President Obama has staked a proper middle course on military intervention in Libya, boosted enormously by burden sharing with coalition allies, says CFR's Stewart Patrick.
In this Markets and Democracy Brief, Mark Lagon examines the uneven history of promoting democracy in U.S. foreign policy and offers lessons for how the United States can best advance democracy today.
Events in Egypt highlight the need for the U.S. government to drop double standards on governance and human rights issues when dealing with friendly dictatorships, writes CFR's Mark Lagon.
Empty chairs at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for China's Liu Xiaobo and a top UN diplomat demonstrate China's power and influence, along with its vulnerability on human rights issues, says CFR's Mark Lagon.
President Obama's Asia trip was marked by trade-related letdowns, missed opportunities, and fresh reminders that divergences of interests could be hard to finesse, say four CFR experts.
The Obama administration should follow its endorsement of India's bid for UN Security Council membership by initiating a plan for Council expansion based on clear criteria for permanent membership, writes CFR's Stewart Patrick.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
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.
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