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Next year’s global summits will continue to play a crucial role in bringing world leaders together to drive commitments and coordinate responses to pressing international issues.
The Group of Twenty, an informal gathering of many of the world’s largest economies, is the premier global forum for discussing economic issues. But it has faced divisions over trade, climate change, and the war in Ukraine.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The alliance is bolstering its military deterrent in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expanded to include Finland.
Africa
The shifting politics of Moscow’s Wagner Group and fallout from the war in Ukraine could change Russia’s continental calculus.
In the wake of reports of a Wagner Group plot in Chad, Washington should resist the urge to resurrect Cold War-era partnerships.
Russia’s Wagner Group has intervened in the affairs of several African countries, providing military and security support while expanding Moscow’s influence across the continent.
AI
Artificial intelligence breakthroughs promise unprecedented opportunity but also economic, political, and social disruption. Experts say AI needs oversight to ensure the changes it engenders are for the better.
Billions of people will take to the polls next year, marking the world’s largest-ever electoral field. But this historic scale is not the only thing that will make 2024 unique. As new threats like deep fakes become cheaper and more widespread, these upcoming elections could serve as a test run for democracy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. What risks does AI pose to elections next year? And will a surge in AI-powered disinformation change the nature of democratic elections?
Technology and foreign policy experts discuss the paradoxical nature of artificial intelligence’s extraordinary growth opportunities and its significant potential for disruption and risk, as well as the necessity of establishing new governance mechanisms to both control and harness this potentially defining technology.
United States
Declining recruitment numbers are vexing nearly all branches of the U.S. military. Removing a medical bottleneck could dramatically streamline recruiting for applicants and personnel.
The United States military has a manpower problem and it’s not just due to today’s recruiting shortages. It’s time for a comprehensive plan to solve the personnel shortfalls.
Deployed around the world, the armed forces are a pillar of U.S. power and influence abroad. But many civilians are unfamiliar with their composition. How much does the military resemble U.S. society?
Drug Policy
Overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the leading cause of death among young Americans and a threat to U.S. public health, the economy, and national security. Combating the epidemic requires addressing China’s and Mexico’s roles in the global fentanyl supply chain.
Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Opioid addiction has become one of the United States’ biggest killers, endangering public health, the economy, and national security. But closing the floodgates on fentanyl poses a significant foreign policy challenge.
Over the past few years, a new threat has emerged as a leading cause of death in the United States: fentanyl. Yet even as the drug wreaks havoc on Americans lives, preventing its flow into the United States is complicated, partially because of the supply’s overseas origins, which is often China. What is China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis?
Democracy
Dozens of countries, constituting half the world’s population, will hold elections in 2024. Here are ten to watch.
Events
Panelists discuss Israel’s incursion into Southern Gaza, military tactics thus far, and potential exit strategies for the Israeli army.
The national security trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily and pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, is scheduled to take place this December. Please join our speaker, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, accomplished human rights lawyer leading the international legal team defending Mr. Lai and an expert in accountability for crimes against journalists, to discuss the case of Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily and the wider ramifications for media freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong and across the region.
As military operations resume in Gaza, panelists analyze the application of the laws of armed conflict, ethical and moral considerations, and the complexity of applying these principles in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.
At COP28 in Dubai, negotiators once again focus on increasing climate finance as the world struggles to manage rising temperatures, historic natural disasters, and environmental depletion. Panelists explore innovative finance-based solutions to protect and take account of the economic value of natural capital to advance the goals of the Paris agreement and other key international efforts.
Expert Spotlight
Scott A. Snyder
Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy
Ray Takeyh
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Bruce Hoffman
Shelby Cullom and Kathryn W. Davis Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
Terrorism and Counterterrorism Wars and Conflict Intelligence
Kenneth S. Rogoff
Senior Fellow for Economics
Catherine Powell
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Sebastian Mallaby
Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
Stephen Sestanovich
George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Paul B. Stares
General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action
Gideon Rose
Mary and David Boies Distinguished Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy
Wars and Conflict Middle East and North Africa Southeast Asia
Brad W. Setser
Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow
Ebenezer Obadare
Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies
Christopher M. Tuttle
Senior Fellow and Director of the Renewing America Initiative
Congresses and Parliaments Polls and Public Opinion Democracy
Benn Steil
Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics
Jendayi E. Frazer
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies
Sub-Saharan Africa U.S. Foreign Policy Politics and Government
Thomas J. Bollyky
Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development and Director of the Global Health Program
John B. Bellinger III
Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law
Zongyuan Zoe Liu
Maurice R. Greenberg Fellow for China Studies
Robert D. Blackwill
Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy
David P. Fidler
Senior Fellow for Global Health and Cybersecurity
Shannon K. O'Neil
Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies
Ann Norris
Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Steven A. Cook
Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies and Director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars
Linda Robinson
Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Robert E. Rubin
Chairman Emeritus; Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
Alice C. Hill
David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment
Roger W. Ferguson Jr.
Steven A. Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics
Sheila A. Smith
John E. Merow Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Studies
Explainers
Tracking China’s Control of Overseas Ports
This interactive map tracks China’s growing maritime influence through investments in strategic overseas ports, plotting port location alongside information on Chinese ownership and military usability.
