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President Trump sent U.S. troops to the border with Mexico to supplement the work of authorities there. President Biden pledges a new approach as pressures mount along the boundary.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Russia-Ukraine tensions and Iran’s growing nuclear program are among the top five foreign policy stories to follow this year.
In this special year-end episode of The World Next Week, James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon are joined by Shannon K. O’Neil, CFR vice president, deputy director of studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller senior fellow for Latin America Studies. They discuss this year’s historic elections and the state of democracy in Latin America and beyond, the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, and U.S. President Joe Biden’s first year in office.
As 2021 comes to a close, here are the top ten most notable world events of the past year.
Military Operations
The military has vaccinated the vast majority of service members, but pockets of hesitancy remain. What’s driving the reluctance, and what should be done to overcome it?
COVID-19
The swift development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 was an unprecedented scientific achievement. But production challenges, vaccine nationalism, and variants such as omicron have all presented hurdles.
2021 in Review
Numerous countries will hold elections in 2022. Here are ten to watch.
CFR experts highlight the most important trends they will be following in the coming years.
As 2021 comes to a close, here are ten notable historical anniversaries to mark in 2022.
Ukraine
U.S. officials have preserved NATO unity in the face of Russian military threats, but they have not yet defined a clear negotiating agenda—or put Moscow on the rhetorical defensive.
Mary Elise Sarotte, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis distinguished professor of historical studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what the United States got right, and wrong, in its relations with Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Federal Reserve
Over the past decade, the Fed has deployed trillions of dollars in stimulus while expanding its regulatory oversight. The central bank is back on the front lines to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
The labor force participation rate and long-term inflation expectations are the variables the Federal Reserve seems to be assessing as it makes monetary policy.
Events
Robots and Artificial Intelligence
Henry Kissinger and Eric Schmidt discuss the transformational power of artificial intelligence.
The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture on Science and Technology addresses issues at the intersection of science, technology, and foreign policy. It has been endowed in perpetuity through a gift from CFR members Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener.
Diplomacy and International Institutions
Jake Sullivan discusses the Biden administration’s work over the first year in office to address the current and future challenges facing the United States.
Expert Spotlight
Laura D. Taylor-Kale
Fellow for Innovation and Economic Competitiveness
Max Boot
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Stewart M. Patrick
James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program
Global Governance Diplomacy and International Institutions International Organizations
Benn Steil
Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics
Robert E. Rubin
Chairman Emeritus; Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
Adam Segal
Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program
Thomas J. Bollyky
Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development and Director of the Global Health Program
Stephen Biddle
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Defense Policy
Shannon K. O'Neil
Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies
Stephen Sestanovich
George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Henri J. Barkey
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Sheila A. Smith
John E. Merow Senior Fellow for Asia Pacific Studies
Paul B. Stares
General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action
Ray Takeyh
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Matthew C. Waxman
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy
Robert D. Blackwill
Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy
John B. Bellinger III
Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law
Roger W. Ferguson Jr.
Steven A. Tananbaum Distinguished Fellow for International Economics
Catherine Powell
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Jendayi E. Frazer
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies
Sub-Saharan Africa U.S. Foreign Policy Politics and Government
Scott A. Snyder
Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy
David P. Fidler
Senior Fellow for Global Health and Cybersecurity
Jennifer Hillman
Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy
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
Bruce Hoffman
Shelby Cullom and Kathryn W. Davis Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
Terrorism and Counterterrorism Wars and Conflict Intelligence
Explainers
The Economics of Hosting the Olympic Games
The costs of hosting the Olympics have skyrocketed, while the economic benefits are far from clear. This has led to fewer states interested in playing host and a search for options to lighten the burdens of staging the big event.
Featured Publications
The astonishingly frank and intimate story of Silicon Valley’s dominant venture capital firms—and how their strategies and fates have shaped the path of innovation and the global economy.
This compelling book reveals China’s ambitious new strategy to reclaim the country’s past glory and reshape the geostrategic landscape in dramatic new ways.
A perceptive and provocative history of Henry Kissinger’s diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East that illuminates the unique challenges and barriers Kissinger and his successors have faced in their attempts to broker peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.