World powers continue to punish North Korea with economic sanctions, but it's unclear if they'll be enough to pressure Pyongyang back into denuclearization talks.
Damir Sagolj/Reuters
North Korea has embarked on an accelerated buildup of weapons of mass destruction and modernization of its already large conventional force.
Kurds
Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters
As Iraq’s Kurds vote on independence, explore the CFR InfoGuide tracing the history of Kurds across the Mideast.
Iraqi Kurds have enjoyed virtual autonomy for more than two decades, but formal independence might finally be in reach due to changing realities facing Iraq and Turkey, writes CFR’s Steven A. Cook.
Iraq continues to bedevil American foreign policy, and the world. Now the Kurds will vote on their own state.
United Nations
Many UN agencies, programs, and missions receive crucial funding from the United States. President Trump’s budget proposal could jeopardize their work.
Myanmar
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group, are fleeing persecution in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, fueling a migration crisis in Southeast Asia.
Disasters
Stephen Flynn, founding director of Northeastern University's Global Resilience Institute and former CFR fellow, joins Robert McMahon to discuss U.S. disaster resilience.
Germany
Germany’s elections will determine whether Chancellor Angela Merkel remains in power, with ramifications for the migration crisis, the future of the European Union, and U.S.-German relations.
CFR on the Record
Secretary Videgaray Caso discusses the future of U.S.-Mexican relations and the challenges facing President Peña Nieto's administration.
President Michelle Bachelet discusses the importance of Chile's regional integration in South America.
Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit discusses the state of affairs in the Middle East.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani discusses the challenges facing Afghanistan, including its fight against terror groups, and his country’s relationship with the United States.
Expert Spotlight
Explainers
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United States
Debating the Legality of the Post-9/11 ‘Forever War’
The Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, has been cited by the Bush and Obama administrations as sanctioning far-ranging military operations. Four scholars offer their perspectives on the AUMF’s legacy fifteen years on.
Brazil
Deforestation in the Amazon
The Amazon rainforest absorbs more greenhouse gases than any other tropical forest. But in Brazil, deforestation threatens biodiversity and contributes to climate change. Explore the Emmy-nominated InfoGuide.
Syria’s Civil War
Who’s Who in Syria’s Civil War
Syria’s civil war is being fought on multiple fronts by an array of combatants whose alliances, capabilities, and in some cases motives have been in flux.
Labor and Employment
U.S. Temporary Foreign Worker Programs
Hundreds of thousands of migrants come to the United States each year for work, but Washington has struggled to balance the shifting needs of industry with the concerns of the domestic labor force.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Eastern Congo
Over the past two decades, the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have experienced fighting that has killed more than five million people. As the eastern Congo struggles to overcome years of regional war, its hard-won progress remains at risk.
Experts in the News
Featured Publications
A personal story of the development of U.S. human rights policy in the last forty years and an argument, both "realist" and principled, for supporting the expansion of democracy in the Middle East.
A sweeping narrative account of the last five years in the Middle East and a timely argument of how and why the Arab uprisings failed.
CFR President Richard N. Haass argues for an updated global operating system to address challenges from terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons to climate change and cyberspace.