Food and Water Security
Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Food and Water Security

The Growing Global Challenge of Water Stress
Water scarcity threatens the health and development of communities everywhere. Climate change is intensifying the problem, pushing governments to find new ways to address it.

Backgrounder by Claire Felter and Kali Robinson April 22, 2021

Food and Water Security

Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World
Global food insecurity has surged amid the coronavirus pandemic, threatening to worsen humanitarian crises and spur further mass migration.

by Amelia Cheatham, Claire Felter and Sabine Baumgartner September 21, 2020

Health

Let’s Talk About Toilets

Podcast
Fifty-five percent of the global population lacks access to safe sanitation, a deadly global health disparity that rarely finds its way into the spotlight. In this episode, we examine the scope of the problem, and the cultural challenges that have made it surprisingly difficult to fix.

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Tom Slaymaker, Sangita Vyas and Brooke Yamakoshi November 11, 2020 Why It Matters

Myanmar
Dawei Watch/Reuters

Southeast Asia

ASEAN’s Summit on Myanmar: What to Expect
Initial signs do not offer much hope that this meeting of Southeast Asian leaders will change the situation in Myanmar.

Blog Post by Joshua Kurlantzick April 22, 2021 Asia Unbound

Southeast Asia

What Is ASEAN?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization that brings together disparate neighbors to address economic, security, and political issues, but the group’s impact remains limited.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland and Eleanor Albert November 24, 2020

 

Link

ASEAN Must Use Weekend Summit to Save Myanmar

via Nikkei April 23, 2021

Central Africa

Chad

The Unfolding Consequences of Deby’s Death

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin April 22, 2021 Africa in Transition

Chad

Deby’s Death Heightens Uncertainty in Chad

Blog Post by John Campbell April 21, 2021 Africa in Transition

Sub-Saharan Africa

Event: How to Approach Sub-Saharan Africa

Play
Panelists discuss U.S. policy priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa and what changes to expect from the Biden administration. The Transition 2021 series examines the major foreign policy issues confronting the Biden administration.  

Webinar with Johnnie Carson, Michelle Gavin and Monde Muyangwa April 20, 2021

Climate Change

Climate Change

How Have Climate Agreements Fared?
International efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say countries aren’t doing enough to limit dangerous global warming.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland January 25, 2021

Climate Change

Link

The Question That Haunts Biden: Can the U.S. Deliver on Climate?

with Alice C. Hill via The Progressive Post April 19, 2021

 

Link

Competition With China Can Save the Planet

via Foreign Affairs April 13, 2021

Rule of Law

United States

What Are Police Like in Other Countries?
Recent killings by U.S. officers have sparked widespread calls for police reform and an end to systemic racism. Here’s how U.S. policing compares with other countries’ approaches.

Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham and Lindsay Maizland April 21, 2021

 

Link

U.S. Attorney General Announces Probe of Minneapolis Police

via Washington Post April 21, 2021

 

Link

Global Lessons in Police Reform

via Foreign Affairs September 1, 2020

India

China

Preparing for Heightened China-India Tensions
China-India tensions remain high. To reduce the threat of conflict, Daniel S. Markey recommends the U.S. boost aid to India and begin working with like-minded partners to develop a coordinated response strategy.

Contingency Planning Memorandum by Daniel S. Markey April 19, 2021 Center for Preventive Action

 

Link

China’s Unrestricted War on India

with Brahma Chellaney via Foreign Affairs April 2, 2021

India

Timeline: U.S.-India Relations
Since India’s independence, ties with the United States have weathered Cold War–era distrust and estrangement over India’s nuclear program. Relations have warmed in recent years and cooperation has strengthened across a range of economic and political areas.

Timeline by Eleanor Albert, Beina Xu, Lindsay Maizland, Kevin Lizarazo and Jeremy Sherlick November 4, 2020

Events
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Play

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics With Lawrence H. Summers

Play
Lawrence H. Summers discusses the U.S. economic recovery, the Biden administration's stimulus and infrastructure plans, possible inflation risks, and the implications for the global economy. The C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics brings the world's foremost economic policymakers and scholars to address members on current topics in international economics and U.S. monetary policy. This meeting series is presented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

Virtual Event with Lawrence H. Summers April 21, 2021 C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics

Diplomacy and International Institutions

Lessons Learned With Thomas Donilon

Play
Thomas Donilon discusses his distinguished career in business and government, including his role as national security advisor under President Barack Obama, working with three U.S. presidents, serving at the state department, and his current roles at BlackRock and the Council on Foreign Relations. Lessons Learned is a roundtable series, open to term members and younger life members, which features distinguished speakers who reflect on their career experiences, the choices they made along the way, and the lessons they have learned from them.

Webinar with Thomas E. Donilon April 7, 2021

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

Preventing the Next Pandemic: Leveraging Technology for Early Warning of Spreading Infectious Illness.

Play
The rapid rate of infection in the ongoing pandemic is catalyzing technological innovation to prevent the next potential pandemic from ever reaching a global scale. Technology is the essential tool for early testing, detection, and tracking. Through the use of modern data science techniques to develop epidemiological forecast models and personal technology such as smart thermometers and wearables to track trends across regions, preventative measures are more powerful than ever before. Our speaker Inder Singh, founder and CEO of Kinsa Inc., discusses the current and changing landscape of technology and infectious disease prevention.

Webinar with Inder Singh April 14, 2021

Women and Women's Rights

COVID-19's Impact on Women

Play

Virtual Event with Julia Smith and Clare Wenham April 14, 2021

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Explainers

How the World Has Learned to Grieve in a Pandemic
Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World
The Coronavirus Pandemic, With Tom Bollyky
Conflicts to Watch in 2021
China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
How the World Has Learned to Grieve in a Pandemic
Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World
The Coronavirus Pandemic, With Tom Bollyky
Conflicts to Watch in 2021
China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
How the World Has Learned to Grieve in a Pandemic
Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World
The Coronavirus Pandemic, With Tom Bollyky
Conflicts to Watch in 2021
China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang

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Health How the World Has Learned to Grieve in a Pandemic

This Webby-nominated feature takes a look at how grieving practices worldwide have been shaped by the pandemic.

Food and Water Security Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World

Global food insecurity has surged amid the coronavirus pandemic, threatening to worsen humanitarian crises and spur further mass migration.

Public Health Threats and Pandemics The Coronavirus Pandemic, With Tom Bollyky

Thomas J. Bollyky, director of CFR’s Global Health program and senior fellow for global health, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the World Health Organization’s newly declared pandemic, COVID-19.

Conflict Prevention Conflicts to Watch in 2021

In CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey, U.S. foreign policy experts assess the likelihood and impact of thirty potential conflicts that could emerge or escalate in the coming year.

China China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang

More than a million Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in China’s Xinjiang region. The reeducation camps are just one part of the government’s crackdown on Uyghurs.

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Experts in the News

Richard N. Haass
Link

Haass: The Costs of Staying in Afghanistan Are Far Less Than the Costs of Leaving

Via MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports April 21, 2021

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
Link

Kurtz-Phelan: The U.S. Must Bring a More Competitive Edge to the Battle With China

Via Bloomberg Surveillance April 20, 2021

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Link

Lemmon: Women’s Equality Was Launched on the Ashes of the Fight Against ISIS

Via FOX & Friends April 3, 2021

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Featured Publications

Wars and Conflict

Nonstate Warfare
Stephen Biddle explains how nonstate military strategies overturn traditional perspectives on warfare.

Book by Stephen Biddle April 6, 2021 National Security and Defense Program

China

The United States, China, and Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War
To preserve peace in the Taiwan Strait, Robert D. Blackwill and Philip Zelikow propose the United States make clear that it will not change Taiwan’s status, yet will work with allies to plan for Chinese aggression and help Taiwan defend itself.

Council Special Report by Robert D. Blackwill and Philip Zelikow February 11, 2021 U.S. Foreign Policy Program

Iran

The Last Shah
Ray Takeyh provides new interpretations of many key events—including the 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini—significantly revising our understanding of the United States’ and Iran’s complex and difficult history.

Book by Ray Takeyh January 26, 2021

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