Infrastructure
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Infrastructure

Building Back Better?
President Biden has announced a $2 trillion plan to upgrade U.S. infrastructure, amid an economic shock caused by the pandemic and concerns over the deterioration of crucial systems.

Backgrounder by James McBride and Anshu Siripurapu April 8, 2021

State and Local Governments

State and Local Officials Webinar: Bridging the Digital Divide

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Kathryn de Wit, project manager of the Broadband Access Initiative at Pew Charitable Trusts, and Francella Ochillo, executive director of Next Century Cities, discuss expanding broadband infrastructure and how communities can work to bridge the digital divide.

Webinar with Kathryn de Wit and Francella Ochillo April 8, 2021 State and Local Conference Calls and Webinars

 

Link

What’s in Biden’s Infrastructure Plan?

via New York Times March 31, 2021

Vaccines
Amir Cohen/Reuters

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

Vaccine Passports: What to Know
Debate is growing over the ethics of vaccine certificates, and the patchwork of different versions could cause a global headache.

In Brief by Claire Felter April 7, 2021

 

Link

The Reality of Vaccine Passports

via New York Times April 7, 2021

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

A Guide to Global COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts
Only a year after the new coronavirus emerged, the first vaccines to protect against it are being administered. But production challenges, vaccine nationalism, and new virus strains are all presenting hurdles.

Backgrounder by Claire Felter March 1, 2021

Global Economy

China

Countering China’s Debt Diplomacy
The Spring Meetings should address BRI’s pitfalls and advance policies to help put BRI countries on the path toward recovery and sustainable growth.

Blog Post by David Sacks and Max Yoeli April 7, 2021 The Internationalist

Economics

Event: The Postpandemic Economic Outlook

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Ahead of the annual IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, please join IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for a discussion of the economic outlook in the post-pandemic world and the actions needed to drive the recovery. Please note that the meeting will begin with a prerecorded address by the IMF Managing Director, followed by live conversation.  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 Kristalina Georgieva March 30, 2021 C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics

International Economic Policy

How the IMF Can Help Fuel a Global Recovery
With the support of its wealthy members, including the United States, the IMF should provide greater financial assistance and more liberal borrowing terms to help the world’s developing countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

by A. Michael Spence, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Jayati Ghosh April 6, 2021

India

Democracy

What Led to India’s Democratic Backsliding?

Podcast
In this special series of The President’s Inbox on the future of democracy, James M. Lindsay speaks with experts to discuss whether and where democratic governance is faltering around the world. This week, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, leading scholar of political theory, constitutional law, international affairs, and society and politics in India, breaks down the health of democracy in India. This episode is part of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Pratap Bhanu Mehta March 30, 2021 The President's Inbox

Democracy

Report: COVID-19’s Effects on Five Democracies
Beyond devastating public health, COVID-19 has worsened socioeconomic inequality, possibly for years to come, and exacerbated democratic regression in the United States, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Report by Joshua Kurlantzick March 31, 2021 Asia Program

 

Link

The Decay of Indian Democracy

via Foreign Affairs March 18, 2021

Syria

Middle East and North Africa

Nobody Knows Why Syria Matters
Why is the United States still struggling to figure out what to do about the Assad regime?

by Steven A. Cook April 2, 2021 Middle East Program

Syria

Syria’s Descent Into Horror

by Zachary Laub March 17, 2021

Syria

Global Conflict Tracker: Civil War in Syria

with Center for Preventive Action July 18, 2018

U.S. Military

Defense and Security

The Marine Corps’ Shift: What to Know
After decades of sustained land operations, the U.S. Marine Corps is looking back out to sea, embracing its roots as a naval expeditionary force.

by Walker M. Field March 31, 2021

South Korea

Will the New U.S.-South Korea Deal Boost East Asian Security?
With fresh agreement on sharing costs for the nearly thirty thousand U.S. troops in South Korea, the Biden administration can now focus on bolstering the alliance and addressing challenges posed by China and North Korea.

In Brief by Scott A. Snyder March 11, 2021 Asia Program

China

China’s Modernizing Military
The People’s Liberation Army is aiming to become the dominant force in the Asia-Pacific, strengthening China’s hand toward Taiwan and international disputes in the South China Sea.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland February 5, 2020

Events
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Supply Chains

Global Supply Chains in the Era of COVID-19

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Our panelists examine the vulnerabilities in global supply chains exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, resiliency options such as supplier diversification, reshoring critical industries, and stockpiling vital supplies, and the effect of such steps on international trade.

Virtual Event with Edward Alden, Emily J. Blanchard and Philip J. Venables March 31, 2021

Women and Women's Rights

Virtual Roundtable: Human Trafficking and Its Sustainable Development Implications

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Webinar with James Cockayne and Alex Thier March 23, 2021

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

CEO Speaker Series With Scott Kirby of United Airlines

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Scott Kirby discusses the implications of the coronavirus pandemic on the travel industry, United Airlines’ commitment to sustainability and other company-wide initiatives, and lessons learned throughout his career. The CEO Speaker Series is a unique forum for leading global CEOs to share their insights on issues at the center of commerce and foreign policy, and to discuss the changing role of business globally.

Virtual Event with J. Scott Kirby April 6, 2021 CEO Speaker Series

Politics and Government

Home and Abroad Series Public Forum: The Future of Democracy

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CFR’s inaugural Home and Abroad series public forum on the state of democracy globally discusses the role democracy should occupy in U.S. foreign policy, and actions policymakers, business leaders, civil society, and citizens should consider taking and supporting to promote democratic norms, values, and institutions here and around the world.   This meeting is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.

Virtual Event with Danielle Allen, Richard N. Haass and Yascha Mounk March 30, 2021 Home and Abroad Series

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Expert Spotlight

Stephen Sestanovich
Stephen Sestanovich

George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies

Russia Europe and Eurasia U.S. Foreign Policy

Jerome A. Cohen
Jerome A. Cohen

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia Studies

China Asia International Law

Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman

Shelby Cullom and Kathryn W. Davis Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security

Terrorism and Counterterrorism Wars and Conflict Intelligence

The War on Terror 20 Years on: Crossroads or Cul-De-Sac?

Via Tony Blair Institute for Global Change March 18, 2021

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Explainers

The Arab Spring at Ten Years: What’s the Legacy of the Uprisings?
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
The Arab Spring at Ten Years: What’s the Legacy of the Uprisings?
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
The Arab Spring at Ten Years: What’s the Legacy of the Uprisings?
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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Middle East and North Africa The Arab Spring at Ten Years: What’s the Legacy of the Uprisings?

Ten years on, the lives of people in Arab Spring countries have improved in certain aspects but worsened in others. CFR.org visualizes the changes in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.

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

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Link

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

Via FOX & Friends April 3, 2021

Richard N. Haass
Link

Haass: The Real Test of Bipartisanship Will Be on Economic and Domestic Policies

Via Conversations With Jim Zirin March 31, 2021

Thomas J. Bollyky
Link

Bollyky: The Inequity of Vaccine Distribution Extends the Pandemic Globally

Via NPR's Consider This March 29, 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

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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