Council on Foreign Relations

Sergei Mikhailichenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Putin vs. Navalny

President Vladimir Putin’s regime remains strong, but nationwide demonstrations in support of Alexei Navalny are the most serious challenge to it in years. Can the protesters prevail?

In Brief by Stephen Sestanovich January 25, 2021

Pro-Navalny Protests Sweep Russia in Challenge to Putin

via New York Times January 23, 2020

Russia

Why It Matters Podcast: Russia

There is no country quite like Russia. Despite having a relatively small economy, it has been able to maintain global influence through a range of unconventional tactics. How has Vladimir Putin played his country’s weak hand so effectively? And what is his goal?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Jill Dougherty, Stephen Sestanovich and Angela Stent January 19, 2021 Why It Matters

Vaccines

Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

What to Know About the Vaccine Rollout

Several countries stand out for their success in delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, while most of the world is struggling to ramp up immunizations.

In Brief by Claire Felter January 22, 2021

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

How to Distribute 100 Million Vaccine Doses in 100 Days

with Thomas J. Bollyky, Jennifer Nuzzo and Prasith Baccam via New York Times January 20, 2021

Global Health and the Biden Administration

with David P. Fidler via Think Global Health January 21, 2021

Transition 2021

The Biden-Harris Inauguration: A Tense Tableau

The inauguration of President Joe Biden was unlike any U.S. power transition in modern times, providing stark imagery of a country at a crossroads.

In Brief by Jonathan Masters January 21, 2021

Transition 2021

An Appeal to a Divided America

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay January 20, 2021 The Water's Edge

Transition 2021

Podcast: What Awaits Biden on Capitol Hill?

Algene T. Sajery, founder and chief executive officer of Catalyst Global Strategies, and Christopher M. Tuttle, managing director at the Council, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss what challenges the incoming Biden administration will likely face in Congress.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay, Algene T. Sajery and Christopher M. Tuttle January 19, 2021 The President's Inbox

Treaties and Agreements

Transition 2021

Biden’s First Foreign Policy Actions

Biden has moved to rejoin the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization. They likely won’t be the last international agreements and institutions that the United States reenters.

In Brief by Lindsay Maizland January 21, 2021

United Nations

How Biden Can Prove That ‘America Is Back’ at the United Nations

Biden should reinvigorate American leadership within the United Nations and invest more energy and resources into multilateral diplomacy.

by Stewart M. Patrick November 23, 2020 International Institutions and Global Governance Program

The Last Chance for American Internationalism

with Hal Brands via Foreign Affairs January 20, 2021

Domestic Terrorism

A Shot Heard Around the World

via Council of Councils January 15, 2021

United States

Domestic Terrorism Strikes U.S. Capitol, and Democracy

The breaching of the U.S. Capitol and disruption of the presidential succession by a pro-Trump mob has inflicted lasting damage on the nation’s image as a bastion of democracy. The country should now dedicate itself to rebuilding civil discourse.

In Brief by Bruce Hoffman January 7, 2021

Transition 2021

Nigerian Reaction to the Assault on the U.S. Capitol

Blog Post by John Campbell January 7, 2021 Africa in Transition

Foreign Policy

United States

Trump’s Foreign Policy Moments

Donald J. Trump’s presidency has marked a profound departure from U.S. leadership in areas such as trade and diplomacy, as well as an across-the-board toughening of immigration policies.

Timeline by Ankit Panda, Rocio Cara Labrador and Amelia Cheatham December 12, 2017

Repairing the World

with Richard N. Haass via Foreign Affairs November 9, 2020

Elections and Voting

President-Elect Biden on Foreign Policy

President-Elect Joe Biden will face a suite of challenges on the global stage, from nuclear tensions with North Korea to coordinating a response to the ongoing pandemic.

Interactive by CFR.org Editors November 7, 2020

Events
View All

United States

Transition 2021 Series: Renewing the U.S. State Department

Panelists discuss the future of the U.S Department of State under the next administration, including possible reforms to the agency’s priorities, culture, structure, and workforce. The Transition 2021 series examines the major issues confronting the administration in the foreign policy arena.

Virtual Event with Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Arnold A. Chacón and Anne W. Patterson January 21, 2021

Economics

The Economic Outlook for 2021

Virtual Event with Elga Bartsch and Jay Bryson January 15, 2021

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

Virtual Roundtable: Preparing Democracies for Pandemics

The coronavirus pandemic has not been an advertisement for the healthy effects of democracy. There have been some notable success stories among democracies, but it is also true that nine out of the ten nations with the highest cumulative COVID-19 cases are democracies. One possibility is that the mechanisms that ordinarily produce better health in democracies—accountability through free and fair elections and freedom of expression—may not function to produce the same result in a pandemic. In this Council on Foreign Relations roundtable, Drs. John Gerring and Ilona Kickbusch discuss this possibility and their work from a new BMJ series on democracy and health.

Webinar with John Gerring and Ilona Kickbusch November 19, 2020

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics With David Malpass

World Bank President David Malpass discusses global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

Event with David R. Malpass January 14, 2021

View All

Carla Anne Robbins

Adjunct Senior Fellow

Defense and Security Cuba North Korea

Intelligence Failure

Via American Interest April 16, 2020

Paul J. Angelo

Fellow for Latin America Studies

Americas Latin America Central America

The Day After in Venezuela

Council Special Report September 24, 2020 Latin America Studies Program

Joshua Kurlantzick

Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia Asia Democracy

Post-Pandemic Southeast Asia Faces a Crisis of Authoritarianism

Via Diplomat January 22, 2021

Rising Hunger: Facing a Food-Insecure World

The Coronavirus Pandemic, With Tom Bollyky

How Police Compare in Different Democracies

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.

China China’s Approach to Global Governance

Learn about China's evolving approach to global governance and how it has shifted strategy under President Xi Jinping related to trade, the belt and road initiative, and the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

United States How Police Compare in Different Democracies

Killings by U.S. officers in 2020 have sparked widespread calls for police reform and an end to systemic racism. Here’s how U.S. policing compares with other countries’ approaches.

Global Women’s Power Index

Find out where women around the world wield political power—and why it matters.

Experts in the News

Thomas R. Frieden

Frieden: How to Reopen the Economy Safely? Immunity Passports.

Via Washington Post December 21, 2020

Thomas J. Bollyky

Bollyky: It's Not Clear How Long Immunity From Covid Vaccines Will Last

Via NPR's Weekend Edition December 20, 2020

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Lemmon: America Can't Stay in Afghanistan Forever, But it Matters How We Leave

Via CNN December 16, 2020

View All

Featured Publications

Nigeria

Nigeria and the Nation-State

Former Ambassador John Campbell illustrates the history and importance of Nigeria, a country too often overlooked by the West.

Book by John Campbell December 1, 2020

China

Toxic Politics

CFR Senior Fellow Yanzhong Huang discusses how China’s environmental crisis is undermining public health and becoming an Achilles heel in its reemergence as a global power.

Book by Yanzhong Huang October 15, 2020

U.S. Foreign Policy

Losing the Long Game

The definitive account of how regime change in the Middle East has proven so tempting to American policymakers for decades—and why it always seems to go wrong.

Book by Philip H. Gordon October 6, 2020 Middle East Program

View All

Events View All

Explainers

Experts in the News

Featured Publications

Events
View All