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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.
Willy Kurniawan/Reuters
Southeast Asia’s most powerful state is at a turning point, and the election will likely determine its future relations with China and the United States.
By 2020, with the state of democracy already in dire shape, it seemed that things couldn’t get worse. And yet, in the past few years, they have.
Dozens of countries, constituting half the world’s population, will hold elections in 2024. Here are ten to watch.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The case at the International Court of Justice seeks to pause Israel’s continued military operations in the Gaza Strip and requests that Israel provide humanitarian assistance.
Middle East
Houthi attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea have upended global shipping. The disruptions could soon ripple through the global economy.
Taiwan
David Sacks, a fellow for Asia studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the potential geopolitical consequences of Taiwan’s presidential race.
Although a conflict in the Taiwan Strait has thus far been avoided, deterrence has dangerously eroded. To maintain peace, the United States must restore balance to a situation that has been allowed to tilt far too much in China’s favor.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s unfree election is part of a larger trend of democratic regression in South and Southeast Asia.
Over four billion people in more than three dozen countries will have the opportunity to vote for new leadership in elections in 2024. Panelists discuss the strength of democracies in the year ahead and the challenges they face, including polarization, nationalism, and curtailed political freedoms.
This meeting part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Meeting Series on Democracy.
Iran
Conceived as the principal defenders of the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into an institution with vast political, economic, and military power.
Iran’s web of armed partners such as Hezbollah serves to strengthen its influence in the Middle East and could pose a significant threat to the United States and its allies in the region, especially Israel.
Panelists assess Iran’s interests in the conflict in Gaza and its ties to Hamas, and discuss its broader influence in the Middle East, as well as the future of U.S. policy towards Iran.
Events
Panelists discuss potential and ongoing crises that may erupt or escalate in 2024, as well as their global political implications. This event will explore the results of the 2024 Preventive Priorities Survey, which will be available on CFR’s website on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
Over four billion people in more than three dozen countries will have the opportunity to vote for new leadership in elections in 2024. Panelists discuss the strength of democracies in the year ahead and the challenges they face, including polarization, nationalism, and curtailed political freedoms.
This meeting part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Meeting Series on Democracy.
In God, Guns, and Sedition, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware offer the definitive account of the rise of far-right terrorism in the United States—and how to counter it.
In recent years shocking acts of terrorism such as the 2015 mass murder in a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol have shone a spotlight on far-right extremism in America. These incidents are not isolated; they are part of a enduring pattern where conspiracy theories and radical ideologies like white supremacism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and anti-government sentiments converge, posing a persistent threat to democracy.
Members are encouraged to include their high school- or college-age children or grandchildren in this event. All members are welcome to attend.
Expert Spotlight
Martin S. Indyk
Lowy Distinguished Fellow in U.S.-Middle East Diplomacy
Kenneth S. Rogoff
Senior Fellow for Economics
Max Boot
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies
Paul B. Stares
General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action
Matthew P. Goodman
Distinguished Fellow for Global Economic Policy and Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies
Stephen Sestanovich
George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Ann Norris
Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy
Brad W. Setser
Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow
John B. Bellinger III
Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law
Esther Brimmer
James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance
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
Ray Takeyh
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies
Sebastian Mallaby
Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
Jennifer Nuzzo
Senior Fellow for Global Health
Health Public Health Threats and Pandemics Health Policy and Initiatives
Matthew C. Waxman
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy
Jennifer Hillman
Senior Fellow for Trade and International Political Economy
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
United States Politics and Government Polls and Public Opinion
Benn Steil
Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics
Scott A. Snyder
Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy
Richard Haass
President Emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations
Jendayi E. Frazer
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies
Sub-Saharan Africa U.S. Foreign Policy Politics and Government
Alice C. Hill
David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment
Christopher M. Tuttle
Senior Fellow and Director of the Renewing America Initiative
Congresses and Parliaments Polls and Public Opinion Elections and Voting
Thomas J. Bollyky
Bloomberg Chair in Global Health; Senior Fellow for International Economics, Law, and Development; and Director of the Global Health Program
David P. Fidler
Senior Fellow for Global Health and Cybersecurity
Ebenezer Obadare
Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies
Robert E. Rubin
Chairman Emeritus; Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
Explainers
Why China Would Struggle to Invade Taiwan
Although China’s ambition to gain control of Taiwan is clear, doing so through force would prove enormously difficult and costly.
Experts in the News
Featured Publications
A riveting exploration of the current state of far-right terrorism in the United States—and recommendations to stop its rise.
