Haydn N. Smith/U.S. Navy

Defense and Security

Grueling work, financial stress, and shifting values are pushing too many of the navy’s nuclear personnel out of the service. Here’s how it can turn things around.

United States

Declining recruitment numbers are vexing nearly all branches of the U.S. military. Removing a medical bottleneck could dramatically streamline recruiting for applicants and personnel.

Military Operations

The U.S. Navy’s dominance of the world’s oceans has made it an indispensable foreign policy tool as well as a guarantor of global trade, but a mix of challenges is raising difficult questions about its future.
Palestinian Territories

Palestinian Territories

As famine stalks the Gaza Strip, the leading UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees faces collapse over allegations that its employees participated in the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

International calls for a cease-fire are mounting as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates rapidly amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

 

Indonesia

Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto was named the winner of the Indonesian presidential election. But it is unclear which version of Prabowo—the more moderate candidate from the campaign trail or the self-styled strongman—will govern Indonesia.

Indonesia

Prabowo Subianto has won Indonesia’s presidential election. What will his presidency bring? 

 

Russia

Russia

The mass casualty theater attack in Moscow was a reminder that affiliates of the Islamic State have reorganized and infiltrated even powerful states.

 

 

India

India

With India's development continuing to gain steam, one of the biggest challenges will be to avoid the mistake that others have made when they failed to recognize their newly acquired global systemic influence and adapt accordingly. Both China and Big Tech show that it is never too early to start managing one's own rise.

China

China and India compete for leadership of the Global South, but it remains unclear whether either is winning. 

 

Climate Change

United States

Atmospheric rivers are gaining in intensity across California and the western United States. Communities need to adapt to the havoc wrought by this weather phenomenon.

Climate Change

Amy Pope discusses her work as director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the UN role in addressing climate mobility, legal frameworks for migration, and the present humanitarian crisis. The Silberstein Family Annual Lecture on Refugee and Migration Policy was established in 2019 through a generous gift from Alan M. Silberstein and the Silberstein family. The lecture provides CFR with an annual forum to explore emerging challenges in refugee and migration policy in the United States and around the world.  

Climate Change

For decades, U.S. homeowners have counted on property insurance to protect them from catastrophic loss if their homes are destroyed—and the U.S. economy has rested on the functionality of that model. But as this summer’s extreme weather broke records, private companies reduced their coverage. As climate disasters become more frequent, can home insurance hold up?

Events

Authoritarianism

Moisés Naím, distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, leads the conversation on authoritarianism.

Defense Technology

Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Vice Admiral Frank “Trey” Whitworth, discusses the future of the NGA and how the agency is addressing new threats, strategic defense competition between the United States, China, and Russia, and how emerging technology is shifting the defense landscape.  The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture on Science and Technology addresses issues at the intersection of science, technology, and foreign policy. It has been endowed in perpetuity through a gift from CFR members Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Panelists reflect on how the digital transformation is reshaping the economy and how cities like New York can embrace new technologies, like artificial intelligence, to foster economic growth. Please note that speakers are appearing in their personal capacities.

Election 2024

Four former National Security Advisors discuss the foreign policy challenges facing the United States and how these vital issues should be addressed in the upcoming presidential election.

Explainers

Why Fentanyl Is a Huge Foreign Policy Problem
Overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the leading cause of death among young Americans and a threat to U.S. public health, the economy, and national security.

Expert Spotlight

Paul B. Stares
Paul B. Stares

General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action

Conflict Prevention Wars and Conflict Defense and Security

Featured Publications

Colombia

Paul J. Angelo provides the first headlining case studies of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative.

Political History and Theory

A dramatic and powerful new perspective on the political career of Henry Wallace—a perspective that will forever change how we view the making of U.S. and Soviet foreign policy at the dawn of the Cold War.

Radicalization and Extremism

A riveting exploration of the current state of far-right terrorism in the United States—and recommendations to stop its rise.