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United States

As the age of artificial intelligence emerges, the United States’ lack of a clear, comprehensive, federal data-privacy standard will create grave risks to national security.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence breakthroughs promise unprecedented opportunity but also economic, political, and social disruption. Experts say AI needs oversight to ensure the changes it engenders are for the better.
Japan

Japan

Here’s what to know about Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s U.S. state visit, the first by a Japanese leader in almost a decade.

South China Sea

Disputes over overlapping exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea have intensified in recent decades, while the territorial row over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea dates back to the nineteenth century.

Japan

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely expected to end yield curve control. But Japanese yields will remain low, and foreign bonds will remain attractive to those Japanese investors who don’t have to hedge.
Public Health

Public Health

A global surge in avian flu outbreaks in birds and some mammals is worrying poultry farmers, scientists, and health experts. The trend is provoking questions about the future of the disease and global public health.

Public Health

For more than a century, countries have wrestled with how to improve international cooperation in the face of major outbreaks of infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the world to a near halt in 2020 and has killed nearly seven million people, underscores the urgency.

Public Health

Zoonotic diseases, naturally transmissible between humans and animals, have posed a growing public health threat for decades. However, existing institutional arrangements have fallen short. The wide-ranging, large-scale, and costly effects of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the value of addressing those weaknesses in global governance.
NATO

 

NATO

The alliance is bolstering its military deterrent in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expanded to include Finland and Sweden.

 

Rwanda

Rwanda

After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the country has made tremendous strides toward peace and development. But critics say these have come at the cost of political freedoms.   

 

 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the state of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the prospects for an end to the fighting, and the tensions in U.S.-Israeli relations.

Palestinian Territories

The leading UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees is engulfed in allegations that twelve of its employees were involved in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel. The agency faces severe funding cutbacks, with huge consequences for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. 

 

Events

Defense and Security

Panelists discuss new and emerging commercial defense technology, current opportunities and challenges in defense innovation, and the future landscape of national security. For those attending virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio and video of this virtual meeting will be posted on the CFR website.

Sexual Violence

The United Nations recognized rape as a war crime in 2008 through the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1820. Despite this step, sexual violence remains a widespread practice in wars and conflict zones globally. Panelists discuss the extent of sexual violence used as a tool of war and policies that can address it and help prevent future atrocities. The Arthur C. Helton Memorial Lecture was established by CFR and the family of Arthur C. Helton, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who died in the August 2003 bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad. The Lecture addresses pressing issues in the broad field of human rights and humanitarian concerns. The audio, video, and transcript of this meeting will be posted on the CFR website. **For those attending virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio and video of this virtual meeting will be posted on the CFR website.**

Trade

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger discusses developments in the tech industry, implications of geopolitical conflicts on global trade, and leadership lessons learned.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The CFR luncheon event held in conjunction with the International Studies Association featured a discussion on Foreign Policy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence on Thursday, April 4, in San Francisco. The conversation featured Rachel Gillum, vice president of ethical and humane use of technology at Salesforce; Andrew W. Reddie, associate research professor of public policy at University of California, Berkeley; and Carla Anne Robbins, senior fellow at CFR. James M. Lindsay, senior vice president, director of Studies, and the Maurice R. Greenberg chair at CFR, moderated the discussion.

Explainers

How Big a Climate Threat Are Atmospheric Rivers?
Across California and the western United States, atmospheric rivers are gaining in intensity. Communities need to adapt to the havoc wrought by this weather phenomenon.

Expert Spotlight

Stephen Sestanovich
Stephen Sestanovich

George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies

Russia Europe and Eurasia U.S. Foreign Policy

Robert D. Blackwill
Robert D. Blackwill

Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. Foreign Policy Europe and Eurasia Russia

Lost Decade

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.