Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Hatem Khaled/Reuters

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Difficult Path Toward a Cease-Fire

Play
The announced cease-fire and hostage release deal still has many pitfalls. CFR experts discuss what it will take to sustain an Israel-Hamas truce and next steps.

Virtual Event with Elliott Abrams, Steven A. Cook and Elise Labott January 16, 2025 Media Briefings

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israel and Hamas Reach a Cease-Fire, but Will the War End?
The agreement to exchange Israeli hostages for Hamas prisoners calls for an end to the fighting in Gaza. But deep hostilities on both sides remain, and an unsettled region makes a lasting cease-fire uncertain.

Expert Brief by Steven A. Cook January 15, 2025

Max Boot

Middle East

Biden Is Getting Hostages Out of Gaza. Can Trump Finally End the War? Link

with Max Boot via Washington Post January 15, 2025

Cuba

Cuba

A New Phase in U.S.-Cuba Ties?

Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images
President Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list opens new possibilities for bilateral relations, but sanctions still overshadow ties.

Timeline by CFR.org Editors January 15, 2025

Cuba

U.S.-Cuba Relations
Cuba has long been a major foreign policy challenge for the United States. President Biden is the latest U.S. leader to grapple with how to balance democracy promotion with the desire for a better bilateral relationship.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors April 24, 2024

Cuba

Latin America Is About to Become a Priority for U.S. Foreign Policy Link

via Foreign Affairs December 10, 2024

Syria

Syria

The Shifting Battle Against ISIS
The United States appears intent on keeping its counterterrorism alliance with the Kurds in post-Assad Syria despite the strains it is causing with ally Turkey.

Expert Brief by Henri J. Barkey January 9, 2025

 

The Best Way for the United States to Help the New Syria Link

via Foreign Affairs January 15, 2024

Syria

Syria’s Civil War

Photo Essay by CFR.org Editors December 20, 2024

Climate Change

Climate Change

The L.A. Fires Show the Need for Climate Realism
The wildfires scorching the region around Los Angeles are likely to be the most expensive in history. But, future climate change-related disasters will certainly top them in cost. Here are some steps to limit the damage.

Expert Brief by Varun Sivaram January 9, 2025

Disasters

Rebuilding Los Angeles After the Fires
The wildfire devastation in Los Angeles will require California to develop far greater resiliency to climate-worsened disasters to sustain its revival—and a path for withstanding future disasters.

Expert Brief by Alice C. Hill January 14, 2025

Climate Change

Could Climate Change Break Home Insurance?

Podcast
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?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Nancy Watkins and David Marlett September 27, 2023 Why It Matters

Public Health

Public Health

Avian Flu’s Ominous Spread
A recent surge in avian flu outbreaks in birds and some mammals, including humans, is worrying farmers, scientists, and public health experts. The threat of the virus becoming a pandemic is said to be low, but its evolution continues to raise alarms and pointed questions about preparedness.

Backgrounder by Mariel Ferragamo January 7, 2025

Global Health Program

The CDC’s Response to the Spread of Avian Flu

Play
An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza that was detected for the first time in a milking herd of cattle in Texas one month ago has now infected thirty-three herds in eight states and at least one farm worker, spurring alarm among some experts that human-to-human transmission could be next. Please join us for a discussion with Dr. Nirav D. Shah, Principal Deputy Director of the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on the U.S. response to this avian flu outbreak and on how the CDC and its U.S. government counterparts are applying lessons from COVID-19 to respond to the potential threat.

Virtual Event with Nirav Shah, Nirav Shah, Thomas J. Bollyky and Thomas J. Bollyky May 1, 2024

 

The United States Isn’t Ready for a Bird Flu Epidemic Link

via Think Global Health October 17, 2024

AI

AI

What to Know About the New AI Policy
The Biden administration released new export controls on Monday, January 13, placing restrictions on advanced AI chips, cloud access, and model weights. The measures’ implementation will rely on the Trump administration’s support.

Post by Michael C. Horowitz January 13, 2025 Net Politics

AI

What Is 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.

Backgrounder by Noah Berman December 27, 2023

AI

AI Priorities for the Next Administration
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been breathtaking, and American firms are leading the way in showing the potential of a new AI-propelled world. But rivals like China are gaining ground, with major consequences for the U.S. economy and security.

Expert Brief by Sebastian Elbaum and Adam Segal November 26, 2024 Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program

Events
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United States

The World Next Week: Final Episode Live Podcast Taping
Please join us for a live taping of The World Next Week podcast! Hosted by Robert McMahon, Carla Anne Robbins, and their guest co-host, Deborah Amos, this special taping and livestream will serve as the show’s series finale after over seventeen years on air.  The World Next Week brings journalists’ perspectives to the critical and intriguing stories developing around the globe—from Kyiv, to Pyongyang, to Capitol Hill, to Cannes. TWNW’s hosts have years of experience covering international and Washington news. Before joining CFR, Robert McMahon, managing editor of digital content, reported for the Associated Press and was news director for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague. Carla Anne Robbins, a senior fellow and faculty director of the MIA Program at Baruch College’s Marxe School, was deputy editorial page editor at the New York Times and chief diplomatic correspondent at the Wall Street Journal. Please note there is no Zoom component to the meeting. However, The World Next Week LIVE! will appear on all podcast feeds and stream live through CFR.org. Please note the audio, video, and transcript of this meeting will be posted on the CFR website.

Event January 21, 2025

Sudan

War in Sudan: A Conversation With U.S. Special Envoy Tom Perriello

Play
Special Envoy Tom Perriello discusses the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the resulting humanitarian crisis, and the Biden administration’s designation of genocide by the Rapid Support Forces. Please note there is no Zoom component to the meeting. The audio, video, and transcript of this meeting will be posted on the CFR website.  

Event with Thomas Perriello and Reuben E. Brigety II January 16, 2025

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Difficult Path Toward a Cease-Fire

Play
The announced cease-fire and hostage release deal still has many pitfalls. CFR experts discuss what it will take to sustain an Israel-Hamas truce and next steps.

Virtual Event with Elliott Abrams, Steven A. Cook and Elise Labott January 16, 2025 Media Briefings

Center for Preventive Action

Preventive Priorities Survey Launch: What Conflicts to Worry About in 2025

Play
This event will explore the results of the 2025 Preventive Priorities Survey which polls hundreds of foreign policy experts every year to assess thirty ongoing or potential violent conflicts and their likely impact on U.S. interests. The results are available here. Panelists will delve into the global political implications of the conflicts that top the list, as well as ways the Trump administration should handle them. If you wish to attend 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, video, and transcript of this hybrid meeting will be posted on the CFR website.  

Virtual Event with Stephen E. Biegun, Michèle A. Flournoy, Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Paul B. Stares and Jonathan Karl January 15, 2025

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Experts in the News

Steven A. Cook
Link

Cook: Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Brings Fragile Reprieve

Via Bloomberg Surveillance January 16, 2025

Heidi E. Crebo-Rediker
Link

Crebo-Rediker: Trump’s Tariff Regime Will Be a Bumpy Road

Via Yahoo Finance's Catalysts January 13, 2025

Varun Sivaram
Link

Sivaram: Climate Disasters Like the L.A. Wildfires Will Get Worse

Via Channel 4 News January 12, 2025

View All

Explainers

Immigration and Migration
Why Six Countries Account for Most Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Immigration and Migration
Why Six Countries Account for Most Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Photo Essay by Will Freeman, Steven Holmes and Sabine Baumgartner
Migrants and displaced people from across the world are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in droves. More than half come from six Latin American countries, where worsening violence, poverty, and other factors are pushing them to leave.
How Geography, Race, and Income Shape U.S. Life Expectancy
Health How Geography, Race, and Income Shape U.S. Life Expectancy
Article by Thomas J. Bollyky, Laura Dwyer-Lindgren, Ali H. Mokdad and Chloe Searchinger
Crisis in Sudan: War, Famine, and a Failing Global Response
Sudan Crisis in Sudan: War, Famine, and a Failing Global Response
Immersive_article_layout by Mariel Ferragamo and Sabine Baumgartner
Guantánamo Bay: Twenty Years of Counterterrorism and Controversy
Terrorism and Counterterrorism Guantánamo Bay: Twenty Years of Counterterrorism and Controversy
Article by Jonathan Masters
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Expert Spotlight

Sebastian Mallaby
Sebastian Mallaby

Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics

Monetary Policy International Finance Globalization

What Elon Musk Gains From a Friend in the White House

Offsite Via FT Podcast: The Rachman Review November 21, 2024

Lori Esposito Murray
Lori Esposito Murray

Senior Fellow for National Security and Managing Director of CEO Programs

Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament Defense and Security Security Alliances

The Risk of Nuclear War Continues to Rise

Offsite Via The Hill January 9, 2025

Michelle Gavin
Michelle Gavin

Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies

Botswana South Africa Zimbabwe

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Featured Publications

Religion

If You Will It
Hundreds of thousands of young Jews have drifted away from the American Jewish community and many more may follow. This book explains to Jewish parents, donors, and organizations how Jewish education, Jewish summer camping, and time spent in Israel can revive and strengthen Jewish identity.

Book by Elliott Abrams October 8, 2024 Middle East Program

United States

Reagan
Son of the Midwest, movie star, and mesmerizing politician—America’s fortieth president comes to three-dimensional life in this gripping and profoundly revisionist biography.

Book by Max Boot September 10, 2024

Asia

Lost Decade

Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine evaluate the limitations of the Pivot to Asia and offer a compelling vision for the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific.

Book by Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine June 11, 2024 Asia Program

View All