Providing readers with the essential background and building blocks necessary to make sense of this complicated and interconnected world, The World focuses on crucial history, what makes each region of the world tick, the many challenges that globalization presents, and the most influential countries, events, and ideas that shape the world and in turn shape our lives.
CFR Academic
Understand World Events
Explore CFR’s resources for expert perspectives on the issues and forces shaping today’s world.
How George Floyd’s Death Sparked Protests Worldwide
See photos of protests around the world advocating against police brutality and racial injustice.
Democracy in Hong Kong
Learn more about Hong Kong's semiautonomous status and political tensions with mainland China.
Banning Covert Foreign Election Interference
Read background on the history of U.S. foreign election interference and recommendations on how to create a norm against it.
Teach & Learn
Model Diplomacy
How can you bring hypothetical scenarios based on real issues to life in your classroom? Model Diplomacy, a free and flexible interactive program, uses role-play to demonstrate the challenges of shaping U.S. foreign policy in an interconnected world.
CFR Podcast
Why It Matters
Stay updated on issues that affect the future with CFR's "Why It Matters" weekly podcast.
World101
Understand how the world works—what the forces are, who the actors are, and how they interact to influence events of relevance to citizens' everyday lives. World101 offers primers on need-to-know topics.
Resource Guide
COVID-19 on Peace and Conflict
Explore information and analysis about the effects of COVID-19 on peace and conflict from CFR, Foreign Affairs, and more.
Teaching Notes
Building a Resilient Tomorrow draws on international and national examples, some revealed for the first time, to provide an interdisciplinary narrative covering a range of climate resilience solutions.
Public Health Threats and Pandemics
For the first time in recorded history, bacteria, viruses, and other plagues and pestilence do not cause the majority of deaths or disabilities in any region of the world. Curbing infectious diseases has extended lives and prevented child deaths in poor societies, but also brought new and unexpected challenges—like rising youth unemployment, overcrowded and underbuilt cities, and surging rates of premature chronic diseases—that many nations are unprepared to handle. In Plagues and the Paradox of Progress, Thomas J. Bollyky traces the rise and fall of infectious disease in human history and the challenges and opportunities that unprecedented health achievements pose for our future.
Join the Conversation
CFR Academic offers a range of programs for educators and students to interact with CFR experts and to join the debate on foreign policy. The purpose is to foster a deeper understanding of international relations and the role of the United States in the world.
CFR Educators Webinars
Upcoming Educators Webinar
Academic Webinars
The CFR Academic Webinar series gives students the opportunity to speak directly with CFR fellows, Foreign Affairs authors, and other foreign policy practitioners.