Council of Councils
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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
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What Is Hezbollah?
The Iran-backed Shiite militia was considered the most powerful non-state group in the Middle East, but an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in 2024 has considerably weakened it.
What Is the UN General Assembly?
The General Assembly hosts a much-watched debate of world leaders annually. Its 2024 meeting is expected to emphasize climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
What Are the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
The United Nations’ ambitious development agenda aims to protect people and the planet via seventeen goals. But experts say governments aren’t doing enough to implement them.
The UN Security Council
The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining international peace and security, but it faces steady calls for reform to better meet twenty-first-century challenges.
The Role of the UN Secretary-General
The United Nations’ top leadership position has broad authority to steer the organization’s agenda, but its impact has varied widely since 1946.
Foreign Policy at the U.S. National Political Conventions
Foreign policy issues regularly come to the fore at the national political conventions, especially during periods of global instability. Sometimes the events are marked by bitter disagreements within the parties.
What Is Hamas?
The Palestinian militant group struggled to govern the Gaza Strip before launching a surprise attack on Israel in 2023. Now facing Israel’s military campaign to destroy it, Hamas’s future is in doubt, as is Gaza’s.
What Is the U.S. Federal Reserve?
Over the past decade, the Fed kept interest rates low while it deployed trillions of dollars in stimulus and expanded its regulatory oversight. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its battle against inflation.
The U.S. Immigration Debate
Comprehensive immigration reform has eluded Congress for decades. Presidents have increasingly turned to executive action to reshape asylum and border policy.
Mexico’s Long War: Drugs, Crime, and the Cartels
Violence continues to rage more than a decade after the Mexican government launched a war against drug cartels.
Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate
Venezuela’s ongoing descent into economic and political chaos is a cautionary tale of the dangerous influence that resource wealth can have on developing countries.
The Economics of Hosting the Olympic Games
The costs of hosting the Olympics have skyrocketed, while the economic benefits are far from clear. The 2024 Paris Olympics could be a test of whether reforms to the process have made hosting a better deal.
Haiti’s Troubled Path to Development
Hobbled by foreign interventions, political instability, and natural disasters, the former French colony is paralyzed by multiple crises.
What Does the G7 Do?
The Group of Seven (G7) has been a forum to coordinate global policy for fifty years, but experts are increasingly questioning the group’s relevance.
What Are Economic Sanctions?
For many policymakers, economic sanctions have become the tool of choice to respond to major geopolitical challenges such as terrorism and conflict.