Council of Councils
Think Global Health
Online Store
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…
Explainers
Backgrounders
Explainers Video Filters and Cards
U.S. Disaster Relief at Home and Abroad
The U.S. government responds to scores of disasters each year in coordination with foreign, state, and local partners, but more frequent and severe storms, fires, and floods are straining resources.
Understanding the Global Push for Climate Finance
Countries will collectively need to spend trillions of dollars to reach their decarbonization goals and protect the most vulnerable nations from climate disasters, but experts say that current funding levels lag behind what’s required to stave off and adapt to the worst effects of climate change.
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.
Can Amazon Countries Save the Rain Forest?
The Amazon Rainforest plays a critical role in global climate health, but accelerating deforestation continues to raise alarm. How are the region’s governments responding?
What Is the BRICS Group and Why Is It Expanding?
As BRICS grows in both membership and global sway, its expansion comes with divisions among its members old and new on how to set the stage for a revised world order.
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 Quantum Computing?
Quantum computing, once the realm of science fiction, could bring massive economic gains. But it also threatens to upend national security, and governments are racing to prepare.
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 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.