Council of Councils
Think Global Health
Online Store
Explainers
Backgrounders
Explainers Video Filters and Cards
The State of U.S. Infrastructure
The Joe Biden administration is implementing the largest federal investment in infrastructure in decades. Here’s why infrastructure matters for U.S. economic competitiveness.
What Is ASEAN?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization that brings together disparate neighbors to address economic and security issues, but the group’s impact remains limited.
Is Industrial Policy Making a Comeback?
The threat of climate change and the rise of China have prompted renewed debate about the U.S. government’s role in shaping the economy.
Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures
International efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say countries aren’t doing enough to limit dangerous global warming.
What Is the UN General Assembly?
The General Assembly hosts a much-watched debate of world leaders annually. Its 2023 meeting is expected to emphasize climate change, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the war in Ukraine.
The Role of the International Criminal Court
The ICC was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals, but debate over the court still rages.
Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?
Many UN agencies, programs, and missions receive crucial funding from the United States. The Trump administration sharply reduced funding to some UN agencies, but President Biden has largely reversed those cuts.
Is Rising Student Debt Harming the U.S. Economy?
Higher education provides students many socioeconomic benefits and increases the global competitiveness of the United States, but mounting student loan debt has sparked a debate over federal lending policies.
How the Caribbean Is Building Climate Resilience
The Caribbean is already bearing the brunt of climate change. Governments in the region are taking steps to combat it, but are they enough?
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.
How the U.S. Patrols Its Borders
President Joe Biden’s attempts to grapple with a record number of migrants are keeping the role of border enforcement at the center of the U.S. immigration debate.
The Dollar: The World’s Reserve Currency
The dollar’s role as the primary reserve currency for the global economy allows the United States to borrow money more easily and impose painful financial sanctions. Other countries are beginning to consider alternatives.
Central America’s Turbulent Northern Triangle
The United States continues to seek strategies for responding to the growing number of migrants fleeing poverty, violence, and other challenges in the Central American region.
What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
The United States has long tried to negotiate a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but several factors, including deep divisions between and within the parties and declining U.S. interest in carrying out its traditional honest-broker role, have hurt the chances of a peace deal.
Turkey’s Growing Foreign Policy Ambitions
Turkey’s geography and membership in NATO have long given the country an influential voice in foreign policy, but the assertive policies of President Erdogan have complicated its role.