Payton L. Knopf

Senior Adviser, Crisis Management Initiative; International Affairs Fellow in Residence, 2010-2011

Payton Knopf was a 2010-2011 international affairs fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Mr. Knopf is a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State. He most recently served as the political officer on the staff of U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.

He previously served in the Department of State's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs with responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations launched at Annapolis, Maryland in November 2008. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Knopf was based at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum covering the conflict in Darfur, and he worked as an advisor to U.S Special Envoys for Sudan Andrew Natsios and Richard Williamson to support their efforts to re-start negotiations between the Darfur rebel movements and the Sudanese government. He formerly served in the Department of State's Office of Egypt and the Levant and at the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Mr. Knopf was a program officer at the National Democratic Institute, where he managed political party development programs in the Maghreb and in Yemen and as a program officer at the International Center for Journalists.

Mr. Knopf holds a BA in international relations from Boston University and is proficient in Arabic and French.

United Nations

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.

Article by CFR.org Editors March 13, 2023

Refugees and Displaced Persons

How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work?
The United States has long been a safe haven for refugees from around the world. President Biden is working to expand the country’s resettlement program after the Trump administration made sharp cuts.

Backgrounder by Claire Klobucista, James McBride and Diana Roy February 15, 2023 Renewing America

Ukraine

Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia
Ukraine’s Westward drift since independence has been countered by the sometimes violent tug of Russia, felt most recently with Putin’s 2022 invasion.

Backgrounder by Jonathan Masters February 14, 2023

Top Stories on CFR

Peru

How Peru’s Crisis Could Send Shockwaves Through the Region
The mass protests that have rocked Peru since December threaten to upend regional supply chains, intensify migration flows, and strain Lima’s bilateral relations.  

In Brief by Will Freeman and Ariana Rios March 22, 2023

Iraq

Twenty Years After the War to Oust Saddam, Iraq Is a Shaky Democracy
On the two-decade anniversary of the U.S. invasion, Iraq is weakly governed, leaving it prone to instability and meddling by neighbors—especially Iran.

Article by Steven A. Cook March 17, 2023

China

How to Read Xi’s Muscular Message on China’s Global Role
Xi Jinping used the annual legislative session to lock in his tenure as president and reinforce China’s assertive foreign policy and the reemergence of its economy.

Article by Ian Johnson March 17, 2023