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    Climate Change

    Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures

    Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland November 4, 2022 Renewing America

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    Myanmar

    Myanmar’s Troubled History

    Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland January 31, 2022

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    How New Tobacco Control Laws Could Help Close the Racial Gap on U.S. Cancer

    This interactive examines how nationwide bans on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, as proposed by the Biden administration on April 28, 2022, could help shrink the racial gap on U.S. lung cancer death rates.

    Interactive by Olivia Angelino, Thomas J. Bollyky, Elle Ruggiero and Isabella Turilli February 1, 2023 Global Health Program

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    Putin-Xi Summit Reinforces Anti-U.S. Partnership

    The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow helped both give the impression of a united front, but underlying tensions were also discernible.

    In Brief by Thomas Graham March 24, 2023

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    Social Justice Webinar: Social Safety Nets

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    Virtual Event with Chris Howard, Chris Howard and Arohi Pathak February 23, 2023 Religion and Foreign Policy Webinars

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    Americas

    C.V. Starr & Co. Annual Lecture on China: Frayed Relations—The United States and China

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    Panelists discuss the relationship between the United States and China, how confrontational and sometimes false narratives in both countries are affecting it, and how the governments of both countries might respond to the escalation of tensions. 

    Virtual Event with Ivan Kanapathy, Bonny Lin and Stephen S. Roach February 13, 2023 C.V. Starr & Co. Annual Lecture on China

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Diplomacy and International Institutions

International Law

  • Ukraine
    Can Russia Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in Ukraine?
    Countries including the United States are ramping up calls for war crimes investigations following an apparent massacre in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. Could Russian leaders be brought to justice under international law?
    Article by David J. Scheffer April 4, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Ukraine
    Putin’s Two-Front War
    Putin has launched an assault on the post-World War II rules-based international system on two fronts; credible U.S. leadership in the conflict requires retaliating against Russian aggression on both.
    Blog Post by Ania Zolyniak March 17, 2022 The Internationalist
  • Ukraine
    How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Violates International Law
    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violates the UN Charter and cannot be justified under international law as an act of self-defense or humanitarian intervention.
    Article by John B. Bellinger III February 28, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Ukraine
    The Russia-Ukraine Crisis Could Determine the Future of Sovereignty
    Despite the host of unknowns muddling the crisis at the Russia-Ukraine border, the situation does clearly expose how countries manipulate a bedrock principle of the state-based international system to suit their needs.
    Blog Post by Stewart M. Patrick February 3, 2022 The Internationalist
  • South Sudan
    Understanding South Sudan’s Postwar Struggle for Democracy and Accountability
    In the wake of its civil war, South Sudan has struggled to build democratic institutions and deliver justice for human rights abuses and atrocity crimes.
    In Brief by David J. Scheffer and Madeline Babin January 28, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • International Law
    Move swiftly on Global Criminal Justice Ambassador
    In the final hours prior to the Senate’s recess last month, it was heartening to see many of President Joe Biden’s nominees for ambassadorships confirmed. Lengthy gaps in the leadership of America’s …
    Article by David J. Scheffer , Todd Buchwald, Stephen J. Rapp and Clint Williamson January 18, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • International Law
    Legal Principles Matter in Defense of Democracies
    Legal principles matter as two major democracies—Taiwan and Ukraine—are threatened by superpower neighbors. Whether one argues about Taiwan’s status as a country or a province of China, it is a vibra…
    Article by David J. Scheffer January 18, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Diplomacy and International Institutions
    Virtual Roundtable: Judging China: Illiberal Legal Systems in U.S. Courts
    Play
    The years following the Cold War have not seen a disappearance of illiberal regimes, but they have seen a vast growth in globalization and transnational commercial relations. Thus, U.S. courts are faced far more than before with the need to understand and deal with fundamentally different legal systems—for example, when asked to enforce a judgment from an illiberal system. How are they doing? Speakers Donald Clarke and Mark Jia discuss both the challenges posed by illiberal legal orders and the specific problems faced by U.S. courts dealing with the Chinese legal system.
    Virtual Event by Donald Clarke and Mark Jia January 13, 2022 Asia Program
  • Treaties and Agreements
    On International Treaties, the United States Refuses to Play Ball
    In lists of state parties to globally significant treaties, the United States is often notably absent. Ratification hesitancy is a chronic impairment to international U.S. credibility and influence.
    Blog Post by Anya Wahal January 7, 2022 The Internationalist
  • Fossil Fuels
    To Tackle Climate Change, Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground
    As oil rigs and coal plants churn on, national emissions targets grow increasingly disingenuous and infeasible. To prevent the worst implications of the climate crisis, it is time to target the supply side of the world's dirty fuel addiction. 
    Article by Stewart M. Patrick December 9, 2021 The Internationalist
  • International Law
    A Negotiator's Reliance on the Nuremberg Legacy
    This year we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal: on 30 September and 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) delivered its Judgement in the tr…
    Article by David J. Scheffer November 22, 2021 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Genocide and Mass Atrocities
    Why Religious Persecution Justifies U.S. Legislation on Crimes Against Humanity
    (This article is part of a series on a proposed Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, due to be considered in discussions now scheduled to resume on Oct. 13 in the S…
    Article by David J. Scheffer October 8, 2021 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
  • Oceans and Seas
    How Illegal Fishing Threatens Oceans
    Play
    There’s a one-in-five chance the fish you ate for dinner was caught illegally. Illegal fishing is devastating ecosystems and coastal communities. Here’s what countries are doing about it.
    Explainer Video with John C. Vann and Thamine Nayeem September 9, 2021
  • International Law
    The Age of Impunity, With David Miliband
    Podcast
    David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the international community can hold accountable governments and terrorist groups that kill or brutalize civilians. Miliband’s recent Foreign Affairs article, “The Age of Impunity: And How to Fight It,” is available on foreignaffairs.com.
    Podcast with James M. Lindsay and David Miliband July 6, 2021 The President’s Inbox
  • International Law
    The Supreme Court Denied a Child Labor Claim Against U.S. Firms: What to Know
    Though Nestlé and Cargill were not held accountable for child labor in their supply chains, the Supreme Court upheld the precedent that corporate decisions are subject to international law.
    Article by David J. Scheffer June 25, 2021 International Institutions and Global Governance Program
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