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Expert Bio
Dr. Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat, a prominent voice on American foreign policy, and an established leader of nonprofit institutions. He is in his nineteenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, publisher, and educational institution dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.
In 2013, he served as the chair of the multiparty negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award.
From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he directed the policy planning staff and was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process.
Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981–1985) and Defense (1979–1980), and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.
A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Haass holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and master’s and doctorate of philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has also received numerous honorary degrees and was a member of the faculty of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and Hamilton College.
Dr. Haass is the author or editor of fourteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management. His latest book is The World: A Brief Introduction, published by Penguin Press.
Dr. Haass was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives in New York City.
Affiliations:
- Member, Board of Directors, Lazard
- Member, Advisory Board, Cyrus Capital Partners
- Member, Investment Committee, Safra Foundation
- Consultant: Dataminr, Interos.ai, and percipient.ai
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The West should keep open the possibility of diplomacy with Russia.
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Peace in Ukraine remains a long shot unless the West can change Putin's calculus.
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The United States needs to keep up the pressure on Putin while preparing for escalation and providing an off-ramp.
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Fifty years after President Nixon's historic trip to China, U.S.-China relations are at a crossroads.
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Five years after the publication of A World in Disarray, the world is an even messier place with most trends heading in the wrong direction.
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What to do to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine—and what to do if deterrence fails.
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Although nuclear negotiations with Iran are resuming, the United States should plan for what comes next.
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Alone among US President George W. Bush’s senior advisers, Colin Powell did not push for the costly, ill-advised Iraq War, and it would be misreading history to hold him responsible for it. He remained a man of moderation and character to the end.
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Colin Powell’s extraordinary career as a soldier-statesman provides a model for how to live one’s life in the public arena at a time few such models can be found.
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To maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, U.S. policy will need to adjust to deal with a more capable and assertive China.
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The swift fall of Kabul recalls the ignominious fall of Saigon in 1975. Beyond the local consequences—widespread reprisals, harsh repression of women and girls, and massive refugee flows—America’s strategic and moral failure in Afghanistan will reinforce questions about US reliability among friends and foes alike.
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The ongoing pandemic and global climate-related disasters demonstrate the inadequacy of efforts to address the problematic aspects of globalization.
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The current cybersecurity landscape is a latter-day Wild West that calls for a new US policy of deterrence, diplomacy, and defense.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
After a year and a half since we started living with COVID-19, we can draw some preliminary conclusions from the experience. -
The basic themes of Biden's presidency have emerged. While many represent a sharp departure, there is considerable continuity when it comes to foreign policy.
