Daniel Kurtz-Phelan

Editor, Foreign Affairs; Peter G. Peterson Chair

Expert Bio

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is Editor of Foreign Affairs, a position he has held since January 2021. He previously spent three years as Executive Editor of the magazine and served in the U.S. State Department, including as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. His narrative history of George Marshall's post-World War II mission to China, The China Mission, was published by WW Norton in 2018 and named a best book of the year by The Economist and an editor's pick by the New York Times Book Review. He has been a fellow at New America, the Wilson Center, and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and taught at New York and Yale Universities. His writing has also appeared in publications including New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic.

Explore More on China

China

The China-North Korea Relationship

China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and arguably has the most leverage over Kim Jong Un’s regime. Analysts say Beijing’s policies are focused on stability, though it signals ambivalence about its neighbor’s nuclear arms advances.

Backgrounder by Clara Fong and Eleanor Albert March 7, 2024

Taiwan

Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense

Differences over Taiwan’s status have fueled rising tensions between the island and the mainland. Taiwan has the potential to be a flash point in U.S.-China relations.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland February 8, 2024

International Organizations

The World Bank Group’s Role in Global Development

Since its founding in 1944, the World Bank has evolved from a lender focused on European reconstruction to the preeminent international institution for economic development and poverty reduction.

Backgrounder by Jonathan Masters, Noah Berman and Andrew Chatzky October 12, 2023

Top Stories on CFR

Middle East and North Africa

Virtual Media Briefing: Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

CFR experts Steven A. Cook and David J. Scheffer join Amnesty International’s Agnes Callamard and Refugee International’s Jeremy Konyndyk to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Virtual Event with Agnès Callamard, Steven A. Cook, Jeremy Konyndyk, David J. Scheffer and Kate Brannen April 11, 2024 Media Briefings

Japan

Prime Minister Kishida’s Tour de Force

The highlights from Kishida Fumio's busy week in Washington.

Blog Post by Sheila A. Smith April 15, 2024 Asia Unbound

Genocide and Mass Atrocities

Remembering the Rwandan Genocide

Thirty years ago, Rwanda’s government began a campaign to eradicate the country’s largest minority group. In just one hundred days in 1994, roving militias killed around eight hundred thousand people. Would-be killers were incited to violence by the radio, which encouraged extremists to take to the streets with machetes. The United Nations stood by amid the bloodshed, and many foreign governments, including the United States, declined to intervene before it was too late. What got in the way of humanitarian intervention? And as violent conflict now rages at a clip unseen since then, can the international community learn from the mistakes of its past?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, David J. Scheffer and Claude Gatebuke April 10, 2024 Why It Matters