Explainers

  • The IRGC is one of the most powerful organizations in Iran, conceived as the principal defender of the 1979 revolution, and now a critical link to Islamist militant groups violently opposed to Israel and the United States.
  • The Iran-backed Shiite militia was considered the most powerful non-state group in the Middle East, but an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in 2024 has considerably weakened it.
  • The U.S. government responds to scores of disasters each year in coordination with foreign, state, and local partners, but more frequent and severe storms, fires, and floods are straining resources.
  • Countries will collectively need to spend trillions of dollars to reach their decarbonization goals and protect the most vulnerable nations from climate disasters, but experts say that current funding levels lag behind what’s required to stave off and adapt to the worst effects of climate change.
  • Presidential candidates Harris and Trump differ sharply on the benefits of immigration for the U.S. economy. What role do immigrants play?
  • Programs that allow foreign investors to buy residency or citizenship in another country are growing in popularity, but some carry economic and security risks.
  • The CHIPS and Science Act seeks to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry amid growing fears of a China-Taiwan conflict. Where is the money going, and how is the effort playing out?
  • The fracking boom has transformed the United States into the world’s leading producer of oil and gas. With presidential candidates Harris and Trump clashing on climate and energy policy, the practice is once again in the spotlight.
  • In this special episode of The World Next Week, hosts Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins discuss how news outlets around the world are reporting on the November 5 U.S. elections and how it reflects on public and government interests. 
  • Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the nature and significance of growing cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This episode is the seventh in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2024 presidential election and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
  • France seeks to spur international support for humanitarian aid for Lebanon as fighting grinds on between Israel and Hezbollah; Japan holds a snap general election as Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru hopes to rally the embattled and longtime ruling Liberal Democratic Party; Georgia heads to the polls in an election that could shift the country away from the European Union and firmly into Russia’s orbit; and China and India reach a border deal.
  • As part of our Election 2024 initiative exploring the role of the United States in the world, how international affairs issues affect voters, and what is at stake as voters make their choices in November, CFR visited colleges and universities in four battleground states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—to hold public forums with top experts on international issues and how they influence the lives of Americans. Our nonpartisan conversations, co-hosted with Arizona State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Grand Valley State University, and Franklin & Marshall College covered the U.S. role in the world, the trade-offs presented by different policy options both locally and globally, and context on the international issues, choices, and challenges facing the next president.
  • 2023 was a tumultuous year, marked by violent conflicts, democratic erosion, and record-high temperatures. This year, experts at the Council on Foreign Relations, along with visiting world leaders and thinkers, unpacked these issues and more. Join CFR’s director of studies, Jim Lindsay, in looking back at his list of the ten most impactful events of the year.  
  • Taiwan's relationship with the United States, China, and the rest of the world has a complex history that informs why the island is so consequential to today's geopolitics. To better understand these dynamics, David Sacks, CFR's fellow for Asia studies, answers questions about Taiwan's history and its significance to diplomacy in East Asia. For more on the relationship between the United States, China, and Taiwan, check out the Council on Foreign Relations–sponsored Independent Task Force, "U.S.-Taiwan Relations in a New Era". cfr.org/us-taiwan
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) could transform economies, politics, and everyday life. Some experts believe this increasingly powerful technology could lead to amazing advances and prosperity. Yet, many tech and industry leaders are warning that AI poses substantial risks, and they are calling for a moratorium on AI research so that safety measures can be established. But amid mounting great-power competition, it’s unclear whether national governments will be able to coordinate on regulating this technology that offers so many economic and strategic opportunities.
  • The quadrennial U.S. presidential nominating conventions often focus on domestic themes. But they have at times been flavored by global economic concerns and national security threats, offering competing Democratic and Republican visions about the United States’ role in the world. In the 2024 race, Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, and his challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris, are projecting starkly different worldviews.
  • The International Olympic Committee says the games are not meant to be political. But governments and athletes have frequently used the Olympics to make statements through boycotts and protests.
  • The United States and China have one of the world’s most important and complex bilateral relationships. Since 1949, the countries have experienced periods of both tension and cooperation over issues including trade, climate change, and Taiwan.
  • Disputes over overlapping exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea have intensified in recent decades, while the territorial row over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea dates back to the nineteenth century.