High-profile mass shootings in the United States in recent years have rekindled the gun control debate and raised comparisons of policies around the world.
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Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group, are fleeing persecution in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, fueling a historic migration crisis.
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With the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, London hopes its Commonwealth partners can help boost trade, but critics say the group is outmoded and ineffective.
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The Good Friday Agreement has dampened sectarian tensions and brought stability to Northern Ireland since 1998, but Brexit negotiations and local political paralysis are throwing the region’s hard-won gains into doubt.
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The Organization of American States is an important forum for regional diplomacy, but it has been hesitant to censure member states for violating democratic principles.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Less than a century after the discovery of antibiotics, the world is at risk of entering an era in which the life-saving drugs no longer work. -
China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and arguably has the most leverage on Kim Jong-un’s regime. But while Beijing appears willing to condemn its neighbor’s nuclear developments, analysts say its cautious policies remain focused on stability.
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President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to consolidate power amid a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis have drawn widespread international condemnation.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has introduced an audacious set of economic policies designed to spur the country out of its decades-long deflationary slump. The results have so far been mixed.
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World Trade Organization (WTO)
With President Trump skeptical of the WTO’s usefulness and Doha negotiations stalled, the future of global trade rules is in doubt. -
The United States and other Western countries are reevaluating their foreign investment regulations amid an uptick in Chinese interest in strategic sectors.
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As religious observance in China grows, the Chinese Communist Party continues to toughen oversight, increase religious persecution, and attempt to coopt state-sanctioned religious organizations.
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The Chinese Communist Party faces a host of pressing domestic and international policy issues as it transitions to a new generation of leaders.
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Dispute resolution mechanisms have become increasingly controversial as countries grapple with their implications for sovereignty, domestic regulation, and the enforcement of international obligations.
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Comprehensive immigration reform has eluded Congress for years, moving controversial policy decisions into the executive and judicial branches of government.
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Hobbled by foreign interventions, political instability, and natural disasters, the former French colony has long suffered from underdevelopment.
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Tens of millions of Chinese now identify as Christians and the number has grown rapidly, posing challenges for a government that is officially atheist and wary of threats to its power.
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President Trump argues that tariffs are necessary to protect U.S. national security, but many experts argue that the measures could backfire.
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Once locked in war, Vietnam and the United States have built mature ties rooted in mutual economic and security interests.
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Cryptocurrencies are a disruptive financial technology that present governments with new national security challenges and terrorist groups, criminals, and rogue states with opportunities.
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Influence Campaigns and Disinformation
Charges of foreign power interference in the U.S. presidential election have raised grave national security concerns and touched off multiple federal inquiries that could drag on for months. -
Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament
A landmark arms control agreement concluded between the United States and the Soviet Union in the final years of the Cold War is at risk of unraveling amid mutual suspicions. -
Italy’s elections will shape the country’s response to economic stagnation, migration woes, and European integration, with repercussions across the continent.
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China is believed to spend billions of dollars to boost its international image, but it has yet to see a marked return on its investment in soft power.
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U.S. strategic and tactical nuclear weapons on land, in the air, and at sea, will undergo costly and extensive modernization in the coming years.