Global | Council on Foreign Relations

United States

Think Global, Write Local

Mark Seibel, technology policy editor at the Washington Post, discusses his journalism career and best practices for connecting local issues to global dynamics. Carla Anne Robbins, adjunct senior fel…

Conference Call with Mark Seibel February 25, 2021 Local Journalists Conference Calls and Webinars
Currency Reserves

The Dollar Privilege

The dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency, accounting for $6.7 trillion in foreign reserves. This has given the United States what some have called “an exorbitant privilege,” allowing it to borrow easily and to levy painful sanctions. But could it lose this status?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Roger Ferguson and Sebastian Mallaby February 18, 2021 Why It Matters
World Trade Organization (WTO)

What’s Next for the WTO?

In the wake of President Trump’s combative approach to trade, and with major negotiations stalled, the future of global trade rules is in doubt.

Backgrounder by James McBride, Andrew Chatzky and Anshu Siripurapu February 16, 2021

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

'The Most Persistent and Lethal Threat'

For years, security experts have warned that white nationalist and white supremacist extremism represent the most significant domestic terrorism threat to the United States. Now, in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the country seems to be gaining clarity about the seriousness of the situation for the first time. How did we get here, and what can be done?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Bruce Hoffman and Cynthia Miller-Idriss February 3, 2021 Why It Matters
Wars and Conflict

Global Conflict Tracker

The Center for Preventive Action’s Global Conflict Tracker is an interactive guide to ongoing conflicts around the world of concern to the United States.

Interactive February 1, 2021 Center for Preventive Action
World Health Organization (WHO)

What Does the World Health Organization Do?

Since its postwar founding, the UN agency has garnered both praise and criticism for its response to international public health crises, including the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors January 29, 2021
Human Rights

The Changing Landscape of Global LGBTQ+ Rights

Although LGBTQ+ people in every region of the world face marginalization and repression, their human rights have steadily advanced. The Biden administration has an opportunity to further promote LGBTQ+ rights by asserting them as a foreign policy priority.

by Paul J. Angelo and Dominic Bocci January 28, 2021
Russia

Russia

There is no country quite like Russia. Despite having a relatively small economy, it has been able to maintain global influence through a range of unconventional tactics. How has Vladimir Putin played his country’s weak hand so effectively? And what is his goal?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Jill Dougherty, Stephen Sestanovich and Angela Stent January 19, 2021 Why It Matters
China

China’s Starring Role in Hollywood

What does it take to make a Hollywood blockbuster? Movie stars? A great script? How about approval from the Chinese government? In this episode, two guests explore the surprising role of Chinese censorship and oversight in the production of U.S. films and ask what’s at stake as their presence increases.

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Aynne Kokas and James Tager January 6, 2021 Why It Matters
2020 in Review

Ten Good Foreign Policy News Stories in 2020

Two thousand twenty will go down in the books as a very tough year. It’s of no comfort that historians say it ranks just eighth in terms of the most stressful years in U.S. history. Our lives were di…

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay December 30, 2020 The Water's Edge
Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

COVID-19: Why Vaccination Coverage Is Important

Vaccines are a major public health success story, but the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the many challenges involved in getting a vaccine to everyone who needs it.

In Brief by Claire Felter December 22, 2020
Global

Five Foreign Policy Stories to Watch in 2021

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay December 21, 2020 The Water's Edge
2020 in Review

Ten Most Significant World Events in 2020

Four years ago stories appeared asking whether 2016 was the worst year ever. Well, 2020 has 2016 beat. You would have to go back to 1968 to find a year filled with as much turmoil. Yes, the past twel…

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay December 17, 2020 The Water's Edge
Global Governance

The State of Global Governance: A Conversation With Richard Haass and the Council of Councils

Richard N. Haass, Sunjoy Joshi, and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos discuss the mounting challenges to global governance and their implications for international cooperation, including rising climate concerns, economic volatility, and increasing great power tensions amid a global pandemic. The Council of Councils (CoC) is an international initiative created by the Council on Foreign Relations to connect leading foreign policy institutes from around the world in a dialogue on issues of global governance and multilateral cooperation. The CoC is composed of twenty-eight major policy institutes from some of the world’s most influential countries. It is designed to facilitate candid, not-for-attribution dialogue and consensus-building among influential opinion leaders from both established and emerging nations, with the ultimate purpose of injecting the conclusions of its deliberations into high-level foreign policy circles within members' countries.

Virtual Event by Richard N. Haass, Sunjoy Joshi and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos November 9, 2020
Global

Season Three Trailer

What happens when the world runs out of fish? Does TikTok actually present a national security risk? Will Africa's population boom change the world as we know it? In season three, Why It Matters explores a new series of challenges that are gathering on the horizon.

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra October 14, 2020 Why It Matters