Global Commons | Council on Foreign Relations

Food and Water Security

Down the Hunger Spiral: Pathways to the Disintegration of the Global Food System

For a precarious global agricultural system with powerful feedback loops, business as usual means widespread hunger and embedded systemic risk.

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick October 3, 2019 The Internationalist
Global

Trailer: Why It Matters

Each episode breaks down an issue that is shaping our world’s future. Join host Gabrielle Sierra as she speaks with the leaders and thinkers who are facing these questions head on. Fueled by the minds at the Council on Foreign Relations, Why It Matters brings some of the world’s most compelling stories home to you.

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra October 2, 2019 Why It Matters
United Nations

The Role of the UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly hosts a much-watched debate of world leaders each year but has struggled to make its work more substantive. The seventy-fourth session will likely be dominated by issues including climate change, tensions in the Middle East, and the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.

Backgrounder by CFR Staff September 24, 2019

Climate Change

International Cooperation on Climate Change

Andrew Revkin, founding director of the initiative on communication innovation and impact at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, draws on more than three decades of lessons learned from his enviro…

Conference Call with Andrew Revkin September 11, 2019 Academic Conference Calls
United States

Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness

U.S. space exploration inspired a generation of students and innovators, but NASA’s role has diminished, and the number of global space competitors is growing.

Backgrounder by Steven J. Markovich and Andrew Chatzky September 10, 2019 Renewing America
Cybersecurity

Cyber Crime in Outer Space: Houston, Do We Have a Problem?

Recent allegations of criminal wrongdoing by an astronaut on a computer network from space suggests that how U.S. law applies to citizens engaged in government, commercial, or non-governmental space activities might require clarification.

Blog Post by David P. Fidler August 29, 2019 Net Politics
United States

Back-to-School Reading Special

Every year CFR.org editor Bob McMahon and I record a summer reading episode of CFR’s “The World Next Week” podcast. We usually do it in June as we entertain visions of leisurely summer days yet to co…

Blog Post by James M. Lindsay August 20, 2019 The Water's Edge
Climate Change

Sunk Coast Fallacy: How Island Nations Should Approach Climate Diplomacy

Pacific island nations under threat from rising sea levels can translate geopolitical competition in the region into climate action.

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick August 7, 2019 The Internationalist
Women and Women's Rights

A Woman on the Moon and Equality on Earth

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and push toward a new frontier in space exploration, it is time to ensure women are equal partners in STEM and space.

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Women Around the World July 18, 2019 Women Around the World
U.S. Congress

Debating the Debt Ceiling, Remembering the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, and More

Congress attempts to strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling, Cyprus observes the anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion, and the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing is commemorated.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Steven A. Cook July 18, 2019 The World Next Week
Public Health Threats and Pandemics

The World Health Organization

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

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors July 18, 2019
Space

The Moon Landing Anniversary Confronts America With a Fateful Choice

Fifty years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, U.S. policymakers face the choice of whether to put humanity on a trajectory of peaceful cooperation or dangerous militarization in space.

Blog Post by Stewart M. Patrick and Kyle L. Evanoff July 17, 2019 The Internationalist
Oceans and Seas

Why the UN Pact on High Seas Biodiversity Is Too Important to Fail

The UN Pact on High Seas Biodiversity represents a long-overdue acknowledgment that the fate of the ocean will help determine our own. But success will require reconciling the divergent interests of multiple constituencies.

Blog Post by Stewart M. Patrick July 8, 2019 The Internationalist
Space

Big Bangs, Red Herrings, and the Dilemmas of Space Security

Policymakers should be careful not to focus to excess on the possibility of kinetic warfare in space.

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick June 27, 2019 The Internationalist
Global

See How Much You Know About Maritime Policy and Disputes

Test your knowledge of maritime policy and disputes, from the Arctic to the South China Sea.

Quiz by CFR Staff May 28, 2019