Politics and Government | Council on Foreign Relations

Middle East and North Africa

Unvaccinated Police Officers Could Become America’s Own Insurgents

Iraq and Egypt show how hard it is to get rid of a militarized security force.

Article by Steven A. Cook October 28, 2021 Middle East Program
Cybersecurity

Consumer-facing Companies Still Have Few Incentives to Stop Data Breaches, and That’s a National Security Concern.

U.S. adversaries have been able to exfiltrate data from U.S. companies in recent years seemingly at will. It’s time for the government to get serious about combating data theft across all industries.

Blog Post by Maya Villasenor October 26, 2021 Net Politics
Lebanon

What Is Hezbollah?

Military experience gained from fighting in Syria’s civil war and decades of clashes with Israel have made the Iran-backed group stronger than ever, but the biggest threat it faces may be upheaval in its own backyard.

Backgrounder by Kali Robinson October 26, 2021

Experts in this Topic

Jendayi E. Frazer

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies

James M. Lindsay

Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair

Sudan

Sudanese Military Leaders Seize Power, Dissolve Transitional Government

The coup in Sudan shows that the military members of the transitional government were never truly committed to implementing democracy in the manner sought by protesters who forced Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019.

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin October 25, 2021 Africa in Transition
Sub-Saharan Africa

Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy: The Impact of COVID-19 on Democracy in Africa

Panelists discuss the impact of COVID-19 on democracy in Africa, including suspended elections and lockdown measures sometimes used to target opposition groups and the media, as well as steps some countries are taking to safeguard civil liberties during the pandemic. The Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy is held in memory of Darryl G. Behrman, who was originally from South Africa and had an abiding passion for Africa and international peace. The annual lecture is funded by members of the Behrman family. This meeting is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.

Virtual Event by Michelle Gavin , Idayat Hassan and John Mukum Mbaku October 20, 2021
Elections and Voting

Democracy and Reporting on Elections

Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, discusses voter demographics at the municipal, state, and federal level and what this tells us about civic engagement and i…

Webinar by Robert Griffin October 19, 2021 Local Journalists Webinars

Middle East and North Africa

Erdogan Might Be Too Sick to Keep Leading Turkey

Evidence is growing that Turkey’s president is ailing—and that could be bad news for the country’s politics.

Article by Steven A. Cook October 19, 2021 Middle East Program
Cameroon

Cameroon Presidential Succession Looms Large in Solving Country's Political Crises

The eventual succession to Paul Biya, Cameroon's president since 1982, will likely prove a critical moment for Cameroon and its overlapping political and security crises.

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin October 18, 2021 Africa in Transition
United States

Colin Powell: An American Life

Colin Powell’s extraordinary career as a soldier-statesman provides a model for how to live one’s life in the public arena at a time few such models can be found.

Article by Richard Haass October 18, 2021
Venezuela

Saab Story: Venezuela, Maduro, and Human Sacrifice

An extradition to the United States is a reminder of justice--and its absence.

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams October 17, 2021 Pressure Points
North Korea

Can U.S. And South Korean Public Opinion Align On North Korea?

U.S and South Korean polling on North Korea show strong support for denuclearization negotiations and summitry. How will growing consensus in public opinion impact U.S.-South Korea policy coordination toward North Korea?

Blog Post by Scott A. Snyder October 14, 2021 Asia Unbound
Corruption

The Pandora Papers, With Miles Kahler

Miles Kahler, senior fellow for global governance at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the recent Pandora Papers leak, and the broader problem of global corruption.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Miles Kahler October 12, 2021 The President's Inbox
Eswatini

Swazi Students Resist Monarchy to Continue the Fight for Democracy

The world should not look away from Swazis' continuing fight for democracy.

Blog Post by Michelle Gavin October 12, 2021 Africa in Transition
Diplomacy and International Institutions

World Bank-IMF Meetings, Czech Elections Amid Pandora Papers Leak, and More

The World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund hold their annual meetings, the Czech Republic holds closely watched elections in the wake of the Pandora Papers leak, and the Group of Twenty (G20) convenes for an emergency summit on Afghanistan.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon October 7, 2021 The World Next Week
United States

The U.S. War in Afghanistan Twenty Years On: Public Opinion Then and Now

Two decades after the start of Operation Enduring Freedom, Americans view the war very differently.

Blog Post by Anna Shortridge October 7, 2021 The Water's Edge