Council on Foreign Relations

How the U.S. Patrols Its Borders

President Trump sent U.S. troops to the border with Mexico to supplement the work of authorities there. President Biden pledges a new approach as pressures mount along the boundary.

Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham, Claire Felter and Zachary Laub March 26, 2021

United States

How the U.S. Patrols Its Borders

President Trump sent U.S. troops to the border with Mexico to supplement the work of authorities there. President Biden pledges a new approach as pressures mount along the boundary.

Backgrounder by Amelia Cheatham, Claire Felter and Zachary Laub March 26, 2021

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

What Is the World Doing to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines?

Only a year after the new coronavirus emerged, the first vaccines to protect against it are being administered. But production challenges, vaccine nationalism, and new virus strains are all presenting hurdles.

Backgrounder by Claire Felter March 1, 2021

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines

What Is the World Doing to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines?

Backgrounder by Claire Felter March 1, 2021

Economics

The CARES Act: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness

Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics at University of Michigan, leads a conversation on the new U.S. stimulus bill and how it will shape U.S. economic competitiveness.

Virtual Event with Betsey Stevenson March 24, 2021 State and Local Conference Calls and Webinars

Economics

The CARES Act: Implications for U.S. Competitiveness

Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics at University of Michigan, leads a conversation on the new U.S. stimulus bill and how it will shape U.S. economic competitiveness.

Virtual Event with Betsey Stevenson March 24, 2021 State and Local Conference Calls and Webinars

Economics

C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics With Kristalina Georgieva

Ahead of the annual IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, please join IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for a discussion of the economic outlook in the post-pandemic world and the actions needed to drive the recovery. Please note that the meeting will begin with a prerecorded address by the IMF Managing Director, followed by live conversation. The C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics brings the world's foremost economic policymakers and scholars to address members on current topics in international economics and U.S. monetary policy. This meeting series is presented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

Virtual Event with Kristalina Georgieva March 30, 2021 C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics

Economics

C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics With Kristalina Georgieva

Virtual Event with Kristalina Georgieva March 30, 2021 C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics

28 Results for:

March 16, 2010

United Kingdom

Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) (aka, PIRA, "the provos," Óglaigh na hÉireann) (UK separatists)

The provisional Irish Republican Army, or IRA, is an outgrowth of an older group known as the Irish Republican Army, which fought an insurgency that successfully challenged British rule in the whole …

Backgrounder by Kathryn Gregory

August 27, 2009

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Shining Path, Tupac Amaru (Peru, leftists)

An overview of Peruvian terrorist groups, Shining Path and Tupac Amaru.

Backgrounder by Kathryn Gregory

November 5, 2008

Iraq

Ansar al-Islam (Iraq, Islamists/Kurdish Separatists), Ansar al-Sunnah

A profile of a militant Islamist Kurdish separatist movement seeking to transform Iraq into an Islamic state.

Backgrounder by Kathryn Gregory

November 9, 2015

Asia

Southern Asia’s Nuclear Powers

China, India, and Pakistan have relatively small but growing nuclear arms programs. This nuclear competition is raising concern because of long-simmering tensions and a lack of efforts at minimizing …

A surface-to-surface missile is launched off the eastern Indian state of Odisha, September 15, 2013.

Backgrounder by Eleanor Albert

June 19, 2015

Yemen

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has emerged as one of the most dangerous al-Qaeda affiliates, strengthening amid political unrest in Yemen.

Jalal Belaidi, also known as Abu Hamza, leader of Ansar al-Sharia.

Backgrounder by CFR Staff

March 13, 2014

Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament

Sarin

Sarin, one of the world’s most lethal chemical weapons, has long been stockpiled but is rarely used by states or terrorists. Allegations of attacks on civilians in Syria, if substantiated, would repr…

Backgrounder by Zachary Laub

March 7, 2013

Religion

Papal Succession in the Catholic Church

The election of pope to lead the world’s one billion Catholics stirs debate over the spiritual authority of the pontiff and the church’s role in the world.

Backgrounder by Robert McMahon

October 28, 2010

Afghanistan

Foreign Policy and the 2010 Midterms: War in Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan hasn’t been a major campaign issue even as public support for it has waned. This Backgrounder examines political backing for the war.

Backgrounder by Jayshree Bajoria

June 29, 2010

International Organizations

The G20’s Twenty Agendas

The G20 meetings in Toronto will be marked by competing agendas on global growth and financial regulations. This Backgrounder looks at the range of policy concerns.

Backgrounder by Roya Wolverson

October 12, 2010

Pakistan

Winning the Information War in Afghanistan and Pakistan

President Obama has made "strategic communications" an essential part of his move to boost the military and nation-building effort in Afghanistan. But experts say countering Taliban messaging will ta…

Backgrounder by Greg Bruno

Experts on this Topic

David J. Scheffer

Visiting Senior Fellow

Henri J. Barkey

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies

Thomas J. Bollyky

Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development and Director of the Global Health Program