With the U.S. national debt already exceeding $16 trillion, President Trump’s tax reform and budget deals with Congress have added to the country’s deficits. CFR explores the origins of the national debt, the risks it presents, and the outlook for change.

A growing number of countries are legalizing same-sex marriage amid a steady advance in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, but opposition remains strong in many countries.

Differences over Taiwan’s status fuel tensions between the island and mainland, yet cross-strait economic ties continue to deepen. 

As China’s power continues to grow, some fear that the considerable autonomy Hong Kong has enjoyed over the last three decades could slip away.

The Chinese Communist Party faces a host of pressing domestic and international policy challenges as it transitions to a new generation of leaders.

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 inclu…

Opioid addiction in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, threatening not only public health but economic output and national security.

The United Nations’ top leadership position has broad authority to steer the organization’s agenda, but its impact has varied widely since 1946.

The U.S. Navy’s dominance of the world’s oceans has made it an indispensable foreign policy tool as well as a guarantor of global trade, but a mix of challenges is raising difficult questions about i…

For many policymakers, economic sanctions have become the tool of choice to respond to major geopolitical challenges such as terrorism and conflict.