Council on Foreign Relations

“Liberal democracy is in retreat worldwide, including in the United States, where the centrist, bipartisan compact that long anchored U.S. statecraft has collapsed," writes expert Charles Kupchan.

Investors are betting that the Brazilian presidential candidate will rein in public debt. But structural and political hurdles make austerity easier to promise than to enact, argue expert Rebecca Patterson and Ishaan Thakker.

NATO began Steadfast Noon, its annual nuclear deterrence exercise, last week, even as the Trump administration pursues a policy that threatens to undermine the alliance’s nuclear readiness, argue CFR expert Rebecca Lissner and Turner Ruggi in Foreign Policy.

As President Trump’s envoy met President Vladimir Putin this week, critics accused the White House of abandoning Ukraine. Expert Thomas Graham argues that this criticism may be warranted, but "with pressure only able to go so far, dialogue and diplomacy are critical to reaching a settlement."

In CFR's series profiling candidates for UN Secretary-General, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, the former minister of foreign affairs of Guyana, talked to us about why she's suited for this moment.

The number of violent conflicts worldwide is on the rise. Our Global Conflict Tracker traces active conflicts, providing background information, the latest developments, and status assessments. Use the interactive tool to learn more:

“China can build new high-speed rail lines or aircraft carriers but not, it seems, a sustainable social safety net for its rapidly graying countryside," writes expert Carl Minzer.

“The next version of U.S. foreign policy should marry the realist impulses that shape ‘America first’ with the liberal cause that remains at the heart of the American experience," writes expert Charles Kupchan.

“The stable and open international order erected during America’s watch—Pax Americana—is unraveling, giving way to global disarray,” argues expert Charles Kupchan. In his new book, Bringing Order to Anarchy, Kupchan lays out a guide for building a new order fit for the emerging multipolar world:

The agreement to buy diesel from Russia could mark a dangerous shift in how President Trump views the conflict with Ukraine, argues expert Stephen Sestanovich. https://www.cfr.org/articles/trumps-diesel-deal-with-russia-was-just-the-start?utm_medium=social_owned&utm_source=bs

“Everyone wants autonomy to be a clear binary, yes or no. . . . In reality, autonomy is a spectrum. . . . The question isn’t, ‘Is it autonomous?’ but rather, ‘How autonomous is it?’” argue experts Michael C. Horowitz and Lauren Kahn.

The Trump administration imposed financial sanctions this month on the International Criminal Court, escalating a previously announced diplomatic campaign to “dismantle” the court. Here is what to know:

Oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded, fueling claims that the U.S. is winning its war with Iran. But the Strait of Hormuz remains treacherous, Tehran isn’t any closer to accepting Washington’s terms, and the costs of the conflict continue to climb on both sides, argues expert Max Boot.

“The U.S. government, which for years had shunned Myanmar’s brutal military regime, now appears to be shifting course and engaging with it,” writes expert Joshua Kurlantzick. https://bit.ly/3TUd9Q2

“The U.S. government, which for years had shunned Myanmar’s brutal military regime, now appears to be shifting course and engaging with it,” writes expert Joshua Kurlantzick. https://bit.ly/4hR5zxJ

Myanmar's war has displaced health-care workers and destroyed its infrastructure, enabling disease spread to nearby Bangladesh, India, and Thailand, argues CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick in Think Global Health.

Brazil, Latin America’s largest democracy, will hold presidential elections on October 4. Experts say the result, which is expected to trigger a runoff, could reshape the country’s regional and international relations.

President Trump and leaders of 6 of the top U.S. AI companies signed an agreement on AI safety this week. It outlines safeguards but does not compel companies to adopt them, argues expert Connor Martin.

The United States, Denmark, and Greenland signed a trilateral security agreement in September that expands U.S. military access to the island, reinforcing Arctic security amid increasing geopolitical competition in the region.

Edward Fishman's fascination with foreign policy started with his childhood love of hockey and its international players. His career has taken him from government to Silicon Valley to CFR, where he's a senior fellow for geoeconomics. Here's how he got his career in foreign policy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently made front-page headlines by asserting that with 3% growth, we can grow our way out of debt. "But is he right?" write experts Benn Steil and Yuma Schuster.

President Donald Trump addressed the opening of the UN General Assembly for the 5th time. "But this year, what was not said was almost as important as what was," writes expert Esther Brimmer.

President Donald Trump’s trade pressures have rapidly pushed Canada and Europe toward each other. Whether the proposed EU “associate membership” for Canada stands is another matter, argues expert Matthias Matthijs.

The United States marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks "with a stunning lack of preparedness to handle mounting new threats and resurgent old ones," argue experts Bruce Hoffman and Farah Pandith.

On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack took the lives of nearly 3,000 people, and deeply affected the generations of Americans who witnessed it. 25 years later, we spoke with 3 Gen Z interns at CFR, all born after the attacks, about how they understand 9/11 and its legacy.

CFR's U.S. Government Deal Tracker sheds light on how the government is experimenting with new tools and financing structures to advance a range of strategic sectors, including critical minerals, energy, global logistics, manufacturing, telecommunications, and other technologies. Read the tracker:

The Iran war has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in market history, yet barely dented global growth after 6 months of conflict. Strategic reserves and shale get the credit, but the unexpected cushion is the fuel everyone forgets—demand itself, argues expert Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran.

For the first time in nearly 2 decades, a new Pew Research survey—based on interviews with more than 42,000 people across 36 countries—shows China is viewed more favorably than the US. "This is a story driven more by an American decline in soft power than by a Chinese surge," writes Yanzhong Huang.

"Zambia's 2026 general elections are unlikely to leave many citizens feeling particularly confident in their democracy," writes expert Michelle Gavin. "That's a shame, because in 2021, the commitment of Zambian citizens served as a bright spot in dark times for democracy advocates around the world."

On this episode of The President's Inbox podcast, James Lindsay sits down with expert Steven Cook to unpack the current state of the US-Iran conflict after 6 months of war, broader dynamics in the Middle East, and the shifting US role in the region. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts:

Despite the Trump Administration's sweeping new tariffs last year, U.S. spending on imports and income paid to foreigners continued to grow—to a record $6.26 trillion," writes Benn Steil. Trace which countries are running the world's biggest deficits and surpluses in CFR's Global Imbalances Tracker:

Six months from the beginning of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, 7 experts weigh in on what the conflict means for the U.S., the region, and what to look for moving forward. Read more from Steven Cook, Farah Pandith, Henri Barkey, Elliott Abrams, Bruce Hoffman, Ed Husain, and Elisa Ewers: