Council on Foreign Relations

America’s global role is more contested and uncertain than at any time since World War II, and the time is ripe for a fundamental reevaluation of the nation’s strategy. To meet this moment, the Council on Foreign Relations is launching the Future of American Strategy Initiative, a multiyear effort that aims to answer one defining question: Where does America go from here? To kickstart this conversation, CFR scholars, across 27 essays, explore the evolving strategic environment the United States will face over the next decade, spanning American strategy, great power rivalry, global order, geoeconomics, and warfare: cfr.org/future-of-amer…

For a brief period after the Cold War, Americans persuaded themselves that the liberal order had become self-sustaining. And yet, any rules-based system elaborate enough to govern and interpret its own operations will eventually confront questions that its rules cannot answer, argues CFR expert @BennSteil for @ProSyn. cfr.org/articles/why-r…

The defining foreign policy challenges of the 21st century are global in nature. To help develop effective responses to these threats and opportunities, the Council on Foreign Relations created the Council of Councils, a network comprised of 27 of the world’s leading think tanks from 24 countries. The Council of Councils gathers top thought leaders from around the world to consider global issues from different regional lenses, helping them better inform policymakers at home. This year, they're addressing topics that are reshaping international relations, such as the rise of AI, rapidly changing dynamics in the Middle East, and the rearming of the world. Learn more about the Council of Councils: bit.ly/4wSEPCZ

"When new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh promised to shake up monetary policy, some analysts feared he would campaign for premature interest rate cuts. But Warsh has focused instead on reforming the central bank's public messaging — mostly by demanding less of it," writes CFR expert @BennSteil for @PostOpinions. "Warsh is right to unwind the Fed's long, unsuccessful experiment with forward guidance. The most useful forecast is no forecast at all," he writes. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…

"To get back on course and help anchor a changing world, America should now embrace what one might call 'multilateralism-lite.' International cooperation remains necessary for solving global problems like trade, global warming, and AI regulation, but the United States cannot rely on bureaucratic and slow-moving institutions like the U.N. to address these problems," writes CFR expert @CharlesKupchan for @RStatecraft. "As global power diffuses, the United States must for now set aside efforts to spread republican ideals and instead work with other nations — democracies and autocracies alike — to fashion a pluralistic and ideologically diverse global order," he writes. responsiblestatecraft.org/america-first-…

Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent shockwaves through the global economy. Now Tehran is converting that wartime chokepoint into a lasting source of control after the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) fell apart. "It's going to be very difficult to persuade the Iranian government to give up that control willingly," explains CFR expert @edwardfishman, in a dispatch from the Aspen Security Forum.

"Donald Trump has long treated NATO like a punching bag, leading many observers to proclaim the demise of the Western alliance," writes CFR expert @CharlesKupchan for @TheAtlantic. "And yet, the quiet reality is that NATO, albeit wounded, is actually going strong." theatlantic.com/international/…

“I think we're really only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of this deal activity . . . we're tracking about 30 deals right now that have been announced that involve equity or quasi-equity stakes since January of 2025,” says CFR expert @HillmanJE. In this episode of The Spillover, Hillman joins cohosts Rebecca Patterson and @scmallaby to discuss the U.S. government’s rapidly growing portfolio of equity stakes in private companies, including potential stakes in quantum computing entities and OpenAI. Trace the growing number of public investments in private companies with Hillman’s U.S. Government Deal Tracker: cfr.org/articles/washi… Watch the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts: youtu.be/dUIINaP9Now?si…

“Regardless of what happens this week, NATO has already become a zombie alliance,” says @RebeccaLissner, director of CFR’s Future of American Strategy Initiative. “The life force of NATO has always been a U.S. security guarantee backed by U.S. extended nuclear deterrence. And frankly, today, for me, it’s hard to see President Trump fulfilling that guarantee and electing to send U.S. service members to fight to defend NATO against Russian aggression.” 🔗 Watch the full conversation: bit.ly/4fg50w0

“There’s some podcasters, you know, out there. They’re experts in knowing everything about nothing. And they kind of joke about Israel’s obsession with existence. Have you heard about this? Yeah, we obsess about existence because there are those who would like us not to exist and actually make a concerted effort to eliminate our existence. So we have a generation who understand that and fight hard to ensure that we’re going to survive,” says Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter. 🔗 Watch the full conversation: bit.ly/4vCb8oK

In Women in Power: Fighting for Democracy in an Age of Authoritarianism, CFR expert @RobinsonL100 explores the effects of authoritarianism and violent extremism on women leaders, as well as the ways in which they are fighting back and creating more resilient democracies. Learn more: cfr.org/books/women-in…

“So you have these two sides and, Trump saying, ‘I solved the war,’ India’s saying, ‘No, you didn’t,’ and Pakistan’s saying, ’Yes, you did. Thank you, sir, and may we please nominate you for a Nobel Peace Prize?’” says CFR expert @dhume, explaining Pakistan’s strategy in courting President Trump following the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. Watch or listen to the latest episode of The President’s Inbox wherever you get your podcasts: bit.ly/4b0IwxY

Since 1776, the United States has grown from a fragile union of small, loosely connected states to a global superpower. "Throughout it all, the United States has had to navigate a challenging international environment," writes expert @JamesMLindsay. He asked members of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations what they considered to be the 10 best and 10 worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history. Here is what they said: cfr.org/ten-best-ten-w…

The Council welcomes @SonjaSantelises as Vice President, Senior Fellow, and Director of the Richard Haass Center for Education. A nationally recognized leader and educator, Dr. Santelises has spent her career advancing educational opportunities and championing academic excellence for all young people. At CFR, she will lead the Richard Haass Center for Education, overseeing CFR’s education initiatives and efforts to promote civil discourse and global learning in secondary and postsecondary classrooms across the nation. Learn more: bit.ly/4f5dbMW

Read his full analysis: cfr.org/articles/the-i…

The timing of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement of a "diplomatic campaign" to "dismantle” the International Criminal Court is puzzling, expert John B. Bellinger III writes. "The ICC has not announced any new actions against the United States, nor has it taken any overt actions against the United States in more than 6 years. The court is not 'now' claiming any new powers to investigate or prosecute Americans, as the secretary’s op-ed asserts." The Trump administration "should not try to kill a court that has enjoyed bipartisan congressional support when it has been doing the work it was intended to do, and that still provides the only venue for seeking justice for the worst international crimes," he writes.

“My faith is not your problem. . . . If my faith is your problem, don’t vote for me,” says @RahmEmanuel, who served as President Bill Clinton’s political strategist, President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff, and President Joe Biden’s U.S. ambassador to Japan, in discussion with Rebecca Patterson and @scmallaby, cohosts of The Spillover podcast. Watch or listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts: youtu.be/OkGotA4cf-I?si…

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is strangling shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—the choke point for nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply—and roiling energy markets. U.S. and Iranian negotiators struck a ceasefire agreement in June 2026 to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt fighting for 60 days, but after a flurry of renewed attacks between the two countries, the truce collapsed on July 8. Days later, Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was again closed, while President Trump declared the U.S. naval blockade revived, adding that he would also impose a 20% toll on cargo traversing the waterway. Meanwhile, Iran has repeatedly threatened to levy its own “user fees” on ships that travel past its littoral space along the strait. cfr.org/articles/strai…

“Israel’s military actions in Lebanon are not a result of whether or not the Lebanese government is united on inviting us in or not. Israeli military actions in Lebanon are intended to defend our population,” says Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter. “There’s a hostile organization called Hezbollah on the other side of the border that has built a multitude of tunnel networks, as Hamas did in Gaza, which run straight into the border, under the border, and into our towns and villages.” 🔗 Watch the full conversation: bit.ly/4vCb8oK

The Trump administration has continued to ramp up its maximum-pressure campaign on Cuba, sanctioning 11 Cuban officials and 3 government agencies. The moves come as the island reportedly runs out of diesel and fuel oil amid a U.S. blockade. cfr.org/articles/us-cu…