We are now accepting applications for our 2027-28 fellowship programs, which offer unique, transformational opportunities for U.S. citizens with a demonstrated commitment to a career in foreign policy. Selected fellows broaden their perspectives on foreign affairs by gaining exposure to a new environment in a policymaking setting, at CFR, or overseas. Applications close on October 30, 2026. Apply or learn more:

“Somaliland is strategically located across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. And the Houthis from Yemen now control a [nearby] maritime chokepoint, the Mandeb Strait, through which a not-insignificant amount of global trade passes every single day,” says CFR Middle East and North Africa expert @stevenacook. Cook explains the history of the self-declared nation, and notes that President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi recently traveled to Washington and New York to make the case for U.S. recognition.

After nearly 2 years of escalating rhetoric from Washington, the United States, Denmark, and Greenland signed a trilateral security agreement in September that allows for a greater U.S. military presence on the island—including the establishment of “Golden Dome” missile-defense capabilities. Despite President Donald Trump’s previous calls to acquire Greenland, the deal preserves the status quo, maintaining the island’s status as a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. The new agreement expands that partnership, allowing the United States greater access to the island and its territorial waters in what experts say strengthens security in the Arctic.

Cuba's challenges are well known: an authoritarian government unwilling to undertake deep reform, an unproductive economy, and the constant pressure of U.S. sanctions, expert @WillGFreeman notes. But another crisis has drawn less attention: the largest outflow of people in Cuba's history. Up to a quarter of the population has left since 2020, according to independent experts. “This unprecedented exodus has few modern parallels outside active war zones," Freeman writes. Freeman spoke to people in Cuba, as well as Cubans displaced across the world, to understand what has driven this once-in-a-generation outflow—and what it means for the island's future. Read more:

“We now for sure know that the UN is essential for small states to be able to survive in this world,” states @miaamormottley, prime minister of Barbados. “Those who have much larger capacity very often seek to bully those who can least protect themselves. And regrettably, we’re seeing too much of that behavior globally. Which means that at the very time people call into question the necessity for the UN, we are seeing exactly why the UN is needed because countries have been the victim of that kind of predatory behavior that really denies their inherent sovereignty.” Watch her conversation at CFR with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations @LindaT_G:

“When the compact was received, the health ministry studied it . . . and [it] was brought to cabinet, and we flagged several things,” says John Dramani Mahama, president of the Republic of Ghana, regarding the health compact the United States offered to replace the funding Ghana lost due to the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “It says that we shall give the United States our pathogen profile,” he recalls. “It also says we should give our medical records. . . . And then it says we would have to put up a certain amount of money as part of the program into health care, and then it also says that any medications or any medical products that shall be brought into our country, our food and drugs administration has absolutely no rights to inspect. I mean, it was humiliating.”

"'It's the economy, stupid' is a now-venerable line about why voters back a certain candidate—even when the choice appears unexpected," writes expert Elliott Abrams. "But it's not only the economy; for some voters, and for very large groups of them at times, foreign policy issues can be important and even determinative." A CFR study group convened scholars and political analysts to examine the foreign policy views of the voters who elected President Donald Trump in 2024, drawing on survey data. Abrams, who wrote the report on the group's findings, breaks down the takeaways:

In September, the Iran-backed Houthis seized the strategic port city of Mokha and several islands near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, expanding their control over Yemen's Red Sea coastline. Since the start of the Iran war, the Houthis have made a concerted effort to restrict oil and gas flows through the vital Mideast waterway. Experts say sustained interference in the Red Sea, especially by the Houthis, would trigger severe supply-chain delays, drive up energy prices, and further destabilize the global economy.

What do Americans actually want from US foreign policy? We went to Maricopa County, AZ to find out. The key message: Our foreign policy is not delivering for average Americans — and their support for US global leadership is wavering as a result. Five takeaways from @CFR_org's conversations in Arizona and what they mean for the future of American strategy. 👇

“Driving through Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, the city has the feeling of a war zone. That is because it is one," writes CFR expert Sam Vigersky. In the past 5 years, gang-related violence in Haiti has reached a new level. Armed gangs have set fire to entire neighborhoods, destroying large sections of Port-au-Prince. The violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people within the country. Up to 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. now face deportation after the Trump administration stated in June 2025 that conditions in Haiti have “improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.” Vigersky visited Port-au-Prince to see the situation firsthand:

“When you have a common problem, you look for a common solution. That common solution happens through cooperation. That means multilateralism,” says Finnish President @alexstubb. Stubb joined CNN’s @FareedZakaria at CFR this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for a conversation on European security, relations with the United States, AI cooperation, and UN reform.

Jessica Brandt, expert for technology and national security at CFR, breaks down President Donald Trump’s remarks before the 81st UN General Assembly, in which he called for artificial intelligence to be renamed “superintelligence.” “Definitions of superintelligence are a little bit contested, but broadly, we think of superintelligence, or AGI—artificial general intelligence—as an AI system that is on par with or exceeds human cognition across a wide range of tasks,” Brandt says. “But I don’t think that’s actually what the president was talking about here. I think this may have actually been as simple as a reframe around something that is ‘super.’”

“I think part of it is a setup for a possible negotiation. I’m skeptical of all of it. But I think they’re leaning towards negotiations,” says CFR Middle East expert @stevenacook, analyzing President Donald Trump’s threat to Iran during his remarks before the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Watch the full conversation with CFR experts here:

The General Assembly is the only universally representative body of the United Nations—a platform for all 193 UN member states to participate in global decision-making with equal representation. And every September, world leaders gather for a week of high-level meetings and rigorous debate over vexing global issues. This year's session is expected to focus on critical topics from climate change and AI governance to major conflicts in Iran, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Here's what to know about the General Assembly, one of the principal organs of the United Nations:

In a conversation with CFR President @MikeFroman, @TonyOElumelu, founder and chairman of @Heirs_Holdings and founder of @TonyElumeluFDN, discusses Africa’s evolving role in the global economy, including entrepreneurship as a catalyst for development, private sector-led growth, energy security, and the evolving U.S.-Africa partnership.

As Trump and Xi meet this week, my biography of his father Zhongxun has a new softcover edition and a new audiobook on places like Audible, Apple Books, Chirp, Kobo, and Libro fm. Has the backstory to these pictures of Zhongxun's trip to the US in 1980 (NORAD to Disneyland)

The United Nations’ ambitious development agenda aims to protect people and the planet. But experts say governments aren’t doing enough to implement them ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping meets President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, this week—and "U.S. access to critical materials is expected to again be the top issue," writes EU Institute for Security Studies expert @joristeer in a new CFR report. "Western governments have long treated their dependence on China-controlled critical raw materials, the backbone of the global economy, as a latent risk. Between 2023 and 2026, Beijing imposed export controls on gallium, rare earths, and at least seven other materials," he writes. Last year, "Beijing woke up to the enormous power it wields through its control over critical materials and other value chains. If the United States and Europe do not dismantle this weapon (and deter its use in the interim), China may press its advantage to achieve much greater aims in the coming years—most dangerously, a forced 'reunification' with Taiwan," he argues. Read the full report:

The September/October 2026 issue of @ForeignAffairs is now available. The latest issue provides analysis on the future of U.S. alliances, the threat of a global economic crisis from Chinese overcapacity, the dangers of synthetic pathogens created with AI, and more. Start reading:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asks @RushDoshi, director of @CFR_China, about leveraging federal procurement power to make the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain less dependent on China. “The U.S. government has incredible purchasing power, but right now we effectively focus on low cost, not resilience, and not quality. And so as a result, purchasing groups are not incentivized to purchase, you know, with any knowledge of upstream KSM or API dependency.”