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Below you will find a chronological list of current Council research projects. You can search by issue or region by selecting the appropriate category. In addition to this sorting control, you can search for specific subjects within the alphabetical, regional, and issue categories by choosing from the selections in the drop-down menu below.
Each project page contains the name of the project director, a description of the project, a list of meetings it has held, and any related publications, transcripts, or videos.
March 2009—Present
| Director: | Evan A. Feigenbaum, Senior Fellow for East, Central, and South Asia |
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The Asia and the World roundtable series examines the global implications of the rise of Asian power. For a thousand years, Asia was the engine of the global economy, a locus of science and innovation, a center of ideas and intellectual ferment, and the nexus of global power. After a long hiatus, Asia's major powers have now reemerged on the global stage, but their interaction with one another, and with the United States, on important issues and challenges is unsettled and evolving. Speakers and participants analyze the reemergence of China and India as global players, the changing role of Japan on the international stage, and efforts to reshape the international architecture to accommodate the rise of China and India, in particular. Sessions also consider the ways in which greater involvement in the world, not just their immediate neighborhood, is changing the strategic, economic, and political calculations of major countries in East, Central, and South Asia. Meetings look at the tensions, opportunities, and constraints that will determine whether and how the United States can forge partnerships with major Asian powers on issues of global scope. Other sessions may examine timely issues that arise in Central Asia, such as connections to the international oil and gas market, international institutions, and the global economy.
August 27, 2009—Present
| Director: | Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics |
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March 2009—Present
| Director: | Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action |
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This monthly meeting series seeks to organize focused discussions on plausible short to medium term contingencies that could seriously threaten U.S. interests. Contingency meeting topics will range from specific states or regions of concern to more thematic issues and will draw on the expertise of government and nongovernment experts. The goal of the meeting series is not only to raise awareness of U.S. government officials and the expert community to potential crises but also to generate practical policy options to lessen the likelihood of the contingency and to reduce the negative consequences should it occur. A summary memo of the resulting recommendations will be distributed to participants and important policymakers.
February 25, 2009—February 26, 2009 - Washington, DC
| Director: | Charles A. Kupchan, Senior Fellow for Europe Studies |
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This symposium was made possible through the generous support of the European Commission, CFR's Program on International Institutions and Global Governance, and the Robina Foundation.
Symposium Summary Report (85K)
October 16, 2009—New York, NY
| Director: | Laurie A. Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health |
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On August 24, 2009 the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released its “Report to the President on U.S. Preparations for 2009-H1N1 Influenza,” predicting, among other things, that the H1N1 (aka “swine flu”) pandemic would resurge in North America in September, peaking by mid-October, causing infection and illness to up to half the U.S. population before the end of 2009. The PCAST assessment also suggested that H1N1 vaccines would not be available for the general public until well after the mid-October peak, and the epidemic would surge so rapidly that it could overwhelm hospitals, medical supplies and intensive care units, leading to as many as 90,000 deaths in the U.S. The predicted surge held special significance for schools, parents and employers, as sick-outs and school closures could impact productivity. Despite months of preparation, supplies of vaccines, medicines and protective gear were expected to be inadequate, and global competition for essential tools for pandemic control and treatment would be fierce. One billion doses of H1N1 vaccine were ordered from several pharmaceutical companies, and the bulk of that supply was prioritized for ten wealthy nations, particularly the U.S. Little, if any, vaccine, medicine or protective gear was expected to be ready, affordable and distributed for the bottom four billion poorest people on Earth.
The CFR meeting was convened at the predicted peak of the North American pandemic. Will the PCAST model have proven correct? Looking forward, what can be scientifically forecast regarding shifts in the virology and epidemiology of the H1N1 pandemic? What are the economic and financial impacts of the outbreak? What have been, and can be predicted to be, the foreign policy implications of the pandemic and related competition for medical and public health tools?
Related Links:
Summary of Sessions I - III (PDF)
January 22, 2009—New York, NY
| Director: | Stephen Sestanovich, George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies |
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This symposium was made possible through the generous support of BP.
Symposium Summary Report (PDF, 98K)
November 18, 2009—New York, NY
| Director: | Shannon K. O'Neil, Douglas Dillon Fellow for Latin America Studies |
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Illicit transnational flows of goods, money, information, and people increasingly dominate U.S. relations in the Western hemisphere. Latin America remains the major source of cocaine and many other illegal substances for the United States as well as for the growing European markets. Mexico has become the newest power center for the criminal underworld: once considered primarily a “transit” country for illegal drugs from Colombia, Mexican drug trafficking organizations now dominate these markets, extending their reach from initial production in the Southern Cone to final destinations within the United States and elsewhere. Mexican cartels have a strong presence in source countries such in the Andes for cocaine and in Argentina for the precursors for methamphetamine, and they control coastal routes in the Caribbean and pipelines in Central America. On the other end of the chain, the Department of Justice’s December 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment states that “Mexican drug trafficking organizations now represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States.” The limits of regional and global policy cooperation and coordination have worked to the advantage of organized criminal syndicates. Displaying great resourcefulness, trafficking organizations exploit the policy divide over how best to define and conduct counter-drug and other crime strategies. They also benefit from the weakness of public safety and security mandates within existing multilateral and regional organizations. The challenge for the international community and Western Hemisphere nations in particular, is to build on initial areas of cooperation, finding new ways and new regional mechanisms to reduce the harm that these violent organizations reap on populations across the region.
The first session will take stock of expanding organized crime and transnational threats throughout the Western Hemisphere, reflecting on the development and expansion of organized crime networks and their effects across the region in the last two decades. The second panel will focus on local and national experiences and policy responses in Colombia and Mexico, outlining the challenges, government and civil society responses, and lessons learned as the region aims to move toward greater cooperation and coordination on this issue. The last panel will focus on hemispheric policy responses to shifting regional dynamics, and the potential role for multilateral institutions and forums.
This symposium is on the record.
This symposium is supported by a grant from the Robina Foundation, the Hauser Foundation, and the Tinker Foundation.
May 18-19, 2009—Washington, DC
| Director: | Charles D. Ferguson, Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology |
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This workshop was made possible through the generous support of CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance program and the Robina Foundation.
Summary Report (PDF, 72K)
October 19, 2009—Washington, DC
| Director: | Elizabeth C. Economy, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies |
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As President Obama prepares for his first trip to Beijing in November, the spotlight will once again turn to China, the U.S.-China relationship, and China’s growing role in world affairs. From the global financial crisis, to climate change and terrorism, China is shaping the ability of the world to effectively tackle the full range of global challenges. In the coming decades, China’s influence will only continue to grow.
China 2025 addresses the core questions of China’s domestic and foreign policy priorities and their likely implications for the rest of the world. Going forward, how will China’s political, economic, and social trends shape its domestic development? How will its diplomatic and strategic engagement with the developing world and rising powers shape global dynamics? What are the implications of China’s military development and the drive to achieve asymmetric advantages? Does China’s economic future hold more potential for, or challenges to, the international economy and climate change? What challenges is China forecasted to present for U.S. strategic interests in the next few decades?
This conference was co-sponsored by the Project 2049 Institute.
January 2009—January 25, 2009
| Director: | Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance |
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| Author: | Matthew C. Waxman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy |
June 2009—Present
| Author: | Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action Micah Zenko, Fellow for Conflict Prevention |
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March 2009—March 1, 2009
| Author: | Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change |
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April 2009—April 1, 2009
| Director: | Paul B. Stares, General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action |
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| Author: | Bronwyn E. Bruton, 2008-2009 International Affairs Fellow in Residence |
May 1, 2009—May 1, 2009
| Author: | Paul Lettow, Adjunct Senior Fellow |
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June 2009—Present
| Director: | Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance |
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| Author: | James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations |
January 2009—Present
| Staff: | Scott G. Borgerson, Visiting Fellow for Ocean Governance |
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March 2009—Present
| Director: | Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change |
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February 2009—Present
| Staff: | Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics |
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This roundtable series is made possible by the generous support of the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
May 2009—Present
| Director: | Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies |
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Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.