home > think tank > research projects
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.
April 1, 1996—March 1, 1997
| Director: | Nicholas X. Rizopoulos, Senior Studies Editor, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
July 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—March 15, 2004
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2001
September 1, 1996—June 30, 2003
| Director: | Gwendolyn Mikell |
|---|
The focus of this series was influenced by the major shift occurring in African governance as the Organization of African Unity is phased out, and Africans sign onto new membership in the African Union. The theme captures the new type of relationships being crafted between the AU and African states, between the AU and the international community, and between the African official leadership and the citizenry as this shift occurs.
African governance has emerged as one of the major topics in the American dialogue about whether developing strong relations with Africa is “in America’s national interest.” The American slogans “Trade, not Aid” and then “African solutions to African Problems,” which characterized some policy discussions in the 1990s, reflected the hesitation that many American policy makers have had towards investing in Africa given the length and fragility of Africa’s political and economic transitions. The African environment, however, is undergoing positive change.
A 2001 World Bank report, examining “Can Africa Claim the 21st Century,” answered yes, if Africa can develop the structures for trade, investment, growth, peace, and security that are needed. Obviously, African countries made significant adjustments as they moved to post-cold war politics focused on state democratization and economic restructuring. Africans themselves have recognized that this was not sufficient for preventing ethnic conflicts and civil war; stemming conflicts over resources between neighboring states; reducing poverty and achieving an equitable distribution of national resources; reducing debt and guaranteeing economic growth and development; or encouraging leadership transitions that reinforce democracy. Given the new understandings of shifts occurring within the global economy, African leaders have challenged themselves to construct patterns of regional and continental governance that will encourage unity and push Africa toward development.
Sessions of this series are designed to examine how it is in America’s long term interests to work with Africa in the changing global environment of the present, focusing on five major challenges under the African governance theme: the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD); management of strategic resources; leadership and democratic transitions; security, anti-terrorism, and tribunals; global partnerships with the United States, G8, and the United Nations.
December 1, 1996—February 1, 1998
| Staff: | Elizabeth C. Economy, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies |
|---|
October 1, 1996—Present
| Director: | Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics |
|---|
This monthly speaker series brings the world’s foremost economic policymakers and scholars to address a high-level audience from the business and financial community on current topics in international economics, such as outsourcing, monetary policy, and competition policy.
September 1, 1996—December 1, 1997
| Director: | Bruce Stokes |
|---|
January 1, 1996—March 1, 1999
| Directors: | Barnett R. Rubin, New York University Peter M. Lewis |
|---|---|
| Chair: | Pearl T. Robinson |
Nigeria has recently undergone sudden changes in leadership and is now struggling to consolidate the gains from the return to elected government. Nonetheless, ethnic, religious, and regional tensions as well as economic malaise continue to contribute to the potential for conflict. Due to Nigeria’s dominant position in West Africa and its vast oil reserves, an eruption of conflict would have substantial regional and international repercussions.
CPA’s Project on Nigeria concentrates on the role of Nigerian civil society in preventing conflict and pressing for sustainable democratic reform. CPA sent a study mission to Nigeria in January 1997 to evaluate developments in civil society and identify opportunities for partnerships between organizations in the United States and Nigeria. Drawing on both the mission and subsequent meetings, the Nigeria project recently released the third volume of CPA’s Preventive Action Reports, Stabilizing Nigeria: Sanctions, Incentives, and Support for Civil Society (1998).
November 1, 1996—November 1, 1996
| Director: | Ruth Wedgwood |
|---|
November 1, 1996—November 1, 1996
| Staff: | Henry Siegman, Former Senior Fellow and Director for the U.S./Middle East Project, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|
September 1, 1996—Present
November 1, 1996—May 1, 1997
| Director: | Alberta Arthurs |
|---|
March 1, 1996—December 1, 1996
| Director: | Michael J. Sandel |
|---|
November 1, 1996—November 1, 1996
| Director: | Albert Fishlow |
|---|
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.