Below you will find a chronological list of current Council 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.
Annual Corporate Conference—New York, NY
The annual two-day Corporate Conference, held at the Council’s New York headquarters, addresses the most pressing international business concerns. The 2008 Corporate Conference featured keynote speakers Timothy F. Geithner, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. Panels of experts spoke on timely topics such as global corporate citizenship, geopolitical risks, the economic view from abroad, and the shifting political landscape of America in 2008, while smaller breakout sessions examined variables for growth in the BRICs and "frontier economies."
The Council's 2009 Corporate Conference will be held on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6.
March 6, 2008—March 7, 2008
The 2008 Corporate Conference "New Exposures, New Approaches: Considering the Geopolitical Portfolio," featured keynote speakers Timothy F. Geithner, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. Panels of experts spoke on timely topics such as global corporate citizenship, geopolitical risks, the economic view from abroad, and the shifting political landscape of America in 2008, while smaller breakout sessions examined variables for growth in the BRICs and "frontier economies."
September 2, 2008—September 4, 2008
To view the archived video of each event, click the links below.
Panel Discussion: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next Administration http://shows.implex.tv/Qwikcast/Root/Humphrey-Institute/1462/preflight2.htm
Panel Discussion: The Greater Middle East http://shows.implex.tv/Qwikcast/Root/Humphrey-Institute/1463/preflight2.htm
Panel Discussion: Democracy and America's Role in the World http://shows.implex.tv/Qwikcast/Root/Humphrey-Institute/1464/preflight2.htm
This symposium was underwritten by Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, the Stanford Financial Group, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
August 27, 2008—August 27, 2008
To view the archived video of each event, click the links below.
Panel Discussion: Enhancing the U.S. Role in the World http://fora.tv/2008/08/27/Enhancing_Americas_Role_Around_the_World
Luncheon Discussion: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next Administration http://fora.tv/2008/08/27/Foreign_Policy_Challenges
Panel Discussion: Combating Global Poverty:http://fora.tv/2008/08/27/Combating_Global_Poverty_Panel_Discussion
These events were underwritten, in part, by Chevron Corporation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
June 18, 2008—Washington, DC
| 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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On June 18, 2008, the Center for Preventive Action convened an expert workshop in Washington, DC, to take stock of the existing research and practical experience relating to the challenges of preventing conflict in weak and failing states. The event was made possible by the generosity of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
June 12, 2008—June 12, 2008
| Directors: | Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy Laurie A. Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health |
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A discussion of maternal health as a foreign policy issue.
This symposium was made possible by the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
September 12, 2008—Present
| Fellows: | Julia E. Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director for Latin America Studies Shannon K. O'Neil, Douglas Dillon Fellow for Latin America Studies |
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This symposium was made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
September 8, 2008—New York
| Director: | Laurie A. Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health |
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This meeting was made possible through the generous support of the Robina Foundation and Richard Brown.
June 2008—to present
A Corporate Program Series Sponsored by 
This series will focus on the burgeoning trend of best-in-class companies originating from emerging market countries, and by virtue of their global reach and often unconventional business models, reinventing the nature of global competition. At the inaugural session of this series, participants identified the macroeconomic and political transformations that have provided the foundation for these emerging enterprises to grow and thrive on a global scale. A transformation of the global business environment, including changes in trade policy, integration of financial markets, and the spread of liberal economic reforms in developing countries all played a part in creating the conditions that allowed emerging enterprises to thrive. Follow-up sessions in this series will take place in 2008-2009 and will focus on the emerging enterprises themselves--their strategies, organization, and challenges.
May 27, 2008—Present
| Director: | Michelle D. Gavin, Adjunct Fellow for Africa |
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This roundtable series will meet periodically over the course of 2008 to explore changing political and security dynamics on the African continent, often with a special emphasis on U.S. policy options and responses. Extra effort will be devoted to drawing in new voices and perspectives on critical African issues.
June 24, 2008—Present
| Chairs: | Jeb Bush, President, Jeb Bush & Associates LLC Mack McLarty, President, McLarty Associates |
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| Director: | Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow |
Chaired by former governor of Florida Jeb Bush and former White House chief of staff Mack McLarty, the Task Force aims to examine immigration into the United States in a foreign policy context. Its mission is to broaden the debate by analyzing issues of globalization, economic competitiveness, terrorism and national security, human rights, and public diplomacy, as well as the international aspects of illegal immigration. The Task Force hopes to then craft recommendations for a twenty-first century immigration policy that serves U.S. economic, diplomatic, and national security interests.
During its first meeting in June 2008, the group outlined a general framework for the report. It also discussed issues surrounding legal immigration, including the advantages and disadvantages of both permanent and temporary immigration schemes, international models for assessing labor needs, problems of organization and bureaucracy, and the entry and retention of foreign students.
Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at CFR, serves as the project director. The group aims to produce a report in early 2009.
January 30, 2008—Present
| Chairs: | William J. Perry, Professor, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University Brent Scowcroft, President and Founder, The Scowcroft Group |
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| Director: | Charles D. Ferguson, Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology |
The Council has convened a new Independent Task Force on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Posture, chaired by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. The Task Force will take a fresh look at current U.S. nuclear doctrine and policy, determine the purpose of America's nuclear weapons, and make recommendations for the future of arms control and nonproliferation.
During its first meeting in January 2008, the group debated the purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons and discussed other core issues such as the size and composition of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the effect of U.S. nuclear policy on preventing proliferation and nuclear terrorism.
Charles D. Ferguson, Council fellow for science and technology, serves as the project director. The group aims to produce the report in the fall of 2008, in anticipation of the new incoming presidential administration.
May 2008—Present
| Staff: | Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance Kaysie Brown, Deputy Director, International Institiutions and Global Governance |
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The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has launched a comprehensive five-year program on international institutions and global governance. Made possible by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation, this cross-cutting initiative will explore the institutional requirements for world order in the twenty-first century. It is motivated by recognition that the architecture of global governance—largely reflecting the world as it existed in 1945—has not kept pace with fundamental changes in the international system. These changes include accelerating global economic integration; a shift in global power to non-Western countries; the rise of transnational security threats; the emergence of agile non-state actors; a proliferation of failing states; and evolving norms of state sovereignty. Existing multilateral arrangements thus provide an inadequate foundation for addressing today’s most pressing threats and opportunities and for advancing U.S. national and broader global interests.
The program seeks to identify critical weaknesses in current frameworks for multilateral cooperation; propose specific reforms reflective of new global circumstances; and promote constructive U.S. leadership in building the capacities of existing organizations and in sponsoring new, more effective regional and global institutions and partnerships, including those involving the private sector and non-governmental organizations.
The program will focus on arrangements governing state conduct and international cooperation in meeting four broad sets of challenges:
In each of these areas, the program will consider whether the most promising framework for governance is a formal organization with universal membership (e.g., the United Nations); a regional or sub-regional organization; a narrower, informal coalition of like-minded countries; or some combination of all three. The program will also examine the potential to adapt major bedrock institutions (e.g., the UN, G8, NATO, IMF, and AU), as well as the feasibility of creating new frameworks and initiatives to meet today's challenges.
The participation, input and endorsement of both official and non-state actors will be critical to ensure the appropriateness and feasibility of any institutional reforms. Throughout the course of the project, CFR will engage stakeholders and constituencies in the United States and abroad, including governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society representatives, and the private sector.
The attached concept note summarizes the rationale for the program on global governance, describes potential areas of research and policy engagement, and outlines the envisioned products and activities. We believe that the research and policy agenda outlined here constitutes a significant contribution to U.S. and international deliberations on the requirements for world order in the twenty-first century.
March 25, 2008—New York, NY
| Directors: | Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy Timothy Samuel Shah, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Religion and Foreign Policy |
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This symposium addressed how different forms of Christianity and Islam may have helped (and sometimes hindered) the development of free and open societies – not just in the narrow sense of democratic government but in the broader sense of openness to progress, innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit in economics, and a competitive marketplace of ideas. Directed by Walter Russell Mead and Timothy Shah, this symposium explored how both Christianity and Islam may foster freedom-friendly dynamism, but also considered powerful arguments that religion is essentially antithetical to freedom and the open society.
This is the third symposium in the Religion and Foreign Policy Symposia Series made possible by the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation.
June 11, 2008—New York, NY
| Directors: | Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy Timothy Samuel Shah, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Religion and Foreign Policy |
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This symposium, directed by Walter Russell Mead and Timothy Shah, explored how China’s various major religious traditions (village-based folk religion, Buddhism, neo-Confucianism, Roman Catholicism, evangelical Protestantism, Islam, and new religious groups such as the Falun Gong) are contributing to its economic, social, and political development – and stirring up controversy. It also addressed the ways in which religion is playing a stabilizing and destabilizing role in China at the moment, how Chinese government policy towards religion may be changing, and what the long-term consequences are likely to be for country’s social, economic, and political future.
This event was the fourth in the Religion and Foreign Policy Symposium Series at CFR and was funded through the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation.
September 2008—Present
| Director: | Sheila A. Smith, Senior Fellow for Japan Studies |
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February 2008—September 2008
| Fellow: | Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow |
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On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. But in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, the U.S. government began to close its borders in an effort to fight terrorism. The Bush administration's goal was to build new lines of defense against terrorists without stifling the flow of people and ideas from abroad that has helped build the world's most dynamic economy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.
The Closing of the American Border is based on extensive interviews with the Bush administration officials charged with securing the border after 9/11, including former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge and former secretary of state Colin Powell, and with many of the innocent people whose lives have been upended by the new border security and visa rules. A pediatric heart surgeon from Pakistan is stuck in Karachi for nearly a year, awaiting the security review that would allow him to return to the United States to take up a prestigious post at UCLA Medical Center. A brilliant Sudanese scientist, working tirelessly to cure one of the worst diseases of the developing world, loses years of valuable research when he is detained in Brazil after attending an academic conference on behalf of an American university.
Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to show how an administration that appeared united in the aftermath of the attacks was racked by internal disagreements over how to balance security and openness. The result is a striking and compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself off from the rest of the world, making it increasingly difficult for others to travel, live, and work here, and depriving itself of its most persuasive argument against its international critics—the example of what it has achieved at home.
This project was made possible by a grant from Bernard L. Schwartz.
April 23, 2008—Present
| Director: | James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations |
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This symposium was made possible by the generosity of the European Commission and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
September 5, 2008—8:30 am to 1:30 pm
| Director: | Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies |
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On September 5, 2008, the Council on Foreign Relations convened some of the country's top experts on Iran. Over the course of three sessions, the symposium sought to understand Iran as a global player and identify policy options for the next U.S. administration.
This symposium was made possible through the generous support of
the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
This page contains video, audio, and transcripts of the three sessions, as well as related readings.
Symposium Summary Report (Downloadable PDF)
Speakers:
Presider:
Despite a sagging economy and a public that has grown weary of the ruling regime, Iran's conservative camps retain a firm grip on power nearly three decades after the Iranian Revolution. Farideh Farhi, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, said at a CFR symposium on U.S. policy toward Iran that the next U.S. president should prepare to negotiate with an increasingly fractious camp of conservative Iranian lawmakers. But Ali Ansari, professor and director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrews, said conservative infighting has not impacted the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader ability to influence the domestic agenda. The last decade has seen “the exponential growth of the leadership office,” Ansari said. “What you see is the growth of this shadow government, or this revolutionary government as oppsed to the orthodox republican organs of government, and they’ve started essentially to take over.” An examination of Iran’s budgets offers evidence. For instance, Ansari said, recent governmental spending on welfare organizations increased by 3.2 percent while spending on religious foundations more than doubled. “When you have that shift in financial wealth …it shows where the balance of power is going,” he said. “The leader is now taking on the role essentially as a monarch.”
Video Highlight
Full Video | Audio | Transcript
Speakers:
Presider:
The Bush administration has long-warned that an Iranian nuclear weapon would rank near the top of risks to national and global security. But after years of diplomatic efforts to derail Iran's nuclear program, Washington may have to come to grips with an inevitable fact: if Tehran wants a nuclear bomb, it will most likely get one. "I don’t think we’ll be able to talk them out of it," Gary Samore, Council on Foreign Relations Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, said during the second session of a CFR symposium on U.S. policy toward Iran. The best the United States can do, Samore said, "is create a package of incentives or disincentives to at least convince them to stop or at least slow down." Hawks within the Bush administration have hinted that military force could put a stop to Iranian nuclear ambitions. But Ashton B. Carter, codirector of the Preventive Defense Project at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, said not even military action can solve the problem. "The only other option, of course, is to invade," Carter said. "We’ve had plans to invade Iran for as long as I’ve been associated with the Department of Defense. I just don’t think we have the ground forces to do it." Additionally, Carter said he sees a "50-50" chance that Israel—a sworn enemy of Iran—will unilaterally attack Iran's nuclear facilities between the U.S. presidential election and Inauguration Day.
Video Highlight
Full Video | Audio | Transcript
Speakers:
Presider:
Unlike George W. Bush, whose administration focused exclusively on containing Iran’s nuclear program, the next U.S. president should broaden its bilateral relations with Tehran to include talks on sanctions, regional stability, and energy security, experts said during the third session of a CFR symposium on U.S. policy toward Iran. "Iran can go down two roads: Japan of the 1930s, or the road of India, " said Vali R. Nasr, Council on Foreign Relations adjunct senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies. "Part of the use of aggressive diplomacy should be to interject ourselves into that debate, to have a say in which way they go," Nasr said. The need for a reversal in strategy toward Iran is evidenced in the Bush administration's flawed strategy of containment, the speakers said. Ray Takeyh, a Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, said the approach has left no regional Arab consensus on how to handle Iran, and attempting to craft a containment strategy similar to the one employed against the Soviets during the Cold War "is not practical. " The isolation approach has forced Tehran into closer ties with Europe and Asia, and especially China and Russia. "Iran is not a country that is isolated like North Korea," Takeyh said. "We might not have the keys to" isolate Iran with sanctions or economic pressure.
Video Highlight
September 2008—Present
| Director: | Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance |
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The United States and the Future of Global Governance roundtable series will focus on core global governance challenges and proposals for fundamental institutional reform. Topics will include overhaul of the UN Security Council; the reform and expansion of the G8; prospects for a global counterterrorism organization; the adaptation of U.S. sovereignty to a global age; the trade-offs between formal institutions and ad hoc coalitions; and the domestic and legislative preconditions for sustained U.S. multilateral engagement. This roundtable series is sponsored by CFR’s Program on International Institutions and Global Governance and is supported by a generous grant from the Robina Foundation.
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“ The Latter-Day Sultan:” Akbar Ganji says that blaming Iran's problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran's problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.
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