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James McBride helps lead a team of writers and editors in producing CFR’s coverage of global affairs, and also writes on economics, energy policy, and European politics. He received a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Most Recent
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The Democratic Republic of Congo has been subjected to centuries of international intervention by European powers, as well as its African neighbors. This timeline traces the role of the outside forces that have beleaguered eastern Congo since the end of the colonial era.
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The Balkans have long been a source of tension between Russia and the West, with Moscow cultivating allies there as the EU and NATO expand into the region. The war in Ukraine could be shifting the calculus.
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The succession from Queen Elizabeth II to Charles could accelerate anti-monarchy movements in countries where the Crown is still head of state.
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The financial meltdown that started with the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble had worldwide economic repercussions, including recessions, far-reaching regulations, and deep-seated political discontent. Track its buildup and aftermath.
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Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has brought European dependence on Russian energy into sharp relief and set off a scramble for alternatives.
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Beyond China’s market upheaval is a country struggling with how to relax state control over the economy amid a slowdown that has global implications, writes CFR’s Robert Kahn.
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Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of fourteen countries in addition to the United Kingdom. Barbados’s transition to a republic has revived debate over the future of the Crown.
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The United States has granted tens of thousands of special visas to Afghans who aided U.S. forces, but many others are still waiting. How does this compare with previous efforts?
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The events of September 11, 2001, set in motion sweeping changes to U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism practices, launched two major wars, and altered Americans’ daily routines. This timeline traces three pivotal years whose reverberations continue today.
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Once a fringe movement, green parties are increasingly shaping the debate in countries around the world. How influential are they, and what comes next?
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Responsible for powering the country and its economy, the U.S. energy grid has come under increasing strain due to climate change, and the threat of cyberattacks looms.
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President Trump disrupted U.S. trade policy in the name of better deals. President-Elect Biden proposes a combination of stronger domestic investment and better coordination with allies.
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Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Though President Trump withdrew from the TPP, the remaining members of the trade pact have forged ahead with a new version, leaving the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific in question. -
The 2020 U.S. election is threatened by pandemic-related disruptions as well as long-standing weaknesses that could undermine its legitimacy. How will international election observers judge the process?
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The Joe Biden administration is implementing the largest federal investment in infrastructure in decades. Here’s why infrastructure matters for U.S. economic competitiveness.
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The European Union has navigated a thicket of external and internal crises in recent years, including mass migration and Brexit. What are the union’s core institutions, and what roles do they play?
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The Group of Twenty, an informal gathering of many of the world’s largest economies, is the premier global forum for discussing economic issues. But it has faced divisions over trade, climate change, and the war in Ukraine.
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Populist parties are looking to make big gains in European Parliament elections. That could disrupt EU policy on issues from trade to migration.
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The Democratic and Republican presidential contenders have begun defining their approach to major foreign policy issues as they jockey for position in their parties’ primaries.
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China’s colossal infrastructure investments may usher in a new era of trade and growth for economies in Asia and beyond. But skeptics worry that China is laying a debt trap for borrowing governments.
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Italy’s populist government has relished defying the European Union, and its latest showdown with Brussels could threaten the continent’s fragile recovery—and the global economy.
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The European Parliament’s vote to reprimand Hungary over its growing authoritarianism has tested the EU’s readiness to stand up to illiberalism within the bloc.
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President Trump has targeted Germany over its supposed dependence on Russian natural gas, and the proposed Nord Stream 2 is dividing the EU. What’s in store for Europe’s pipeline politics?
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China’s industrial policy is aimed at rapidly expanding its high-tech sectors and developing its advanced manufacturing base, but President Trump and other leaders of industrial democracies see the plan as a threat.
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With the United Kingdom moving forward with Brexit, London hopes its Commonwealth partners can help boost trade, but critics say the group is outmoded and ineffective.
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With President Trump taking aim at existing trade agreements, countries are increasingly grappling with dispute resolution mechanisms and their implications for global trading rules.
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President Trump argues that tariffs are necessary to protect U.S. national security, but many experts argue that the measures could backfire.
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Italy’s elections will shape the country’s response to economic stagnation, migration woes, and European integration, with repercussions across the continent.
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President Trump and Republican lawmakers say their tax legislation will increase the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses, but experts are divided over whether it will spur growth, and many are worried about a surge in the national debt.
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The past year saw voters around the world shake the status quo and reshape longstanding assumptions in elections across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
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Germany’s elections will determine whether Chancellor Angela Merkel remains in power, with ramifications for the migration crisis, the future of the European Union, and U.S.-German relations.
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President Trump has made reducing the U.S. trade deficit a priority, blaming trade deals like NAFTA, but economists disagree over how policymakers should respond.
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The sprawling U.S. water system is central to the nation’s economy, but chronic underinvestment, increasing demand, and the consequences of climate change have revealed the system’s weaknesses.
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The G20 summit comes amid tensions over trade, climate, and refugee policy and increased uncertainty over the U.S. commitment to multilateral institutions.
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The recent vote may not advance Puerto Rican statehood, but it may focus attention on its heavy debts and exposure to upcoming U.S. health-care and budget measures.
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As the United Kingdom recovers from a string of terror attacks, the country’s parliamentary elections could determine the course of its Brexit negotiations, trade and economic policy, internal borders, and foreign relations.
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By withdrawing from the Paris accord, the United States—the second-largest global emitter—could undercut collective efforts to reduce emissions, transition to renewable energy sources, and lock in future climate measures.
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Political newcomer Emmanuel Macron won a decisive victory in France's presidential elections, but the new president will face major challenges to forming a governing coalition.
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With President Trump advocating for deep cuts to U.S. foreign aid, debate has renewed over the role of foreign assistance funds in boosting growth, promoting democracy, and saving lives.
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The rise of populist Geert Wilders in the Netherlands is showcasing the pressing need for European Union reform, says expert Pieter Cleppe.
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After years of steadily increasing debt, federal spending has skyrocketed, taking U.S. debt to levels not seen since World War II.
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Refugees and Displaced Persons
The United States has long been a safe haven for refugees from around the world. President Biden is working to expand the country’s resettlement program after the Trump administration made sharp cuts. -
President Donald J. Trump has wide latitude to enact the sweeping changes to U.S. foreign policy that he has promised, but his executive authority is constrained by congressional legislation, treaty obligations, and bureaucratic processes.
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The defeat of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s constitutional reforms is another sign that voter anger over poor economic performance is driving anti-establishment politics across Europe, says CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby.
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Italy’s vote on constitutional reforms, which may determine whether the country can escape its economic doldrums and rescue its ailing banking system, could have consequences for all of Europe, says CFR’s Robert Kahn.
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The costs of hosting the Olympics have skyrocketed, while the economic benefits are far from clear. This has led to fewer states interested in playing host and a search for options to lighten the burdens of staging the big event.
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The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the EU demonstrates that rising populism in Europe and the United States are both driven by voters who feel alienated from the benefits of globalization, says CFR’s Edward Alden.
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Puerto Rico’s debt crisis has entered a new stage. Without congressional action and deeper reforms, the island could find itself unable to provide basic services, says CFR expert Brad Setser.
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As countries prepare to sign the landmark Paris climate accord, the work to reduce global carbon emissions is only beginning, says CFR’s Michael Levi.
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Leaked documents have revealed that international tax havens play a larger role than previously understood, and will likely raise pressure for more transparency in global finance, says CFR expert Edward Alden.
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Brexit supporters argue that the EU threatens sovereignty and stifles growth, while opponents counter that EU membership strengthens trade, investment, and the UK’s standing in the world.
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The twin bombings in Brussels have exposed the need for closer European security cooperation at the same time that anti-EU political forces are on the rise, says expert Ian Lesser.
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The Islamic State’s attack on Paris demonstrate that both Europe and the United States need to commit to winning the ideological war against extremism with renewed vigor, says CFR’s Farah Pandith.
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Special tax incentives have enabled Puerto Rico to borrow irresponsibly for years, and now the island must take painful steps to balance its budget, explains expert Matt Fabian.
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As election season approaches, and global crises in Greece and elsewhere intensify, U.S. foreign policy is in a state of drift that puts the United States at the risk of falling behind its rivals, says Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer.
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The United States and China have developed competing visions for reviving ancient trade routes connecting Asia and Europe. The U.S. diplomatic strategy focuses on Afghanistan, while China hopes to economically integrate Central and South Asia. India and Russia also have regional ambitions.
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President Donald Trump’s rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has upended U.S. trade policy, intensifying debate over the effects of trade on employment, inequality, national sovereignty, and safety standards.
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Russia’s options for combatting the plunge of the ruble are dwindling, but government intervention is likely to intensify in efforts to avert a full-blown crisis, says CFR’s Robert Kahn.
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Hydraulic fracturing has unlocked huge reserves of shale gas and oil, transforming the energy outlook in the United States and the world, even as local opposition and falling world prices threaten the industry.
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The Good Friday Agreement has dampened sectarian conflict and brought stability to Northern Ireland, but the peace deal has been challenged by Brexit-related border tensions that have thrown the region’s hard-won gains into doubt.
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The United States and other Western countries are reevaluating their foreign investment regulations amid an uptick in Chinese interest in strategic sectors.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has introduced an audacious set of economic policies designed to spur the country out of its decades-long deflationary slump. The results have so far been mixed.
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As Europe has weathered a succession of economic crises, the European Central Bank has responded with an aggressive set of monetary policies that have redefined the bank’s original mandate.
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The manipulation of interbank lending rates by a host of global financial institutions could have significant repercussions for financial markets, consumer loans, and regulatory policy.
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The eurozone, once seen as a crowning achievement in the decades-long path toward European integration, continues to struggle with the effects of its sovereign debt crises and their implications for the future of the common currency.
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Over the past decade, the Fed kept interest rates low while it deployed trillions of dollars in stimulus and expanded its regulatory oversight. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its battle against inflation.
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President Trump reached a deal with Canada and Mexico to restructure the North American Free Trade Agreement, hoping a new trilateral accord will reinvigorate the U.S. manufacturing sector.
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World Trade Organization (WTO)
In the wake of President Trump’s combative approach to trade, and with major negotiations stalled, the future of global trade rules is in doubt.