Council of Councils
Think Global Health
Online Store
International efforts, such as the Paris Agreement, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But experts say countries aren’t doing enough to limit dangerous global warming.
Defense and Security
Humanitarian Intervention
-
UN Humanitarian Operations in NigeriaIn this episode of Africa in Transition, John Campbell speaks with Edward Kallon and Peter Lundberg, of the United Nations. The podcast discusses the vast humanitarian challenges facing the Lake Chad Basin and the international response to the crisis.
-
Entrepreneurship, Erdogan, and Interrupting: A Conversation with Elmira BayrasliThe wonderful Elmira Bayrasli joined me again for discussion that ranged from the rise of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to women’s role in shaping foreign policy. Elmira is a fellow in New America’s International Security program, a professor at NYU School of Professional Studies and Bard College’s Global and International Affairs program, author of From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places. (In case you missed it, you can listen to our talk last April about From the Other Side of the World here) She is also co-founder with Lauren Bohn of Foreign Policy Interrupted (FPI), an education and media startup dedicated to increasing female foreign policy voices in the press. We discussed current Turkish policy and Erdogan’s endgame in Syria, and Elmira provided insights into how populism affects start-ups across the world. She also gave an update on what FPI has been doing lately, including guest-editing the women-authored winter issue of the World Policy Journal, titled “World Policy Interrupted.” Listen to our conversation, and be sure to follow Elmira on Twitter @EndeavoringE.
-
The Global Humanitarian Regime: Priorities and Prospects for ReformOverview A record sixty million people are currently displaced globally, primarily as a result of violent conflicts. Displaced populations are more mobile than ever before, thanks to new transportation methods and communication technologies. These factors were unforeseen when the global humanitarian regime—which encompasses the policies and organizations that govern international humanitarian prevention efforts and responses—emerged in the wake of World War II. The rapid escalation of refugee flows in 2015, coupled with the protracted nature of today's conflicts, has strained the humanitarian regime to the breaking point, tested the reception systems of states, and called into question the protections afforded to refugees. The Council on Foreign Relations hosted a workshop to examine the challenges facing the global humanitarian regime. This report, which you can download here, summarizes the discussion's highlights. The report reflects the views of workshop participants alone; CFR takes no position on policy issues. Framing Questions for the Workshop The Current State of the Global Humanitarian Regime What are the biggest shortcomings in the global regime for assisting refugees, as demonstrated by the European crisis and other humanitarian emergencies? Is the 1951 Refugee Convention still viable or does it need to be updated? What are some potential challenges of reopening the convention? How has technology affected migration patterns? What is the current state of international coordination on global refugee issues and how adequate is this coordination? How can humanitarian actors better access and protect internally displaced persons (IDPs)? Are current mechanisms for financing humanitarian emergency response sustainable? Should the United States and the United Nations regard recent massive population movements as a blip or an ongoing trend? Strengthening the Humanitarian Regime: Priorities for Institutional Reform What reforms to the international legal regime for refugees are warranted? How can international and regional organizations enhance national capacities for processing asylum applications? Can refugees be assets to local communities and markets? If so, how can they be integrated to become self-reliant economic actors? How might humanitarian aid responses be better linked with development efforts in long-term refugee situations? Is there a way to place global humanitarian assistance on a firmer financial footing? What changes in U.S. government policies toward refugees and humanitarian aid are warranted? What can be done at the international level to improve coordination on refugee issues?
-
A Military Perspective on Humanitarian InterventionJohn P. Abizaid, retired U.S. Army general, and F.J. Bing West, former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs at the Department of Defense, join Kathleen Troia McFarland, national security analyst at Fox News, to provide insight and on-the-ground perspective on intervention efforts over the past twenty years.
-
Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq: Three Things to KnowThe humanitarian crisis in Iraq is likely to deepen until leaders in Baghdad can form an inclusive government and defeat jihadist fighters on the battlefield, explains CFR’s Isobel Coleman.
-
Syria: Humanitarian Disaster—and Security ThreatSyria’s civil war poses an expanding threat to the region and beyond. Washington should seize the opportunity that still exists to weaken the Assad regime, writes CFR’s Elliott Abrams.
-
Legitimacy of Intervention in Syria: Three Things to KnowAny external military intervention in Syria in response to government use of chemical weapons will require persuasive arguments to prove legitimacy, says CFR’s Matthew Waxman.
-
The Dilemma of Humanitarian InterventionGlobal support for the "responsibility to protect" doctrine weakened after the UN-endorsed no-fly zone that helped topple Libya’s regime, and debate continues over the threshold for mounting armed humanitarian interventions, explains this Backgrounder.
-
The Future of U.S. Special Operations Forces
![]()
Overview U.S. special operations forces are doing more things in more places than ever before. They are now active in some seventy countries and, since 2001, have seen their combined budget nearly quintuple—a trend that seems likely to continue. As the United States seeks ways to tackle a range of security threats worldwide, shore up the resilience of its friends and allies against terrorist and criminal networks, and minimize need for large-scale military interventions, the importance of special operations forces will grow. Yet, writes Linda Robinson in this Council Special Report, the strategic vision for special operations forces has not kept pace with the growing demands for their skills. Most people—and, indeed, many policymakers—associate the special operations forces with secret nighttime raids like the one that targeted Osama bin Laden: tactical operations against a particular individual or group. The abilities of special operations forces, however, extend much further, into military training, information operations, civil affairs, and more. As the United States shifts its focus from war fighting to building and supporting its partners, Robinson argues, it will become critical to better define these strategic capabilities and ensure that special operations forces have the staffing and funding to succeed. Robinson further calls on the Pentagon to remove bureaucratic and operational obstacles to cooperation among the special operations forces of each service, and between special and conventional forces. She also recommends that all special operations forces commands work to develop a pipeline of talented, motivated officers with expertise in these issues, and that the role of civilian leadership in budget and operational oversight be reinforced. The Future of U.S. Special Operations Forces is a timely report on the future of what may become the military's most important troops. It offers a broad set of recommendations covering institutional, operational, and intellectual reforms that could improve the versatility and effectiveness of the special operations forces. As the Pentagon seeks new ways to exert American power in an era of lower budgets and higher aversion to wars on the scale of Iraq and Afghanistan, this report argues that expanding the role of special operations forces can—and should—be high on the agenda. Professors: To request an exam copy, contact [email protected]. Please include your university and course name. Bookstores: To order bulk copies, please contact Ingram. Visit https://ipage.ingrambook.com, call 800.234.6737, or email [email protected]. ISBN: 978-0-87609-550-8 -
Intervention in Syria: Three Things to KnowIntensification of the violence in Syria presents renewed cause for military intervention, either to protect innocent civilian lives or to potentially police or enforce a peace agreement or political settlement, says CFR’s Paul Stares.
-
A Syrian Turning Point for Russia?The weekend massacre near Houla that has galvanized international outrage may spark a stronger Russian stand against the Assad regime, says Syria expert Mona Yacoubian.
-
The Great Syrian DivideThe government of the brittle, one-party state remains dug in against a determined but fractured opposition. Expert Joshua Landis discusses the fault lines in the Syria uprising.
-
North Korea Food Aid: Avoiding Moral HazardFollowing U.S. envoy Robert King’s visit to North Korea to assess the food situation in the country, CFR’s Adjunct Senior Fellow for Korea Studies Scott A. Snyder says that any U.S. decision to provide food aid to the country should be accompanied by steps to minimize moral hazard.
-
Intervention in Libya: ’No Simple Solution’Senior Vice President of CFR, James M. Lindsay, responds to comments to his post on CNN’s GPS Blog. Here’s the blog post - http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/09/7-ugly-options-for-the-u-s...
-
U.S. Foreign Aid: Investing in Countries that Help ThemselvesDaniel Yohannes, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, discusses the MCC’s work with Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and Director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations.
