Wars and Conflict | Council on Foreign Relations

Sub-Saharan Africa

What's at Stake for Africa in 2025

The incoming administration should think twice before ignoring the Africa portfolio.

Post by Michelle Gavin December 20, 2024 Africa in Transition
Syria

Syria’s Civil War

Photo Essay by CFR.org Editors December 20, 2024
Syria

What Role Is Turkey Playing in Syria’s Civil War?

Turkey opposes the Assad regime, but the fall of the government could disrupt Ankara’s aims to reverse refugee flows and defeat Kurdish forces in Syria’s north.

Expert Brief by Henri J. Barkey December 6, 2024

Experts in this Topic

Richard K. Betts

Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies

Stephen Biddle

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Defense Policy

Max Boot

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies

Bruce Hoffman

Shelby Cullom and Kathryn W. Davis Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security

Michael C. Horowitz

Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation

Ed Husain

Senior Fellow

Lori Esposito Murray

Senior Fellow for National Security and Managing Director of CEO Programs

Linda Robinson

Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy

Gideon Rose

Adjunct Senior Fellow

David J. Scheffer

Senior Fellow

Paul B. Stares

General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action

Tarah Wheeler

Senior Fellow for Global Cyber Policy

Kenya

Rescuing Haiti from Gang Rule

To save Haiti, the United States needs to lead from the front.

Post by Ebenezer Obadare and Robert I. Rotberg November 26, 2024 Africa in Transition
Iran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

The IRGC is one of the most powerful organizations in Iran, conceived as the principal defender of the 1979 revolution, and now a critical link to Islamist militant groups violently opposed to Israel and the United States.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors November 12, 2024
Georgia

Women This Week: President Salome Zourabichvili Leads Protest Against Pro-Russia Ruling Party

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post covers October 26 to November 1.

Post by Linda Robinson and Noël James November 1, 2024 Women Around the World

Sexual Violence

Women This Week: Rate of Women Killed in Conflict Doubles in 2023

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post covers October 19 to October 25.

Post by Noël James October 25, 2024 Women Around the World
Ethiopia

Tensions Rising in the Horn of Africa

In the Horn of Africa, the time is now for preventative diplomacy.

Post by Michelle Gavin October 18, 2024 Africa in Transition
Middle East and North Africa

U.S. Troops in the Middle East: Mapping the Military Presence

The U.S. military has an extensive footprint in the Middle East, including a collection of permanent bases and various naval assets, such as aircraft carriers and destroyers.

Article by Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow October 1, 2024
Sudan

Crisis in Sudan: War, Famine, and a Failing Global Response

Photo Essay by Mariel Ferragamo and Sabine Baumgartner September 19, 2024
United States

Reporter’s Notebook—Covering a Dangerous World

Journalists with on-the-ground experience reporting from warzones and conflict areas discuss the lessons they have learned, the risks they face, and the importance of sharing these stories.

Event with Matthieu Aikins, Miriam Elder, Ned Parker and Jacob M. Weisberg September 18, 2024
Democratic Republic of Congo

DRC-Rwanda Talks Underway, But Lasting Peace Remains Elusive

The peacebuilding challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo is daunting, to be sure. But the alternative is, and has been, a catastrophe.

Post by Michelle Gavin August 20, 2024 Africa in Transition
Grand Strategy

A New U.S. Grand Strategy: The Case for Multipolar Pluralism, With Stephen Heintz

Stephen Heintz, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the United States should adapt to an era of renewed great power competition and domestic disagreement over what it should seek to achieve abroad. This episode is the fourth in a special TPI series on U.S. grand strategy.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Stephen Heintz August 20, 2024 The President’s Inbox
Israel

Why Israel Wants to Draft the Ultra-Orthodox Into the Military

As Israel fights its war in the Gaza Strip, changes to a decades-old draft exemption for its fastest-growing demographic group threaten to fracture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and exacerbate the country’s internal rifts.

In Brief by Simone Lipkind July 31, 2024
Sudan

Bringing More Attention to Sudan’s Crisis

As diplomacy ramps up, so too must humanitarian innovation.

Post by Michelle Gavin July 23, 2024 Africa in Transition