Fifteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, “U.S.-Russia relations are clearly headed in the wrong direction,” finds an Independent Task Force on U.S. policy toward Russia sponsored by the …

Mideast expert David Makovsky says the widening conflict in the Middle East poses a huge challenge for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and tests the viability of the Lebanese government.

CFR’s Stephen R. Sestanovich says the Obama administration believes it has put relations with Russia on "a more practical" basis but convergence remains elusive on how to address Iran’s nuclear progr…

Kim Jong-il’s death has prompted discussion about the future of the isolated country and its nuclear weapons program. Experts cited in this CFR Backgrounder believe a post-Kim regime in North Korea w…

The government of North Korean President Kim Jung-Il retains a virtual death grip on the nation’s economy, directing all official economic activity through an authoritarian command system. But recent…