Council on Foreign Relations engagement report

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• Sep 30, 202642x their median

  “Somaliland is strategically located across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. And the Houthis from Yemen now control a [nearby] maritime chokepoint, the Mandeb Strait, through which a not-insignificant amount of global trade passes every single day,” says CFR Middle East and North Africa expert @stevenacook. Cook explains the history of the self-declared nation, and notes that President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi recently traveled to Washington and New York to make the case for U.S. recognition.

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• May 20, 202614x their median

  America’s global role is more contested and uncertain than at any time since World War II, and the time is ripe for a fundamental reevaluation of the nation’s strategy. To meet this moment, the Council on Foreign Relations is launching the Future of American Strategy Initiative, a multiyear effort that aims to answer one defining question: Where does America go from here? To kickstart this conversation, CFR scholars, across 27 essays, explore the evolving strategic environment the United States will face over the next decade, spanning American strategy, great power rivalry, global order, geoeconomics, and warfare: https://t.co/yLo63FJNz7

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• Aug 13, 202621x their median

  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7. Reports indicate that the 3 countries have in essence agreed to a NATO Article 5-like clause—an attack on one signatory would be considered an attack on all of them. The agreement "reflects a change underway in the Middle East’s regional order—one that reduces the United States’ decades long leadership role," writes expert @stevenacook. The U.S.-aligned order could now become a Middle East with two blocs: the countries that remained committed to the Abraham Accords—the 2020 normalization agreements between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE—and its alternative, the Mecca Agreement, he argues. "Previously, regional rivalries and disputes were contained because leaders prioritized their relations with the United States, which was the tie that bound the regional order. Now, with the Pakistanis, Saudis, and Turks moving forward with a vision that competes directly with the Abraham Accords, that no longer seems to be the case," he writes. Read the full analysis: https://t.co/4xU6AsEn6j

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• Aug 18, 202621x their median

  The September/October 2026 issue of @ForeignAffairs is now available. The latest issue provides analysis on the future of U.S. alliances, the threat of a global economic crisis from Chinese overcapacity, the dangers of synthetic pathogens created with AI, and more. Start reading: https://t.co/6QPkrvMPfx

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• Aug 15, 202618x their median

  "Call it the Pakistan paradox: The institution that gives the country international relevance—a disciplined 660,000-strong military armed with nuclear weapons—holds back the Islamic republic’s political and economic modernization," argues CFR expert @dhume. "Over the past year and a half, the army chief and Pakistan’s de facto leader, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has pulled off a high-wire act: He has raised Pakistan’s international standing even as domestic challenges have mounted." But unless he can "revive the country’s stagnant economy and calm its restive population, his diplomatic gains will likely prove evanescent," Dhume writes. "The most recent feather in Gen. Munir’s cap is the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed last week. It stipulates that an armed attack on any one of them will be regarded as an attack on all three." "Unfortunately for Pakistan, neither Gen. Munir’s diplomatic feats nor his consolidation of power offers solutions to the country’s domestic crises," writes Dhume. https://t.co/0nmyEct0Wa

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• Aug 23, 202615x their median

  The September/October 2026 issue of @ForeignAffairs is now available. The latest issue provides analysis on the future of U.S. alliances, the threat of a global economic crisis from Chinese overcapacity, the dangers of synthetic pathogens created with AI, and more. Start reading: https://t.co/6QPkrvMPfx

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• Aug 17, 202615x their median

  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7. Reports indicate that the 3 countries have in essence agreed to a NATO Article 5-like clause—an attack on one signatory would be considered an attack on all of them. The agreement "reflects a change underway in the Middle East's regional order—one that reduces the United States' decades long leadership role," writes expert @stevenacook. The U.S.-aligned order could now become a Middle East with two blocs: the countries that remained committed to the Abraham Accords—the 2020 normalization agreements between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE—and its alternative, the Mecca Agreement, he argues. "Previously, regional rivalries and disputes were contained because leaders prioritized their relations with the United States, which was the tie that bound the regional order. Now, with the Pakistanis, Saudis, and Turks moving forward with a vision that competes directly with the Abraham Accords, that no longer seems to be the case," he writes. Read the full analysis: https://t.co/4xU6AsEn6j

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• Sep 8, 202614x their median

  A Russia-linked operation used ChatGPT to build a credible-looking research institute, complete with papers, an index, and real experts—including ones at CFR—who never agreed to be listed. Its posts earned little reach, but the infrastructure it created, using AI, shows the advancement of tech-powered influence operations, argues expert Jessica Brandt. "Broadly, the episode highlights the value of regular threat intelligence reporting from AI labs, which have unique insight into consequential activity that social media platforms and governments may not," she writes.

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• Aug 14, 202612x their median

  "The world’s ability to absorb Chinese overcapacity is approaching a breaking point. And if that breaking point comes, the consequence could be a global economic crisis at a time when governments are particularly ill equipped to manage the fallout," writes CFR President @MikeFroman for @ForeignAffairs. Over the past two decades, China has established the largest trade surplus in recorded history. In 2025, it reached nearly $1.2 trillion, growing at three times the rate of global goods trade. "When the Chinese economy was substantially smaller, a strategy based on driving export growth at two or three times the rate of overall global economic growth was possible because there was sufficient global demand to absorb its exports. Today, however, China has a much larger economy and cannot continue on this trajectory without eventually running out of customers. Put simply, Beijing has outgrown its economic model." "When the Chinese export machine stalls, the reckoning will be most painful for China. But a material slowdown in its economy would send shock waves around the world, especially among China’s major trading partners, not only in the Asia Pacific but also in countries elsewhere whose economies have become intertwined with China’s. The United States would not be immune to the shock, but it would be the only actor with the economic and institutional capacity to stabilize the global economy," Froman writes. "The surest way to avoid this costly chain of events is a preemptive and gradual rebalancing of the Chinese economy. This has long been China’s best path toward more sustainable growth, and a route the United States has advocated for years. But whereas in decades past it was a smart choice, now it is a necessity." https://t.co/yChHPfrFjB

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• Aug 23, 202612x their median

  The U.S. weapons arsenal has been depleted and no longer has the capacity to deter a Chinese attack against Taiwan, a new CFR report says. To address this vulnerability, the United States must rapidly implement policy reforms to enable the production and fielding of precise mass systems—an emerging class of military capabilities that includes drones, sensors, and enabling technologies—which represent the only viable means of maintaining peace through strength in the Indo-Pacific, the report contends. "Washington needs to immediately put production of precise mass on a wartime footing. Waiting until conflict begins will be too late." Read the full analysis by CFR experts @RushDoshi, Erin D. Dumbacher, @williamhenagan, @mchorowitz, and @SamHenryLazarus: https://t.co/ccsMr4buXt

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