The Council on Foreign Relations has been one of my main sources of information and education on international affairs since I arrived, in 1976, at Columbia University as a Fulbright scholar. After one academic year in the School of Journalism, I went into SIPA (the School of International and Public Affairs) at the same university to fulfill my obsession, since my first days in international journalism, with a better understanding -practical, academic and theoretical- of the field.
In the first semester (1977-78 academic year) I was lucky to have Edward Morse, at the time editor of the CFR prestigious review, Foreign Affairs, as professor of Theory and Management of International Relations, assisting William T. Fox, famous for his writings on the concept of superpower, and sharing classes from time to time with Donald Puchala. Morse’s book Modernization and Transformation of Internacional Relations and his participation, with Cyrus Vance and many others, in the 1980’s Project at the CFR, gave me the first serious inner prospective look on the most important world challenges at the time.
The CFR’s wide offer of research, analysis, publications and debates four decades after my first personal contact with the New York’s think tank doesn’t fit into one nor one thousand entries of a simple blog like this, with only a few days of life, but, just a a sample, I’m presenting here the Council’s guides, part of its Interactive section, to some of the most pressing problems in the international community at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Nuclear Energy Guide: This interactive guide explores the past, present, and future of nuclear power, focusing on its unique benefits and risks.
Crisis Guide: Iran: Iran poses steep challenges to its Middle East neighbors and the world. Explore the country’s complex regime structure and controversial nuclear program, and watch experts debate the range of policy options.
Global governance monitor tracks, maps, and evaluates multilateral efforts to address today’s global challenges, including armed conflict, public health, climate change, ocean governanc
Crisis Guide: Pakistan, whose stability stability is of great consequence to regional and international security. Examine the roots of its challenges, what it means for the region and the world, and explore some plausible futures for the country.
Crisis Guide: The Global Economy: An in-depth, multimedia look at the causes and consequences of the global economic crisis that seeks to unravel the questions surrounding the downturn and shed light on its policy implications, drawing on insights from leading thinkers on economics and international affairs.