"While drones have attracted considerable attention, we know little about how effective they are as tools of punishment and deterrence. In particular, it is not clear how, if at all, drones differ from other technologies of violence, what experience with broadly similar technologies in past conflicts suggests will be the likely consequences of drone strikes, and what systematic analysis of the available evidence suggests about the effects of the drone campaigns. This monograph seeks to address these open questions."
As the Tea Party's scorched-earth tactics threaten to burn down the Republican Party's house, Julia Sweig reflects on the role of factional politics and democratic expansion in U.S. history, and on the crossroads we have reached in the present day.
"Should the United States continue targeted killings in Yemen without addressing the consequences of killing civilians and taking responsibility for unlawful deaths, it risks further angering many Yemenis and handing another recruiting card to AQAP."
"The cases in this report raise serious concerns that the USA has unlawfully killed people in drone strikes, and that such killings may amount in some cases to extrajudicial executions or war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law. Like other forces operating in the Tribal Areas, the USA appears to be exploiting the lawless and remote nature of the region to evade accountability for its violations."
Ahead of President Barack Obama's meeting with Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday, October 23, CFR Senior Fellow Daniel Markey and former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter discussed U.S.-Pakistan relations on a media call on October 22.
Ambassador Cameron Munter and Daniel Markey, senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia, discuss U.S.-Pakistan relations and the significance of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Washington.
Two new revolutions in biology—gain-of-function research and synthetic biology—are forcing policymakers to rethink current national and international surveillance and regulatory systems, and any resolution will require international buy-in since the threat entails all living organisms.
"[N]ot all the refugees who have arrived in Zaatari want to live in the camp, with its common toilets and kitchens, disease and crowding. As a result, the sleepy village that is home to 12,000 Jordanians has been transformed by the arrival of several thousand refugees."
Challenge to Chinadraws attention to an underappreciated aspect of legal reforms in Taiwan, and asks how Taiwan's experience might be relevant to its giant neighbor across the Taiwan Strait.
Laurie Garrett examines the recent reports of two polio cases in Syria, which has not reported a case since 1999, and explains why polio is coming back from the brink of eradication.
Daniel S. Markey, CFR's senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, discusses his new book, No Exit from Pakistan: America's Tortured Relationship with Islamabad.
A number of diplomatic challenges, including disagreements over the crisis in Syria, could threaten to undermine years of improving U.S.-Turkey relations, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.
"As the European Union has emerged as a regulatory superpower affecting 28 countries that collectively form the world's largest economy, its policies have become ever more important to corporations operating across borders. In turn, the influence business in Brussels has become ever larger and more competitive, rivaled only by Washington's."
"America's borrowing costs are on the cusp of exceeding the rest of the world for the first time since 2010 after a political stalemate over public funding triggered a 16-day government shutdown and jeopardized the nation's ability to pay its debt. Yields on Treasuries, which averaged less than 1 percent as recently as May, are now within 0.2 percentage point of the 1.57 percent for sovereign debt outside the U.S., according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes."
"Next year's elections to the European parliament also look like a possible breakthrough moment for a European Tea Party. The parliament has traditionally been the most federalist institution in Europe, acting as a lobby group for the transfer of more powers to Brussels. But next May's elections are likely to show a surge in votes for eurosceptic parties across the continent."
Daniel S. Markey, CFR's senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, discusses his new book, No Exit from Pakistan: America's Tortured Relationship with Islamabad.
Asked by Justin McDowell, from Minnesota State University Moorhead
Counterinsurgency (COIN) operations will continue to be a viable option in future conflicts, particularly given rising instability in areas of interest to the United States and its allies. However, the relative feasibility and ability to support large COIN operations is very much in question.
A deal to tame Iran's nuclear program is within sight, but a number of potential pitfalls, including an untimely increase in U.S. sanctions, could derail diplomacy, says expert Suzanne Maloney.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
The story of the tragic and often tormented relationship between the United States and Pakistan, and a call to prepare for the worst, aim for the best, and avoid past mistakes. More
An authoritative and accessible look at what countries must do to build durable and prosperous democracies—and what the United States and others can do to help. More