CFR Religion and Foreign Policy Bulletin, Council on Foreign Relations October 2020

 

CFR Religion and Foreign Policy Bulletin

October 2020

 

 

Election 2020, Pandemic Preparedness, the Middle East, and International Religious Freedom

 

 

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This month’s Religion and Foreign Policy bulletin features commentary and analysis on the 2020 U.S. presidential election in the form of backgrounders, guides, and blogs; the new CFR Independent Task Force report on pandemic preparedness; the latest book by CFR's Philip H. Gordon on U.S. attempts at regime change in the Middle East; and a Religion and Foreign Policy webinar on advancing religious freedom abroad.

Virtual Meeting: Participate in CFR's 10/26 Virtual U.S. Foreign Policy Forum 

We invite you to join Madeleine K. Albright and Richard N. Haass on Monday, October 26, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. (ET) for the final virtual forum discussion in CFR's Election 2020 series on the foreign policy challenges awaiting the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Register here »

 

Guides, Backgrounders, and Blogs

Guide: The 2020 Candidates on Foreign Policy

 

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Find out where the presidential and vice-presidential candidates stand on foreign policy issues. Explore the guide »

Backgrounder: The U.S. Vice President and Foreign Policy

Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, the role of vice president shifted from figure-head to a position of influence, particularly in the shaping of foreign policy. This CFR Backgrounder takes a historic look at vice presidential powers, and analyzes the tenures of the last seven men to hold the office. Read more at CFR.org »

The Water's Edge Blog: Campaign Foreign Policy Roundup: VP Candidates Discuss Foreign Policy 

James M. Linsday, CFR's senior vice president, director of studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg chair, discusses Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris’s responses to questions about America's relationship with China and U.S. global leadership. Read more at CFR.org »

Commentary and Analysis

Foreign Affairs: The Democratic Renewal: What It Will Take to Fix U.S. Foreign Policy

 

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Ben Rhodes, co-chair of National Security Action, assesses the country Joe Biden will inherit should he win the election, and actions the administration could take to restructure U.S. foreign policy and re-establish itself as a global power. Read the article from the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs »

Foreign Affairs: The End of American Illusion: Trump and the World as It Is

Nadia Schadlow, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, argues that many of President Trump's foreign policy decisions have been in America's best interests, and that the United States must come to terms with its present day global position, and diverge from post-Cold War policies.  Read the article from the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs »

Book Announcements, Task Force Reports, and Religion Resources

Book Announcement: Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East

Surveying U.S. experience in places such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria, CFR Senior Fellow Philip H. Gordon writes on the failure of these interventions to achieve their ultimate goals. Learn more at CFR.org »

Task Force Report: Improving Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons From COVID-19

 

GETTY/Ernesto Benavides

Despite decades of warnings and years of international planning, the United States and the rest of the world were unprepared for the pandemic. A new bipartisan, CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report, Improving Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons From COVID-19, makes recommendations for the short and long run.

Read the Task Force Report

Religion and Foreign Policy Webinar: Comparing Models of Advancing Religious Freedom Abroad

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In the latest Religion and Foreign Policy webinar, Liv Kvanvig, coordinator of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and Knox Thames, senior fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement, discuss models from around the world for advancing freedom of religion.

Listen

About CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Program

The CFR Religion and Foreign Policy Program advances understanding of the forces shaping international relations through exchange between faith leaders and policymakers and offers a forum for congregational leaders, seminary heads, scholars of religion, and representatives of faith-based organizations to address global issues. For more information, contact CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Program at 212.434.9581 or outreach@cfr.org.

 

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

Editor's note: CFR is fully operational. Due to the pandemic, all in-person events are suspended. Find all of CFR’s coronavirus-related resources here.

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