CFR.org - Society and Culture

Media Conference Call: Edward Alden and Shannon K. O'Neil on Immigration and Border Security

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:11:20 -0400

CFR Senior Fellows Edward Alden and Shannon K. O'Neil discuss border security and U.S. immigration policy.

Egypt, Turkey, and Tunisia Are All Slowly Islamizing

Council on Foreign Relations — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:59:50 -0400

Steven Cook inspects the role of Islam in Egyptian, Turkish, and Tunisian society and culture.

Viewpoints: The Impact of Elections in Pakistan

Council on Foreign Relations — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:47:54 -0400

Daniel Markey argues that the newly elected Pakistani prime minister's core agenda, "economic reform and improved ties with India—is one the United States should cheer."

A Powerful Voice for Women Around the World

Council on Foreign Relations — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:01:16 -0400

In a Room for Debate blog post for the New York Times, Isobel Coleman discusses Hillary Clinton's legacy as former secretary of state

Managing Illegal Immigration to the United States

Council on Foreign Relations — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:30:54 -0400

The authors examine the lack of understanding of the effectiveness of enforcement efforts in preventing illegal immigration to the United States.

U.S. Poor Express Strong Values, Not Self-Pity

Council on Foreign Relations — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:38:08 -0400

Andrew Kohut and Michael Dimock discuss the findings of their new Renewing America Working Paper.

Islam in Russia and the Relationship Between Moscow and the Caucasus

Council on Foreign Relations — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:00:54 -0400

Alexey Malashenko, co-chair of the Carnegie Moscow Center's religion, society, and security program, leads a conversation on the history of religious tension and the current relationship between Moscow and the Caucasus, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Like the United States?

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:02:29 -0400

Julia Sweig reflects on Brazil's new domestic workers law.

What Canada Can Teach GOP on Immigration

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:35:10 -0400

Edward Alden writes that the GOP should embrace immigration reform and follow the Canadian Conservative Party's example on how to woo the immigrant vote.

Resilient American Values

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:00:09 -0400

Despite an extended period of economic difficulty, Pew pollsters Andrew Kohut and Michael Dimock show that Americans' core values and beliefs about economic opportunity remain largely optimistic and unchanged.

Is it part of the U.S. anti-drug policy to sell weapons to Mexico to combat drug cartels?

Council on Foreign Relations — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:55:25 -0400

Under the security cooperation agreement called the Merida Initiative, the United States provides military and law enforcement assistance to the Mexican government in support of efforts to combat drug cartels and organized crime. The United States and Mexico jointly developed this agreement in response to a substantial increase in drug-related criminal activity and violence on both sides of the border.

Medicare Should Pay for Patients, Not Treatments

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:04:13 -0400

Peter Orszag argues that giving health-care providers a fixed payment for each Medicare beneficiary could provide a path forward between competing views of health care reform offered by Republicans and Democrats.

Democratic Platitudes Will Not Reverse Myanmar's Spiral

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:21:12 -0400

Joshua Kurlantzick says more is needed from Myanmar president U Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to foster tolerance and and reconciliation in the ethnically divided country.

How to Build a Second American Century

Council on Foreign Relations — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:55:56 -0400

CFR President Richard Haass calls on Americans to "resolve our political dysfunction, rethink our foreign policy and restore the foundations of American power—and in the process provide another century of American leadership."

The Big One?

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:11:29 -0400

Laurie Garrett offers a detailed account of how the H7N9 virus emerged and describes the two possible paths it may now follow, by pulling from her own experiences in the SARS epidemic ten years ago and reflecting on parallels between the two.

Boston Consequences

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:11:38 -0400

Julia Sweig reflects on implications of the Boston Marathon bombings in the midst of debates on gun control and immigration reform.

Regulatory Moneyball

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:34:00 -0400

Government regulators should take their cues from the statistics-obsessed sports geeks of Moneyball and use data and empirical evidence to evaluate rules, instead of relying heavily on intuition, anecdotes, dogmas, and impressions.

Resetting U.S.-Israel Relations

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:00:21 -0400

Robert M. Danin, CFR's Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies, leads a conversation on the significance of Israel's new coalition government and President Obama's recent trip to the region, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Why American Education Fails

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:53:34 -0400

Since the end of the industrial age, Americans have worried about improving their education system. But the country has never been able to make much progress. Other nations do it better, and the United States must learn from their examples if it hopes to catch up.

The Church Undivided

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:50:43 -0400

Pope Benedict XVI made reaching out to other faiths and promoting Christian unity hallmarks of his tenure. Pope Francis will continue this work, not only because he has a history of facilitating religious dialogue, but also because global Catholicism requires it.

Rise of the Lone Wolves--the New Faces of Jihad

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:10:49 -0400

According to Ed Husain, "the answers to countering the appeal of radicalism among some Muslims in the West rests in more, not less, debating of religion, pluralist politics and integrating immigrants."

America's Greatest Asset Against Radicalisation: Muslim Americans

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:01:01 -0400

Ed Husain writes, "Boston will not be the last homegrown terror attack. Bombastic statements and burying our heads in the sand do not prepare us for future attacks."

What should Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s policy priorities be?

Council on Foreign Relations — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:49:43 -0400

Yingluck Shinawatra was elected prime minister of Thailand in July 2011. She has so far achieved the most important thing in Thailand today, which is preserving a fragile peace between different interest groups and political sides.

Don't Blame Immigration for Boston Bombings

Council on Foreign Relations — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:45:49 -0400

Ted Alden reflects on impending immigration reform in light of the recent Boston Marathon bombings.

After immigration reform, how would the large and newly legal Hispanic population influence U.S. politics?

Council on Foreign Relations — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:43:18 -0400

Immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship would have sweeping effects on the lives of the estimated eight million undocumented Hispanics living within the United States. But it would not have an acute, immediate effect on U.S. politics.

House of Representatives: Internet Governance Bill

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:43:41 -0400

The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications and Technology passed the Internet Governance Bill on April 17, 2013, which reinforces the "policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet." The bill will go on for a vote in the House.

Will “sequestration” affect U.S. education, especially in the STEM fields?

Council on Foreign Relations — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:11:58 -0400

American policymakers have long been concerned about the eroding U.S. advantage in educating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students. With much of the assembly work for lucrative high-technology products having moved to Asia, future U.S. prosperity depends increasingly on innovating new products and techniques—innovation that requires training (or importing) a new generation of scientists and engineers.

A Conversation with Helen Clark

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:38:27 -0400

Helen Clark discusses the 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. The report identifies more than forty developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades, with their progress accelerating markedly over the past ten years

Women's Empowerment and the Path to Democracy in the New Middle East

Council on Foreign Relations — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:27:47 -0400

Reza Aslan discusses the connection between women's empowerment and economics, as part of the Council on Foreign Relations' roundtable series on religion and the Middle East.

This meeting was cosponsored by the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initative.

The Hillary Doctrine: Women's Rights Are a National Security Issue

Council on Foreign Relations — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:20:55 -0400

After former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's speech on April 5, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon observes, "the Clinton megaphone no longer requires a Washington translator."