October 13, 2026

Esther Brimmer

In last year’s speech at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), President Donald Trump railed against “uncontrolled migration” and a “green energy scam.” This year, he sounded more like a weary frontier sheriff contending with an outlaw. CFR James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance Brimmer analyzes the speech and writes that the United States does not seem ready to walk away entirely from the global body. Read the article

Check out additional CFR resources on topics in global governance:

• World Leaders at CFR: Highlights From UNGA 2026, by Diana Roy
• Who Will Be the Next UN Secretary-General? by Diana Roy
• What Does the UN Security Council Do? by CFR Editors
• How Much Does the U.S. Fund the United Nations? by Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy

• The Role of the International Criminal Court (ICC), by Mariel Ferragamo and Claire Klobucista

• Hunger on the Horizon: The New Black Sea Grain Crisis, by Samuel Henry Lazarus
• Brazil’s 2026 Election: What to Know About the Lula-Bolsonaro Runoff, by Mary Kate Godfrey and Diana Roy
• How Experts Think AI Will Change the Global Balance of Power by 2035, by Jessica Brandt and Adam Segal

Michael Froman

Two major diplomatic events in September—UNGA and the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping—brought thousands of diplomats and dignitaries, hundreds of hours of meetings and conversation, and countless pages of opinions and analyses to New York and Washington, DC. CFR President Froman discusses their takeaways. Read the expert take

Manjari Chatterjee Miller

India has been skeptical of the U.S.-led liberal international order since its independence. Now, the United States also seems keen to abandon the order it once championed. CFR Senior Fellow Chatterjee Miller breaks down this transitional period, its opportunities, and its challenges. Read the analysis

Matthias Matthijs

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for Canada and the European Union to move beyond the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and create an “Alliance for the Future.” CFR Senior Fellow for Europe Matthijs writes that the political move’s reception by the twenty-seven European capitals remains to be seen. Read the analysis

Charles A. Kupchan

Europeans are understandably worried that their strategic partnership with the United States is ending. But while Trump’s threats and hectoring have rattled Europe, CFR Senior Fellow Kupchan believes growing defense budgets and lasting mutual interests mean the alliance is more likely to endure than collapse. Read the article

Diana Roy and Jonathan Masters

A new trilateral security agreement signed by the United States, Denmark, and Greenland expands U.S. military access to the island, reinforcing Arctic security amid increasing geopolitical competition in the region. CFR Senior Editor Roy and former Deputy Managing Editor Masters explore the deal within the current geopolitical context. Check out the article

Max Boot

Western experts were still debating whether the incursion of at least nineteen Russian drones into Polish airspace in September was accidental or deliberate when news arrived days later that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had flown into Estonian airspace for an unusually long time—twelve minutes. CFR Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies Boot studies that troubling trend. Read the summary

Steven A. Cook

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7. Cook, director of CFR’s Middle East Program, states that the defense pact shows how far U.S. influence in the Middle East has eroded. Read the expert take

David J. Scheffer

Ratko Mladić, one of the top architects of the atrocity crimes that swept through Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, died on August 27 at the age of eighty-four while serving a life sentence in The Hague as a convicted war criminal. CFR Senior Fellow Scheffer reflects on the trial and explores the lessons it holds for future cases. Read the brief

John B. Bellinger III

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s July 13 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing a “diplomatic campaign” to “dismantle” the ICC “brick by brick” sent shock waves through the international law space. CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law Bellinger argues that, though the ICC is a seriously flawed institution, decades of bipartisan U.S. policy have recognized that an imperfect court is better than none. Read the expert take

Michelle Gavin

The Red Sea region is in a state of upheaval. Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz led to an outsized Saudi dependence on the Bab el-Mandeb, and Yemen’s Houthis seized the moment. CFR Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies Gavin follows the metastasizing, interconnected conflicts while Washington sends mixed signals. Read the analysis