Deep Dish: The Australia-US Alliance in a Pacific Century

Australia has long been a strong ally of the United States, but new challenges and opportunities, including the rise of China, confront the alliance in the twenty-first century.

Wait Just a Minute: Katelyn Jones

Council Women, Peace, and Security Fellow Katelyn Jones takes a minute to answer questions on equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Deep Dish: Ahead of Israeli Elections, Netanyahu Doubles Down on Foreign Policy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel will annex part of the Jordan Valley if he stays in power after elections on September 17. The decision comes as tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran-backed militias in Syria flare up.

Deep Dish: Fire Is Not Brazil's Only Amazon Problem

Flames raging across the Amazon have captured the world's attention, but Brazil faces other pressing economic, political, and conservation consequences due to deforestation as well.

Deep Dish: Germany's Surging Far-Right and the Future of Populism

Running high in the polls ahead of state elections on September 1, the far-right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become a formitable challenger to traditional centrist parties. 

The US Shouldn't Ignore the G-7 Gender Equality Recommendations

Citing the overwhelming prevalence of gender inequality globally, Emmanuel Macron focused this year’s G-7 summit on feasible solutions to enhance gender equality. 

Deep Dish: Sinking Jakarta Is a Test Case for Climate Retreat

Indonesia's massive, overcrowded capital is sinking due to climate change and depleted ground water. Now President Joko Widodo wants to move the capital and build an entirely new city.

Urban Reflections from the 2019 International Student Delegation

Each year approximately 30 students from leading research universities around the world participate in the global student delegation program at the Pritzker Forum on Global Cities. Promising students who have demonstrated a commitment to improving global cities and are enrolled in a master’s or PhD program are nominated by their host universities to attend. The 2019 delegation included 30 students from 20 countries, including China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Their biographies are available here.

The following series of contributions are their reflections and insights inspired by and drawn from their experience attending the 2019 Pritzker Forum.

Social Equity: The Legacy of 100 Resilient Cities

On July 31, 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) officially ceased its operations, marking a turning point in the modern urban resiliency movement to create cities that can bounce back from disaster. In six years, the Rockefeller Foundation-funded initiative brought a standardized urban resilience framework to cities across the globe, facilitating the development of more than 80 resilience plans in the process. As a result of its work, urban resiliency planning has become a common practice for city governments, with many institutionalizing the position of a chief resiliency officer.

Deep Dish: Kashmir Is the 72-Year 'Wound' between India and Pakistan

Narendra Modi’s government has revoked the constitutional provision that had long granted special autonomy to India-administered Kashmir, once again tearing open tensions between India and Pakistan. 

Deep Dish: Japan-South Korea Feud Threatens Regional Stability and Security

Bad blood between the two US allies goes back decades, but its reemergence today raises new questions about stability and security in the region at a particularly tense moment.

Will Ambassador Subnat Go to Washington?

On June 28, 2019, Congressmen Ted W. Lieu (D-CA33) and Joe Wilson (R-SC02) introduced H.R.3571, the “City and State Diplomacy Act.” The Act seeks to mandate a senior official at the State Department charged with “supervision (including policy oversight of resources) of Federal support for subnational engagements by State and municipal governments with foreign governments.” The position would be at the ambassadorial level, and “Ambassador Subnat” would require the consent of the Senate and oversee a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy.

Deep Dish: Why Tunisia Is the Epicenter of Arab Democracy

All eyes turned to Tunisia in 2011, when the Arab Spring took off following the death of a Tunisian street vendor. Today, the world is again watching Tunisia after the death of its first democratically elected president.

Deep Dish: Does the United Nations Do Anything Useful?

The UN is much more than just colorful speeches from leaders each September in New York and vetoed resolutions in the Security Council.

Deep Dish: Iran Reacts to US Sanctions—with Echoes of Run-up to Pearl Harbor

Experts discuss how US sanctions on Iran are shifting the strategic calculus for Tehran to retaliate, creating a situation reminiscent of the sequence in 1941 that led Imperial Japan to attack the US naval base in Hawaii.