National flags on flag poles wave against a blue sky

Lester Crown Center on US Foreign Policy

Shaping debates and informing decisions on important US foreign policy issues.
More About the Center
Public Opinion
Chicago Council Survey data tracks trends in American public opinion on US foreign policy since 1975.
Survey Reports
Research
Analysis and policy recommendations on US foreign policy and national security.
All Research
Events
Policymakers and influencers share their experience and insight to keep the public informed.
Events
Task Force Report
Then US Vice President Joe Biden visits Observation Post Ouellette inside the DMZ, the military border separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom in 2013.
REUTERS
Defense and Security

Preventing Nuclear Proliferation and Reassuring America's Allies

RESEARCH Report Multiple Authors
A task force, cochaired by Chuck Hagel, Malcolm Rifkind, and Kevin Rudd with Ivo Daalder, argues that fraying American alliances and a rapidly changing security environment have shaken America’s nuclear security guarantees and threaten the 50-year-old nuclear nonproliferation regime.

From the Lester Crown Center

Computer hardware
Computer hardware Computer hardware
Computer hardware
Public Opinion
Michael Dziedzic
SolarWinds Hack: Americans Prefer Sanctions over Retaliatory Cyberattack against Russia
RESEARCH Public Opinion Survey by Multiple Authors
Dina Smeltz and Brendan Helm analyze new public opinion data showing there is partisan agreement on how best to respond to the recent Russian hack.
US Foreign Policy
SLATE
To Stop Endless Wars, Biden Needs to Give Up Some Power
In the News Slate Elizabeth Shackelford
Biden campaigning
Biden campaigning Biden campaigning
Biden campaigning
US Foreign Policy
How America and Democracies Around the World Can Defeat Illiberalism
In the News The National Interest Michele Lowe

Center at a Glance

Shadows of people standing in front of an American flag
Reuters
Public Opinion Surveys on US Foreign Policy

First conducted in 1974, the now annual Chicago Council Survey highlights critical trends and shifts in American views on US foreign policy over time.

Four US soldiers stand in front of a setting sun
Reuters
Task Forces on National Security

Thought leaders convened for task forces analyze and make recommendations on a range of timely national security and foreign policy issues.

General Jim Mattis speaking at the Council
Lester Crown Lecture on US Foreign Policy

Each year, audiences hear from and question a national security leader, fostering dialogue and building deeper understanding of critical issues.

VP of Studies Brian Hanson recording our podcast, Deep Dish
Commentary and Analysis

Fellows and other experts offer the context needed to understand current national security or foreign policy events and trends through op-eds, blogs, podcasts, and videos.

Explore Findings of the 2020 Chicago Council Survey

Democrats and Republicans are divided in their views on top threats to United States and how the country should address global challenges and engage internationally. 
An image of the White House at night.
Meet the Experts
All Lester Crown Center experts
Headshot for Dina Smeltz

Dina Smeltz

Senior Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Dina Smeltz, a polling expert, has more than 25 years experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys. Prior to joining the Council to lead its annual survey of American attitudes on US foreign policy, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US State Department's Office of Research from 1992 to 2001.
More about Dina
Council staff Elizabeth Shackelford

Elizabeth Shackelford

Senior Fellow, US Foreign Policy
Elizabeth Shackelford, former career US diplomat, joined the Council in January 2021. Her work focuses on building awareness and understanding of a "restraint" approach to foreign policy, which seeks to limit the use of military force to the defense of core US national security interests and favors robust diplomatic engagement.
More about Elizabeth
Council expert Karl Friedhoff

Karl Friedhoff

Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies
Karl Friedhoff was a Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation US-Korea Nexus Scholar and a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s Trilateral Working Group prior to joining the Council. Previously, he was a program officer in the Public Opinion Studies Program at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies based in Seoul, South Korea.
More about Karl
All Lester Crown Center experts

Commentary and Analysis

VP of Studies Brian Hanson recording an episode of Deep Dish
Deep Dish Podcast

Council Vice President of Studies Brian T. Hanson sits down with guests to go beyond the headlines on critical global issues in this weekly podcast series.

A screenshot of a recording of World Review on May 22, 2020.
World Review

Former NATO Ambassador and Council President Ivo Daalder talks with leading media commentators about emerging global news during this live streaming show every Friday at 10 a.m. CT.

A list of numbers in a collection of data on a computer screen
Running Numbers Blog

A public opinion, probabilities, and everything data-related blog featuring commentary and analysis from polling and foreign policy experts.

Donald Trump answering questions at a press briefing at the White House
Reuters
In the News

Commentary and analysis from Lester Crown Center experts featured in digital, print, and TV news.

Newsletter sign-up

Sign up to receive a monthly email with all the latest survey findings, research, analysis, and commentary from Crown Center experts and featured speakers.
A mobile phone with a window open showing the LCC email newsletter

Crown Center Events

President-elect Joe Biden holds a conference video call alongside Vice President-elect Kamala Harris focused on foreign policy
Reuters
Ivo Daalder on the State of the Council and Biden's Foreign Policy
PAST EVENT

Council leadership members enjoyed an exclusive off-the-record conversation with the former NATO ambassador and Chicago Council president on the Biden administration.

Russians protest the arrest of Alexei Navalny
REUTERS
World Review: US-Russia, Iran Deal, & COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
PAST EVENT VIDEO World Review

Ivo Daalder, Karen DeYoung, Steven Erlanger, and Peter Spiegel examine the news during US President Biden's first week in office.

President Joe Biden takes the oath of office
Reuters
World Review: President Biden Takes Office
PAST EVENT VIDEO World Review

Journalists Susan Glasser, Nirmal Ghosh, and Philip Stephens join Council President Ivo H. Daalder to discuss the Biden administration's first decisions.

House Impeachment Proceedings Round Two
REUTERS
World Review: Impeachment Again, COVID-19, Biden's First 100 Days
PAST EVENT VIDEO World Review

Ivo Daalder talks with reporters from some of the world's leading media outlets about the week's most important global affairs news.