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Lester Crown Center on US Foreign Policy

Shaping debates and informing decisions on important US foreign policy issues.
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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

From the Lester Crown Center

Elizabeth Shackelford
Elizabeth Shackelford Elizabeth Shackelford
Elizabeth Shackelford
US Foreign Policy Play the video
Elizabeth Shackelford on Afghanistan
Video Series Wait Just a Minute
Twenty years after the war began, the United States' forces will officially leave Afghanistan on September 11, 2021. What's the argument to leave and why has it taken so long?
Public Opinion
Trump Aftershocks Still Pose Challenges for US-Japan Alliance
In the News The National Interest
U.S. Air Force pararescuemen carry an injured patient in Afghanistan
U.S. Air Force pararescuemen carry an injured patient in Afghanistan U.S. Air Force pararescuemen carry an injured patient in Afghanistan
U.S. Air Force pararescuemen carry an injured patient in Afghanistan
Defense and Security
DoD | Angelita Lawrence
Ending War Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard
In the News Chicago Tribune Elizabeth Shackelford
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
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.

Center at a Glance

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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.

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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. 
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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.

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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.
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Crown Center Events

A person sorts through a stack of newspapers
May
28
MD Mahdi
World Review with Glasser, Harding, and Luce
Virtual World Review

Susan Glasser, James Harding, and Edward Luce join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

Register
A person sorts through a stack of newspapers
May
21
MD Mahdi
World Review with Ghosh, Labott, and Rachman
Virtual World Review

Nirmal Ghosh, Elise Labott, and Gideon Rachman join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

Register
A mock Scud-B missile and other mock South Korean missiles are displayed at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul
May
18
REUTERS
Partner Event: America, Australia, and Nuclear Proliferation in the Indo-Pacific
Virtual

A panel of US and Australian experts considers what America's weakening alliances and the unraveling of the nuclear non-proliferation regime could mean for the Indo-Pacific region.

Register
A person sorts through a stack of newspapers
May
14
MD Mahdi
World Review with Kornelius, Stephens, and Toosi
Virtual World Review

Stefan Kornelius, Philip Stephens, and Halley Toosi join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

Register