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April 18, 2024

Palestinian Territories
What Is Hamas?

The Palestinian militant group struggled to govern the Gaza Strip before launching a surprise attack on Israel in 2023. Now facing Israel’s military campaign to destroy it, Hamas’s future is in doubt…

Gun-toting Hamas militants ride a vehicle amid a massive crowd of the group's supporters

April 17, 2024

Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Conceived as the principal defenders of the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into an institution with vast political, economic, and military power.

Members of the Revolutionary Guards attend a parliamentary session in Tehran.

April 3, 2024

United States
What Does the U.S. National Guard Do?

The National Guard is a special part of the U.S. military that answers to both state governors and the president. While it began as a “strategic reserve,” the guard has come to play an important role…

A member of the National Guard patrols the southern U.S. border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

March 26, 2024

Refugees and Displaced Persons
How Does the U.S. Refugee System Work?

The United States has long been a safe haven for refugees from around the world. President Biden is working to expand the country’s resettlement program after the Trump administration made sharp cuts…

Afghan refugees walk through Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on September 2, 2021.

February 26, 2024

United Nations
The UN Security Council

The UN Security Council is the premier global body for maintaining international peace and security, but it faces steady calls for reform to better meet twenty-first-century challenges.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the Security Council via video amid Russia’s war.

February 8, 2024

United States
The U.S. Vice President and Foreign Policy

Modern vice presidents can trace much of their political influence to the broad reforms that Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale made to the second-highest elected office in the late 1970s.

Vice-President-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Libby--.jpg

December 22, 2023

Venezuela
Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate

Venezuela’s ongoing descent into economic and political chaos is a cautionary tale of the dangerous influence that resource wealth can have on developing countries.

People walk past an oil-themed mural in Caracas, Venezuela.

December 22, 2023

Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Fentanyl and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

Opioid addiction has become one of the United States’ biggest killers, endangering public health, the economy, and national security. But closing the floodgates on fentanyl poses a significant foreig…

Photos of fentanyl victims are on display at The Faces of Fentanyl Memorial at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters.

December 4, 2023

Budget, Debt, and Deficits
The U.S. National Debt Dilemma

With the U.S. national debt already exceeding $16 trillion, President Trump’s tax reform and budget deals with Congress have added to the country’s deficits. CFR explores the origins of the national debt, the risks it presents, and the outlook for change.

An exterior view of the U.S. Treasury building from below

October 27, 2023

Iran Nuclear Agreement
What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?

The United States’ withdrawal from the arms control agreement has heightened tensions and left the remaining signatories scrambling to keep the deal alive.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French  The foreign ministers of China, France, Germany, the European Union, Iran, the United Kingdom, and the United States pose for a photo at the UN building in Vienna, Austria.