CFR Fellows’ Book Launch | Council on Foreign Relations

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: Lost Decade—The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power

Lost Decade is an essential guide for understanding the historic shift to Asia-centric geopolitics and its implications for the United States’ present and future. More than a decade on, Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine conclude that while the Pivot to Asia’s strategic logic is strong, Washington's failure to respond to China's rise represents one of the three greatest mistakes in U.S. foreign policy since WW II, along with the 1965 escalation in Vietnam and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They examine the Pivot through various lenses: situating it historically in the context of U.S. global foreign policy, revealing the inside story of how it came about, assessing the effort thus far, identifying the ramifications in other regions (namely Europe and the Middle East), and proposing a path forward. As the international order becomes more unstable, Blackwill and Fontaine argue that it is imperative that policymakers fully understand what the Pivot to Asia aimed to achieve—and where it fell short—in order to muster the resources, alliances, and resolve to preserve an open order in Asia and the world. Crafting an effective policy for the region, they contend, is crucial for preserving American security, prosperity, and democratic values.

Virtual Event with Robert D. Blackwill, Richard H. Fontaine Jr. and James M. Lindsay June 17, 2024 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

Mexico

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: From Peril to Partnership by Paul J. Angelo

In From Peril to Partnership, using case studies of Colombia and Mexico, Paul Angelo evaluates the efficacy of U.S. security assistance and the necessary conditions and stakeholders in partner nations that facilitate success. The book answers why Plan Colombia achieved its objectives and why the Mérida Initiative underdelivered in Mexico. It goes beyond drug war theatrics and the “one-size-fits-all” approach to U.S.-led stabilization. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Event with Paul J. Angelo and Shannon K. O'Neil March 11, 2024 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

United States

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: The World That Wasn't: Henry Wallace and the Fate of the American Century by Benn Steil

Henry Wallace is the most important, and certainly the most fascinating, almost-president in American history. As FDR’s third-term vice president, and a hero to many progressives, he lost his place on the 1944 Democratic ticket in a wild open convention, as a result of which Harry Truman became president on FDR’s death. Books, films, and even plays have since portrayed the circumstances surrounding Wallace’s defeat as corrupt, and the results catastrophic. Based on striking new finds from Russian, FBI, and other archives, Benn Steil’s The World That Wasn’t paints a decidedly less heroic portrait of the man, of the events surrounding his fall, and of the world that might have been under his presidency.

Virtual Event with Benn Steil and Michael Froman January 23, 2024 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

United States

Daughters and Sons Guest Event: Fellows’ Book Launch—God, Guns, and Sedition

In God, Guns, and Sedition, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware offer the definitive account of the rise of far-right terrorism in the United States—and how to counter it. In recent years shocking acts of terrorism such as the 2015 mass murder in a historic Black church in Charleston and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol have shone a spotlight on far-right extremism in America. These incidents are not isolated; they are part of a enduring pattern where conspiracy theories and radical ideologies like white supremacism, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and anti-government sentiments converge, posing a persistent threat to democracy. Members are encouraged to include their high school- or college-age children or grandchildren in this event. All members are welcome to attend.

Virtual Event with Bruce Hoffman, Jacob Ware and Michael Froman January 4, 2024 Renewing America

South Korea

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: The United States–South Korea Alliance: Why It May Fail and Why It Must Not by Scott A. Snyder

The alliance between the United States and South Korea has endured through seven decades of shifting regional and geopolitical security contexts. In The United States–South Korea Alliance: Why It May Fail and Why It Must Not, Scott A. Snyder details the challenges it now faces from domestic political turmoil in both countries, including deepening political polarization and rising nationalism, which has cast doubt on the alliance’s viability—with critical implications for the balance of power in East Asia. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Virtual Event with Scott A. Snyder and James M. Lindsay December 7, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

Central Africa

CFR Book Launch Series: "The Lumumba Plot" by Stuart Reid

Foreign Affairs Executive Editor Stuart Reid discusses his new book, The Lumumba Plot, which follows the dramatic history of the Congo in 1960 on the edge of its independence from Belgium, the ensuing CIA plot against its prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, and how these events set the stage for the country’s next three decades of misrule.

Virtual Event with Stuart Reid and Daniel Kurtz-Phelan November 7, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

Russia

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: Getting Russia Right by Thomas Graham

As U.S.-Russian relations scrape the depths of Cold War antagonism, the promise of partnership that beguiled American administrations during the first post-Soviet decades increasingly appears to have been false from the start. Getting Russia Right identifies the blind spots that prevented Washington from seeing Russia as it really is and crafting a policy to advance American interests without provoking an aggressive Russian response. In Getting Russia Right, Thomas Graham deftly traces the evolution of opposing ideas of national purpose that created an inherent tension in relations. Distilling the Putin factor to reveal the contours of the Russia challenge facing the United States whenever he departs the scene, Graham lays out a compelling way to deal with it so that the United States can continue to advance its interests in a rapidly changing world. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Virtual Event with Thomas Graham and James M. Lindsay October 18, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

China

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: Sparks—China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future by Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson discusses his new book, Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future, which describes how some of China’s best-known writers, filmmakers, and artists have overcome crackdowns and censorship to forge a nationwide movement that challenges the Communist Party on its most hallowed ground: its control of history.

Virtual Event with Ian Johnson, Ian Johnson, Shannon K. O'Neil and Shannon K. O'Neil September 28, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

China

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances Its Global Ambitions by Zongyuan Zoe Liu

One of the keys to China’s global rise has been its strategy of deploying sovereign wealth on behalf of state power. Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, China has doubled down on financial statecraft, making shrewd investments with the sovereign funds it has built up by leveraging its foreign exchange reserves. Sovereign Funds tells the story of how the Communist Party of China became a global financier of surpassing ambition. In Sovereign Funds, Zongyuan Zoe Liu offers the first in-depth account of the evolution of China’s sovereign funds, and shows how these institutions have become mechanisms not only for transforming low-reward foreign exchange reserves into investment capital but also for power projection. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Virtual Event with Zongyuan Zoe Liu and Shannon K. O'Neil June 27, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

United States

DC Book Launch: The Bill of Obligations by Richard Haass

CFR President Richard Haass discusses his new book, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, with Mary Louise Kelly. In The Bill of Obligations, Richard Haass argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. Haass introduces ten obligations that are essential for healing our divisions and safeguarding the country’s future. Through an expert blend of civics, history, and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans can rediscover and recover the attitudes and behaviors that have contributed so much to this country’s success over the centuries.

Event January 31, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

United States

NY Book Launch: The Bill of Obligations by Richard Haass

CFR President Richard Haass discusses his new book, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, with Juju Chang. In The Bill of Obligations, Richard Haass argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. Haass introduces ten obligations that are essential for healing our divisions and safeguarding the country’s future. Through an expert blend of civics, history, and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans can rediscover and recover the attitudes and behaviors that have contributed so much to this country’s success over the centuries.

Event January 26, 2023 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch

China

CFR Fellows' Book Launch Series: Beijing's Global Media Offensive by Joshua Kurlantzick

Since China’s ascendancy toward great power status began in the 1990s, many observers have focused on its economic growth and expanding military power. In contrast, most viewed China’s ability to project soft and sharp power through its media industries and its global influence campaigns as quite limited, and its ability to wield influence within the domestic politics of other countries as nearly nonexistent. In Beijing's Global Media Offensive, Joshua Kurlantzick offers an incisive analysis of China’s attempt in the past decade to become both a media and information superpower around the world, and to wield traditional forms of influence to shape the domestic politics of other countries. The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows.

Virtual Event with Joshua Kurlantzick and James M. Lindsay December 8, 2022 CFR Fellows’ Book Launch