The ideas, events and people shaping world affairs.
As the world confronts new threats, CSIS is working to reconceptualize what national security means in the 21st century and how U.S. institutions and foreign policy can adapt to protect Americans and promote human security for all. From global jihadist recruitment to climate change, from the rise of neo-fascism to systems of inequality that threaten democracy, our experts are making the case for a more strategic and robust U.S. role in the international system.
A long-term increase in the global average temperature, caused by the burning of fossil fuels. It’s a major concern, with the United Nations climate change treaty aiming to limit this increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The idea that oil production is close to its peak, with profound implications for world energy producers and consumers. First posited by Shell geologist M. King Hubbert in the 1950s, his prediction did not come to pass, but shale-oil extraction has greatly increased potential future supplies.
A free-trade agreement among many of the Pacific rim countries and excludes the United States, which pulled out in 2016. Also known as TPP-11. See our articles on it, including one from 2020, which charts the slow progress of China’s massive Belt and Road initiative, and an explainer (from 2023) of its origins in the collapsed Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is a major part of President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy.
