Skip to main content

Latest | Global Insight

Ten Global Affairs Reads of 2024

BLOG
Global Insight by Paul Poast

Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast shares his top 10 book recommendations of 2024.

A person wearing a backpack browses shelves at a bookstore.
Darwin Vegher
US Foreign Policy

How Much US Land Do China and Other Countries Really Own?

BLOG
Global Insight by Coauthors

As of 2021, China owned less than 1% of all foreign-held land in the U.S. Canada, by contrast, held more than the entire area of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

An illustration of an aerial view of farm land
Lizzie Sokolich
Global Economy

Israel has occupied Palestinian territories since 1967; UN court considers whether that's legal

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

The United Nations General Assembly has asked the organization’s court to give advice on what legal consequences Israel should face for its decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories.

British jurist Malcolm Shaw, right, and Gilad Noam, Israel's Deputy Attorney-General for International Affairs attend the session of World Court
Patrick Post / AP
US Foreign Policy

1 in 5 young people around the world are NEETs. What does that mean?

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

From the United Kingdom to China, youth unemployment has been a point of concern. But across the world there is also a growing number of young people who aren’t in school, don’t have a job, and aren’t in any sort of vocational training.

An illustration of silhouettes of 4 people sitting together with the word NEETS behind them
Elizabeth Sokolich
Global Economy

Why is Sweden telling its citizens to prepare for war?

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

As the country moves closer to joining NATO, member countries, including Poland and Germany, have said that within the next decade Russia could attack nations that have joined the military alliance. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attend a joint news conference
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
Defense and Security

Explainer: How US ties in the Middle East are preventing a regional war (so far)

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

The U.S. has official relationships with nearly every country in the Middle East. Israel, a close U.S. ally, has official ties with only five.

Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani
Evelyn Hockstein / AP
Defense and Security

How the US has used its power in the UN to support Israel for decades

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

The US has used its UN veto power to stop an Israel-Hamas war ceasefire resolution and other measures. Here's how it got veto power and how America has used it.

An illustrated collage of a dove and images from the United Nations
Elizabeth Sokolich with AP Photos
US Foreign Policy

How Cities Can Go Slow to Achieve Real Change

BLOG
Global Insight by Coauthors

Nonresident Fellow Sascha Haselmayer discusses his new book, which synthesizes the lessons he learned from his work with cities, governments, and NGOs.

City under construction
Nicolas J. Leclercq via Unsplash
Global Cities

Where in the world are US military deployed?

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

In 2022, there were about 170,000 troops stationed outside of the U.S. and its territories, according to the Department of Defense. As of June 2023, there were over 30,000 troops stationed in the Middle East alone, before America expanded its military presence following Hamas' attack on Israel in October. 

An illustrated collage of Earth
Elizabeth Sokolich
Defense and Security

How much financial assistance has the US given the Palestinian territories?

BLOG
Global Insight by Hope O'Dell

The U.S. is among the top donors to a United Nations agency that runs Palestinian refugee camps.  

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shake hands
Ron Edmonds / AP
Defense and Security