Welcome to the fourth edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the present state of U.S. relations…

Americans tend to see foreign events through their own domestic lenses. In the case of the European parliamentary elections, the temptation is reinforced by the noisy arrival in Europe of erstwhile Trump advisor Steve Bannon. Bannon has been instrumental in establishing a pan-European alliance of nationalists for a “Common Sense Europe,” including Hungarian Prime Minister…

Welcome to the third edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the present state of U.S. relations…

Welcome to the second edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the present state of U.S. relations…

Welcome to the first edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a new quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we polled Brookings experts on the present state of U.S. relations with Europe—overall…

In 1992, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development partnered with five public housing authorities to launch Moving to Opportunity ⁠— a 10-year fair housing experiment to help low income families find housing in low-poverty areas. They hoped to test what many people already suspected: different neighborhoods affect opportunity in different ways. The results…

I. Introduction How much does place – that is, the neighborhood in which a family lives – affect one’s earnings, likelihood of being incarcerated, and other key life outcomes? To answer this question, in 1994 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration. MTO enrolled several thousand…

Many social scientists view urbanization as the distinctive hallmark of economic development. Urban growth, however, is also associated with congestion costs such as traffic jams, higher levels of pollution, housing costs, and crime rates. Further, migration of low-income rural families in search of better opportunities increases poverty and inequality within cities. The well-being of a…

Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address offers the president an opportunity to list his achievements over the past year and outline his policy agenda for the year to come. In the realm of technology policy, the past year has seen an emptying out of key science advisory positions, the repeal of existing net…

This November, residents of more than 30 U.S. cities voted to elect their top leader. Whether four-term veterans like Cleveland’s Frank Jackson or first-time politicians like Helena’s Wilmot Collins, U.S. mayors are now more than ever on the front lines of major global and societal change. The world’s challenges are on their doorsteps—refugee integration, climate…

Alaina Harkness, fellow in the Centennial Scholar Initiative at Brookings and the Project on 21st Century City Governance, discusses the key findings from her report on the evolving role of mayors and their position on the frontlines of public policy challenges like refugee resettlement and workforce development. http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/5998382 Also in this episode, Mark Muro, senior…

There are many reasons to be concerned about the wide and growing inequalities in U.S. society, not least between the upper middle class and the rest. There are fewer clear solutions. In Richard’s book Dream Hoarders, he argues that those at the top - the “favored fifth” – can and should take some personal responsibility…

These are trying times for the world—and acutely challenging times for cities. Whether grappling with the challenges of integrating refugees or adapting to new environmental realities brought on by climate change, mayors are on the front lines, dealing with disruptions brought by technology, economic transformation, and demographic shift.  In the United States, socioeconomic and political…

When more than 40 mayors from cities around the world gathered in the fjordside city of Stavanger, Norway for the second Global Parliament of Mayors, two topics dominated the discussions: power and problem solving. The agenda included the usual sweep through the most pressing issues cities face today -- refugee resettlement, safety and security, resilience…

To adapt to the growing leadership demands of a world in flux, cities need a strong grasp of the fundamentals of urban governance and finance—and an understanding of how to improve them. Since launching The Project a little more than a year ago, the world has changed in dramatic ways. Yet with power balances in…

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on June 8 has threatened to overshadow another important vote that could reshape the landscape of urban leadership in England. On May 4, voters in six regions, including the large metros of Manchester and Liverpool, will head to the polls for the very…

In this brave new world, expectations for city leadership are rising by the day. Home to the majority of U.S. residents who did not vote for Donald Trump, cities are a natural center of resistance to the new administration’s agenda. Already leading on policies to raise the minimum wage and combat climate change, cities are…

Executive Summary This policy brief invokes the standards of ancient Greek drama to analyze the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential tragedy in U.S.-China relations and a potential tragedy for the world. The nature of the two countries’ political realities in 2020 have led to initial mismanagement of the crisis on both sides of the Pacific.…

Many see China as a rival superpower to the United States and imagine the country’s rise to be a threat to U.S. leadership in Asia and beyond. In his new book, "The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power" (W.W. Norton 2015), Nonresident Senior Fellow Thomas J. Christensen argues against this zero-sum vision.…

This November, after focusing on foreign policy concerns around the globe and congressional midterm elections at home, President Barack Obama will travel to Beijing to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in hopes of preserving and enhancing one of his key foreign policy achievements—the rebalance to Asia. Obama’s trip to China will be his first…

Over the past two years, in a departure from the policy of reassurance it adopted in the late 1990s, China has managed to damage relations with most of its neighbors and with the United States. Mistrust of Beijing throughout the region and in Washington is palpable. Observers claim that China has become more assertive, revising…

There is currently a great deal of interest in the potential of college subsidy programs to increase equitable access to higher education and to reduce the financial burden on college attendees. While colleges may be subsidized in a variety of ways, such as through grants to institutions, in our latest Brookings report, we focus on college subsidy programs that directly…

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year and incurring over $300 billion per year in costs for direct medical care and lost productivity. In addition, of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. in 2016, 35% were menthol cigarettes, which…

Why childhood obesity matters According to the latest data, childhood obesity affects nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States, a number which has more than tripled since the early 1970s. Children who have obesity are at a higher risk of many immediate health risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, type…

We remember with appreciation, admiration, and special warmth Sadako Ogata, who was a Brookings distinguished fellow from 2012 until her death this year. She had a long and remarkable career as president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency from 2003-12 and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to 2000. As high…

Helmut Sonnenfeldt was a consequential figure in 20th century American foreign policy. A career State Department Soviet affairs specialist and major architect of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union, he served alongside Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during a highly uncertain period. Born in Berlin, he fled from Nazi Germany in 1938, spent six years…

Hal Sonnenfeldt was a tough, direct, exceedingly knowledgeable professor whose classes students wanted to attend. But in 1961, it wasn’t easy to get into his Soviet foreign policy class at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Students were first expected to take his earlier course on the domestic Soviet Union, which I…

In his first major address on the Administration’s on-going efforts to end nuclear proliferation in South Asia, Deputy Secretary Talbott will give an on-the-record report on the status of the negotiations with India and Pakistan as well as outline U.S. government goals for the next critical steps.

The American media were much criticized for their coverage (or lack thereof) of the candidates and issues during the 2016 presidential election cycle. But Susan Glasser, editor of Politico throughout the 2016 campaign, has a controversial opinion: that political journalism has never been better. Instead, she’s worried about something else. Although digital news organizations are […]

Over the past 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has decreased by over 60 percent, a remarkable achievement. Yet further progress requires expanded development finance and more innovative solutions for raising shared prosperity and ending extreme poverty. In his new book, “An Accident of Geography: Compassion, Innovation and the […]

My thanks for the hosts and organizers of this conference. Many of you have heard other American speakers talk about our election this morning—Vice President Cheney, Wendy Sherman, and David Rubenstein. As we open our afternoon session, let me offer some historical perspective. American presidential campaigns are, in a sense, like the Olympics: they happen […]

With a revised foreword by Brookings President Strobe Talbott and a new introduction by Berlin’s editor, Henry Hardy George Kennan, the architect of US policy toward the Soviet Union, called Isaiah Berlin “the patron saint among the commentators on the Russian scene.” In The Soviet Mind, Berlin proves himself fully worthy of that accolade. Although […]

The foreign policy and national security choices of a country are often critical and have a strong impact on global perceptions of the country and also on its ties with other nations and international organizations. In his new book, “Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy” (Brookings Institution Press, 2016), Shivshankar Menon, distinguished fellow […]

Watch the archived video on CSPAN.org » Thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland for a summit devoted to arms control. While a potential agreement—possibly including elimination of all U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons—collapsed over differences regarding ballistic missile defense, the meeting set in motion moves that produced significant reductions in nuclear […]

Ahead of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund annual meetings being held in Washington, DC from October 7 to 9, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim set out his vision for ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. He spoke about the links between growth, poverty and inequality, the changing face of […]

An article published by The New York Times today, reported by Eric Lipton and Brooke Williams, portrays a picture of the Brookings Institution in a way that fundamentally misrepresents our mission and distorts how we operate, particularly in our relationship with corporate funders. Mr. Lipton and Ms. Williams make a sweeping allegation that, in return […]

Cade Metz’s article for Wired titled “Hackers Don’t Have to Be Human Anymore. This Bot Battle Proves It” described a curious event that took place in Las Vegas on August 4, 2016. The first Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cyber Grand Challenge witnessed seven teams compete for cyber security supremacy. Unlike traditional hacking contests,…

On October 9, Ellen Nakashima and Adam Goldman of The Washington Post reported very significant news. “The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the U.S. government … It is not clear if the hackers arrested were with the Chinese military, but they were accused of carrying out state-sponsored…

Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Strategist at FireEye. I am also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and I am pursuing a PhD in war studies from King’s College London. I began my security career as…

Has President Barack Obama secured relief from Chinese hacking? That is the question on the minds of many following the announcement by the American leader and his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, on September 25, 2015. On balance, the agreement is a step in the right direction. At best, I would expect it to result…

In early August I attended my 11th Black Hat USA conference in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. Black Hat is the somewhat more corporate sibling of the annual DEF CON hacker convention, which follows Black Hat. Since my first visit to both conferences in 2002, I’ve kept tabs on the themes expressed by computer security practitioners.…

In the wake of recent intrusions into government systems, it is difficult to identify anyone who believes defenders have the advantage in cyberspace. Digital adversaries seem to achieve their objectives at will, spending months inside target networks before someone, usually a third party, discovers the breach. Following the announcement, managers and stakeholders commit to improving…

Last week we learned that the federal government plans to create a Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC). There is some confusion about the purpose of this agency, especially as it relates to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). While I am not a…

Chairman Johnson, ranking member Carper, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Strategist at FireEye. I am also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and I am pursuing a PhD in war studies from King’s College London. I began my security career as…

Traditionally, defense in cyberspace has been based on the “Risk equation,” a loosely calculated product of Vulnerability, Asset value and Threat. Vulnerability means the degree to which computing infrastructure is exposed to intruders. Asset value represents the importance of information to an organization and its constituents. Threat is a subjective assessment of the danger posed…

On Tuesday January 13th, 2015, the White House published several legislative proposals concerning cybersecurity. The purpose of one of the initiatives is to “codify mechanisms for enabling cybersecurity information sharing between private and government entities, as well as among private entities, to better protect information systems and more effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents.” How should…