CFR Launches New Initiative on the Future of American Strategy

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has launched the Future of American Strategy Initiative, a multiyear effort to develop a forward-looking strategic vision for U.S. foreign policy. The initiative is launching at a time when the global role of the United States is more contested and uncertain than it has been in decades.

Shifting power dynamics, an evolving international order, and revolutionary technological changes have created a complex international landscape that the United States needs to navigate. In response, the initiative aims to address how American strategy can evolve to meet this moment and bolster American strength and prosperity.

The initiative—housed in the David Rockefeller Studies Program led by Senior Vice President Shannon K. O'Neil—will leverage CFR's unparalleled expertise, convening power, and nonpartisan credibility to bring together leading thinkers and emerging voices; elevate multiple foreign policy perspectives; and generate the ideas, frameworks, and understanding needed to shape a resilient, just, and effective American strategy for the twenty-first century. It will be directed by Rebecca Lissner, CFR senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy and a leading scholar and practitioner of American grand strategy.

"The United States is at a historic inflection point," said CFR President Michael Froman. "Amid a shifting geopolitical landscape, the Future of American Strategy Initiative aims to inform the next era of American international leadership by developing strategic concepts that grapple with the world as it is and will be—not as it was—and that take seriously the United States' enduring strengths and its real constraints."

The initiative is committed to

• advancing cutting-edge research that takes a fresh look at the United States' strategic environment, reexamines first principles, and tackles the fundamental question of how American strategy should evolve;
• bringing together a broad spectrum of perspectives across ideological and partisan lines to foster substantive debate and model civil discourse;
• engaging communities across the country in a structured way to capture a wider range of concerns, priorities, and insights, and to emphasize that foreign policy is local and affects daily life beyond Washington, DC; and
• converting rigorous analysis and rich debate into compelling multimedia content and relatable narratives that resonate with policymakers and everyday Americans.

As part of the launch, the Future of American Strategy Initiative has released a multimedia package featuring CFR experts on a range of American strategy topics, including policy approaches to relations with Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East; trade and international economics; the development of artificial intelligence technology; U.S. defense strategy; and more. Visit the initiative's webpage to view the package.

"U.S. foreign policy is not abstract. It affects jobs, supply chains, energy prices, and the technology that people use every day," said Dr. Lissner. "We need a rigorous and ambitious rethink of how the United States engages with the world. The initiative is committed to creating a sustainable, successful approach that resonates with all Americans, regardless of partisan beliefs."

To learn more about the Future of American Strategy Initiative, visit cfr.org/future-of-american-strategy.

SOURCE Council on Foreign Relations