Special Reports

Iran is a nation ripe for change. Forty-six years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, its radical religious regime is riven by contradictions—incapable of providing basic governance and increasingly rejected by its 92.5 million citizens. The June 2025 “Twelve-Day War” with Israel laid bare Iran’s vulnerabilities, but it did not spark mass uprisings or major opposition activity. Instead, the government doubled down: passing emergency legislation, executing alleged collaborators, and fast-tracking succession planning.

This is the future home of the map collection of the forthcoming book The New Imperialists.

From June 27 - July 5, 2025, the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) supported a high-level delegation to Ukraine. The bipartisan group—including senior experts from the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—traveled to Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Warsaw. Herman Pirchner, AFPC President, led the 9-person delegation. The delegation, organized and staffed by AFPC Vice President for External Relations Annie Swingen, met with Ukrainian government officials, military leaders, civil society representatives, and international partners (a full list of delegation meetings is available at the end of this report). The discussions were wide ranging, but mostly focused on the current state of Ukraine’s war effort, the country’s evolving national identity, and the outlook for continued Western support. What follows is a summary of the delegation’s key findings.

America needs an effective strategy for Greater Central Asia to enhance its competitive position in a region that will significantly impact the Russia-China relationship, geopolitical competition in Asia, and key resource markets including uranium, oil, and natural gas. The proposed strategy ensures open access in Greater Central Asia while securing opportunities for profitable American investment through technological partnership, resource development, and logistical facilitation.

On February 12th, the American Foreign Policy Council convened its third “Airlie Dialogue” conference at the University Club in Washington, DC. The full-day event brought together leading scholars, officials and experts for a day of discussions about the common intellectual fight against Islamic extremism, and the “war of ideas” now taking place in the Muslim World. What follows is a summary of the conference’s proceedings.