Council on Foreign Relations

U.S. foreign-policy establishment / centrist

Background

Founded in 1921 by a group of diplomats, academics, and financiers in New York, CFR was created to foster informed debate on U.S. foreign policy after World War I. It has long served as a convening space for current and former government officials, business leaders, and scholars across administrations of both parties, and many senior U.S. diplomats and national security officials have passed through its ranks. Its flagship publication, Foreign Affairs, is one of the most influential foreign-policy journals in the world. CFR has drawn recurring criticism from parts of the political right, which portray it as emblematic of a globalist policymaking elite, and from parts of the left, which see it as too closely aligned with corporate and establishment interests; a 2019 donation from Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, who has ties to Russian oligarchs, drew scrutiny over donor influence. CFR maintains that it does not take institutional positions on policy, does not accept funding from foreign governments, and bars corporate donors from directing research outcomes, though critics note its membership and funding base skew toward the same elite, bipartisan foreign-policy establishment it studies. Its scholars and events feature a range of views on the Trump administration's foreign policy, from supportive to sharply critical, rather than a single editorial line.

Sources

1. Living Our Values
2. CFR Funding
3. About CFR
4. Council on Foreign Relations - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
5. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) - Influence Watch

Profile compiled 2026-10-02; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record