At the Heritage Foundation yesterday, National Security Advisor John Bolton introduced the Administration’s new Africa strategy, which he said reflects the president’s “central campaign promise” to put the interests of the American people first.

For every $1 we spend to prevent conflict and atrocities, we have the potential to save $16 in response costs, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace. And this week, in an effort to solidify state fragility as a national security priority, the House passed the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018. Now, we turn to the Senate to reframe America’s national security agenda and combat the threats posed by global fragility.

From pandemics to natural disasters to strained resources from a growing global population, there are a multitude of challenges for our nation that threaten global stability and go beyond the scope of a military solution.

As Americans continue to debate the cost and importance of our country’s participation on the world stage, it is more important than ever to understand just what the men and women of the U.S. State Department really do. Thankfully, two new podcast series offer listeners an inside look into how America’s diplomats advance and defend U.S. national interests around the world.

National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced a new National Biodefense Strategy, directing the Administration’s focus towards prevention of the Ebola virus.

According to Elephants Without Borders, an organization that conducts an elephant census for the Botswana government every four years, there has been a major increase in poaching in the region from previous years. In their 2014 census, the organization reported nine poached elephants. This year, while only halfway through the census, 87 dead have already been found.

At the recent NATO summit, much time was spent discussing whether America’s allies spend enough on defense. At a time when many of today’s global challenges do not have military solutions alone – from pandemics like Ebola to refugees driven by famines and conflicts – how does the debate shift if we consider not just military spending but spending on global development?

In recent weeks, some of our nation’s top military leaders—the heads of the regional Combatant Commands—have testified on Capitol Hill. Speaking about the threats they face around the world, every Commander stressed that the State Department...

With mounting challenges overseas– from the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, to devastating famines, to tension with North Korea – this year has shown us that American global leadership is more important now than ever before. And as the year draws to a close, we’ve rounded up our top ten blogs of 2017 – the inspiring stories of U.S. foreign assistance, it’s impact around the world and here at home.

2017 brought a steady stream of challenges and changes to U.S. foreign policy and development assistance – from a new Administration taking the reins, to a budget proposal that sent shockwaves through Washington, to a steady drumbeat of support for American global leadership. We’ve gathered 12 of the top stories from the past year – one from each month – that you won’t want to miss.