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Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 23:15:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Richard Biondi <rbiondi@u.washington.edu>
Subject: aboutcouncil.html (fwd)
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(official)

  ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

   The Council on Foreign Relations is a nonprofit and nonpartisan
   membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of
   U.S. foreign policy and international affairs through the exchange of
   ideas.

   The Council was founded in 1921 shortly after the end of World War I.
   Several of the American participants in the Paris Peace Conference
   decided that it was time for more private American citizens to become
   familiar with the increasing international responsibilities and
   obligations of the United States. Their decision led to the creation
   of an organization dedicated to the continuous study of U.S. foreign
   policy for the benefit of both its members and a wider audience of
   interested Americans. This original and still-central aim of the
   Council has been realized in varied ways throughout the organization's
   history.

   Today the end of the Cold War requires yet another historic adjustment
   in American understanding of the world and of America's international
   role. To enrich that understanding is the Council's contemporary
   mission. The Council serves as a center for scholarship and policy
   analysis, mobilizing resident sen ior staff members, and other experts
   in dialogue, study, and publications programs. It serves as a
   membership organization, comprising an ever-more diverse and
   multi-professional community of men and women involved in
   international affairs. And it serves a public education organization,
   reaching out nationally and internationally to disseminate ideas and
   collaborate with other institutions.

   The Council's principal activities, conducted in New York City,
   Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the United States and abroad, are
   the responsibility of its Meetings Program, Studies Program, Corporate
   Program, and its national Committees Program for community leaders
   throughout the United States.

   Since 1922, the Council has published Foreign Affairs, the preeminent
   journal in the field. The Council on foreign Relations Press publishes
   books and occasional papers, which are made available to the public,
   on a broad range of issues. The Council also produces "America and the
   World," a weekly radio series aired on National Public Radio.

   The Council's membership is comprised of women and men who are leaders
   in academia, public service, business, and the media. Election to the
   Council is based on the candidate's involvement with the key issues of
   international policy, interest in the Council and its programs, and
   standing in his or her professional community. The by-laws of the
   Council restrict membership to U.S. citizens and permanent residents
   who have made application to become citizens. The Council has
   approximately 3,000 members.

   The Council takes no institutional position on issues of foreign
   policy ; it is host to many views, advocate of none. No one is
   authorized to speak on behalf of the Council on any matter of public
   policy. Its members, its guest speakers, and the authors of its
   publications hold divergent viewpoints, which the Council encourages
   in order to expand perspectives on U.S. foreign policy. All statements
   of fact and expression of opinion at Council meetings or in its
   publications are the sole responsibility of the individual speaker,
   member, or author.

   The Council has no affiliation with the U.S. government. It is finance
   d by members' dues, income from publications, subscriptions to its
   Corporate Program, endowment income, foundation grants, and voluntary
   gifts. Its Board of Directors is composed of its President, ex
   officio, and 25 directors, who serve staggered five-year terms.
   Directors are either elected by the Council's membership or appointed
   by the Board.

   The Council's research and administrative staff, its library, and the
   editorial and business offices of Foreign Affairs are located at its
   headquarters, the Harold Prate House, 58 East 68th Street, New York,
   NY 10021: telephone:(212) 734-0400; fax: (212) 861-1789. Its
   Washington office is located at 2400 N street, NW, Washington, DC
   20037; telephone: (202) 862-7786.