  The theory of nuclear forces has made great progress since the turn of the
millenium using the framework of chiral effective field theory (ChEFT). The
advantage of this approach, which was originally proposed by Weinberg, is that
it has a firm basis in quantum-chromodynamics and allows for quantitative
calculations. Moreover, this theory generates two-nucleon forces (2NF) and
many-body forces on an equal footing and provides an explanation for the
empirically known fact that 2NF >> 3NF >> 4NF. I will present the recent
advances in more detail and put them into historical context. In addition, I
will also provide a critical evaluation of the progress made including a
discussion of the limitations of the ChEFT approach.
