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Foreign Policy

The case that puts the Pentagon's watchdog office credibility into question.

"On Jan. 8, 2019, Steve Luke was found dead in the trunk of his red Volvo S60 in the parking garage of the Mark Center office building, home to the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General. An Alexandria police department investigation concluded that Luke — a father of four who had been stalked by depression throughout his adult life — had killed himself. He was 54 years old." Amy Mackinnon, investigates in Foreign Policy.

Chris Brinkley

Death of a whistleblower

Agriculture’s importance to the country's labour market cannot be underestimated.

Laws passed in India's parliament in September 2020 have angered farmers across the nation, who since then have been marching to New Dehli and blocking highways leading to the city. These reforms aimed to facilitate production amid many things, but the way they have been brought forward upset farmers, as they weren't consulted. Now, many fear "the new legislation will weaken government-designated markets in which most transactions have taken place in past decades." Surupa Gupta and Sumit Ganguly explore in Foreign Policy.

Jonathan Booth

Why India’s farmers won’t stop protesting

Two roommates travelling in Florida found themselves caught in the teeth of espionage fears.

Wang Yuhao and Zhang Jielun were painted by the US media as spies, embodying "a theory of Chinese espionage where multiple small bits of sensitive information are collected by everyone from students to tourists." Now sitting in a Florida penitentiary waiting to be deported, these two men may have been victims of misunderstanding, and a now more common racial stereotype, in the US. Eric Fish investigates in Foreign Policy.

"Cedric Leighton, a military analyst and former intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force, said that there is an ongoing pattern of Chinese espionage that includes using temporary, nonprofessional actors such as students to carry out relatively unsophisticated operations, and that the Naval Air Station Key West is a likely target for Chinese espionage. But he also notes that it’s certainly possible Wang and Zhang “took a proverbial wrong turn.”

Sean Crisden

Were they lost students or inept spies for China?

The nation's lack of action in controlling COVID may be rooted in purely pragmatic use of language.

As of November 2020, Switzerland has overtaken Belgium and is on pace to surpass Czech Republic as Europe’s top COVID-19 hot spot. Infections are roughly triple the per capita count in Sweden or the United States and double the European Union average. So, why hasn't the government done anything substantial about it? Joseph de Weck explains in this sharp critique for Foreign Policy.

Malk Williams

Switzerland is choosing austerity over life

Power, International relations, geopolitics — the strategy board game beloved by officials in Washington.

David Klion’s childhood frenemy, Michael Ellis, became one of the most quietly powerful officials in Washington — and he might have Diplomacy, a strategic board game of cynical realpolitik, to thank for it. In this remarkable article for Foreign Policy, he tells their story.

Ron Butler

The game that ruins friendships and shapes careers

Deciphering how fans of the Korean band BTS took on China, and won.

After China’s media offensive against the kings of K-pop barely lasted two days, expert in Asian politics and economy, S. Nathan Park, reflects in Foreign Policy on how a K-pop disagreement shows that China could learn a lot from the well-received soft power of South Korea.

Sharon Bott

China backs off from fight with K-Pop fans

Great powers have taken big steps to fight global warming — now attention turns to the rest of the world.

In this fascinating piece for Foreign Policy, the popular historian and author of 'Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World', Adam Tooze, takes an in-depth look to the current status of the world's fight against climate change. Analysing China's recent decision to be carbon neutral by 2060, he believes "climate change politics at a global level have shifted into a new gear."

Welcome to the final battle for the climate

Pandemics are not always transformative events. 

While some worrying preexisting trends could accelerate, it’s incorrect to assume that the coronavirus will end globalization, kill liberal democracy, or enhance China’s soft power. Joseph S. Nye Jr, from Foreign Policy, reflects.

COVID-19 might not change the world

The technology to build new green economies is mostly produced in China. That’s bad for the US.

Beijing is winning the clean energy race — President Xi Jinping recently announced his country's intention to peak its emissions by 2030 and be carbon neutral before 2060. Sarah Ladislaw and Nikos Tsafos, from Foreign Policy, analyse.


Marni Penning

Beijing is winning the clean energy race

The Soviet collapse caused a brutal conflict that’s remained unresolved for three decades.

Fighting has intensified along the effective Armenian-Azerbaijani border around the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. James Palmer, writing in Foreign Policy, explains why.


Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan heading to war?

US political parties have reshuffled every few decades, and 2020 may be the year they do it again.

In a year that has already seen impeachment, plague, and fire, and with total warfare battle over filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat and an even higher-stakes and equally uncertain election still to come, it's easy to feel as if US democracy is crumbling before our eyes. But could this all lead to a radical change of the country's politics and economy? Lee Drutman contemplates the chances of it happening in Foreign Policy.

Andi Arndt

The Republican and Democratic Parties are heading for collapse

China might have permanently changed the global fight against climate change.

In a little-noticed speech in September's United Nations General Assembly, Xi Jinping vowed to make the Asian superpower adopt stricter measures in the fight against carbon emissions, going as far as to say he expects the country to be carbon neutral by 2060. With the US pulling back from the Paris Agreement, Adam Tooze wonders in Foreign Policy if China will become the surprising new world leader in climate change matters.

Did Xi just save the world?

In the last decade, Brussels has outsmarted Beijing, London, Moscow and Washington.

Everyone writes off the European Union as dull and prone to fracture. But for politics professor Andrew Moravcsik, the continent's swift reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, compared to other parts of the world, is only a recent example of why Europe's future is brighter than pundits predict. In Foreign Policy, he explains his arguments.

Karl Miller

Why Europe wins

The history of Islam in Western Europe is both older and more entangled than many think.

Before the continent started banning hijabs, aristocrats used to change their names to Abdullah and Muhammad, and going to the local mosque was the latest trend. In Foreign Policy, Marya Hannun and Sophie Spaan take us on a remarkable journey through Europe's relationship with Islam.

Imani Jade Powers

When Europe loved Islam

The next pandemic could be bioengineered in someone’s garage using cheap technology.

With COVID-19 bringing Western economies to their knees, all the world’s dictators now know that pathogens can be as destructive as nuclear missiles. What’s even more worrying is that it no longer takes a sprawling government lab to engineer a virus. Vivek Wadhwa contemplates the future dangers of genetic engineering for Foreign Policy.

The genetic engineering genie is out of the bottle

The United States has abdicated its dominant role — here’s how to fill the gap.

The crisis offers the opportunity to transform the global order from one dominated by a single state, or a small number of them, to a more equal system of global governance. Professors Oona Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro analyse how in Foreign Policy.

Monita Rajpal

Welcome to the post-leader world

Reviewing Anna Applebaum's book, 'Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism'.

For the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Ivan Krastev, the famous journalist and historian wants to understand rising illiberalism, but is clinging to a Cold War moral framework that no longer applies. In Foreign Policy, he analyses why.

Michael Bott

The tragic romance of the nostalgic western liberal

Panama came up with a novel — and uniquely discriminatory — public health measure to combat COVID-19.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Panama in March 2020, the country imposed strict lockdown measures that allowed both women and men to go out for emergencies on differently assigned days. This, however, threw transgender people into a dangerous limbo, in what already is one of the least progressive nations on trans rights. Marta Martinez reports on the impact of such measures for Foreign Policy.

Transgender and trapped in sex-based social distancing

Understanding how recent nationwide protests have made the American political system stronger, and not weaker.

Democracies have greater legitimacy because citizens largely support the system and its institutions. Dictatorships rely on performance — and they fail when they don’t produce results. Professor of political science at Barnard College in Columbia University, Sheri Berman, analyses.

Why protests threaten dictatorships but make democracies stronger

Applying 20th-century analogies to the U.S.-Chinese relationship shows a misunderstanding of the present.

For Zachary Karabell, a Cold War is not a reference that should be used loosely. In this remarkable analysis for Foreign Policy, he explains the key differences between the US conflict with the Soviet Union then, and their ongoing disputes with China today.

There’s no cold war with China

Younger Afghans are on a mission to change how their country talks about life, death, and freedom.

"Khalil's death has accentuated the multigenerational nature of the Afghan conflict, now threatening young people who have never known peace. The latest generation, though, appears ready to fight back in new ways." In Foreign Policy, Ruchi Kumar analyses Afghanistan's younger generations drive for change.

Afghanistan’s Gen Z is fighting back

Why the omnipresence of large-scale threats of global scope can be the common denominator of our new epoch.

Ulrich Beck was a prophet of uncertainty — does that make him the most important intellectual for the pandemic and its aftermath? Adam Tooze, from Foreign Policy, examines the German sociologist's work and what it can teach us about the current state of the world, and its most immediate future.

The sociologist who could save us from coronavirus

Since 1971, the relationship between both has remained the same: of consistently unique use.

Conventional wisdom holds that New Delhi will turn to Washington as it increases competition with Beijing. But Moscow's importance cannot be ignored. Emily Tamkin explains the reasons why in Foreign Policy.

Gary Furlong

Why India and Russia are going to stay friends

When the coronavirus crisis is over, China will be forced to embrace a less ambitious future.

How is it possible that a self-described developing country like China can finance a superpower rivalry with the United States? Well, perhaps it isn't really. Salvatore Babones, from Foreign Policy, investigates whether the country's display of economic prowess actually matches its finances.

China’s superpower dreams are running out of money

Has the US-led world order crumbled?

After the end of World War II, the 20th century was once declared 'America's century', a statement which following global events indeed validated. Nonetheless, the beginning of the 21st century has seen attitudes towards the United States change radically, and as Zachary Karabell comments in Foreign Policy, this anti-American identity was already well-advanced before the pandemic but certainly accelerated and cemented by it. Here, he contemplates why.

The anti-American century

With little faith in the government’s coronavirus response, many rural Cambodians are turning to the divine.

"Although Cambodia is a majority-Theravada Buddhist nation, there is a broad range of diversity among minority belief systems, including elements of animism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Each has a unique interpretation of the novel coronavirus’s genesis, why the pandemic came into being, and the toll it will take on the world — reflecting not only fears about the pandemic, but also other worries in turbulent times." Jade Sacker investigates for Foreign Policy.

In Cambodia, a spiritual army battles an earthly pandemic

Trump's looking for a divorce with China, and the EU doesn't look far behind.

"'We are committed to making swift and substantial progress,' said Ursula von der Leyen, after the summit, ticking off a litany of unfulfilled Chinese promises on trade, investment, industrial subsidies, climate change, and human rights. 'We count on the Chinese leadership to match our level of ambition.'" Keith Johnson, for Foreign Policy, reports on the increasingly challenging relationship between the EU and China.

Emma Powell

How Europe fell out of love with China

Our relationship with the economy will never be the same again.

"For the first time, an economic crisis resulted not from the sudden loss of control over economic processes but from a collective decision to switch off large segments of the economy. On a graph, it seems less appropriate to plot a rapidly nosediving line than one frozen in time." Bruno Maçães contemplates for Foreign Policy.

The great pause was an economic revolution

He remains a highly controversial figure, but his ideas can't be ignored, especially not today.

Neoconservatism has died, and liberal internationalism is discredited. Foreign Policy's Senior Correspondent and Deputy News Editor, Michael Hirsh, analyses why perhaps it’s time to return to the ideas of one of the last century’s greatest realists: Henry Kissinger.

Welcome back to Kissinger’s world

Westerners learn the wrong lessons from a distant massacre.

The George Floyd protests in the United States draw stark parallels with the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. Rui Zhong, writing in Foreign Policy, looks at why Westerners often feel so disconnected from foreign tragedies, and what they fail to learn from them.

Kelsey Navarro

Tiananmen can happen here

Recent escalations between the two nations are putting three decades of peace in danger.

"After a long period of relative quiet along the Sino-Indian border, militarized incidents have come to the fore again. According to the Indian government, the Chinese military crossed into Indian territory 1,025 times between 2016 and 2018. Given that China and India's borders remain unmarked, such transgressions are likely rooted in how Beijing and New Delhi have different perceptions about the extent of their territories." Sumit Ganguly and Manjeet S. Pardesi, writing in Foreign Policy, report.

Why we should worry about China and India’s border skirmishes

With war language thrown around so readily, it’s time to admit what the war was — and wasn’t.

"The height of historical reimagining is reached when French and German diplomats look back to 1945 and piously assure each other that this was the moment when they learned to get along better and not to repeat the mistakes of the vindictive Treaty of Versailles. In fact, the reverse is closer to the truth. The Allies learned that forcing Germany to a mere unconditional surrender had been a mistake. As the fighting finally ended in May 1945, the first best option was simply to erase Germany from the map." Adam Tooze explores our remembrance of World War II.

We remember World War II wrong

Science fiction, strategy and national security: here's how the arts are invaluable for strategists.

"The long shadow of the Trojan War reminds us that creative methodologies are essential components of the national security and foreign-policy toolkit. And we will need to use all the tools we can get in order to figure out our way forward while COVID-19 ravages an already complicated world." Kathleen J. McInnis, writing in Foreign Policy, demonstrates why fiction is not frivolous.

Teri Schnaubelt

Strategists have forgotten the power of stories

Anger against Israel's government is rising among Jordanians.

Despite the peace agreement both countries signed based on mutual trust in 1994, the relationship today seems to be in trouble, as Jordan’s foreign ministry announced that Israeli farmers would no longer be allowed to work their fields in an enclave of southern Jordan. Former Editor In Chief of Jerusalem Report, Eetta Prince-Gibson analyses the escalating tensions for Foreign Policy.

Sarah Naughton

Annexation could be the final blow to the Israel-Jordan relationship

Insurgents typically excel at exploiting state weaknesses and crises and COVID-19 is no exception.

"In Afghanistan, the Taliban have long refused demands for a cease-fire—at least against local forces — and the pandemic hasn’t altered their stance. On the contrary, the Taliban have increased their attacks." The Islamist group is using the coronavirus crisis for propaganda, with potentially dire consequences for those living under its control. Ashley Jackson, writing in Foreign Policy, reports.

Betsy Foldes Meiman

For the Taliban, the pandemic is a ladder

Reaching global agreement is essential for the world’s marine fishing stocks - and the future of the WTO.

Tuna, cod, and mackerel are going to decide the future of the global trading order as the WTO struggles to complete a deal on fisheries subsidies, the only major global trade negotiations still actively underway. James Bacchus and Inu Manak report for Foreign Policy.

The fate of the WTO and global trade hangs on fish

$500 billion high-tech city includes forced evictions, vague promises, and the killing of an activist.

Saudi Arabia's Neom, "33 times the size of New York City", is a cornerstone of the crown prince's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from reliance on oil revenues. But, how far is the Saudi government willing to go to see it through? Sarah Leah Whitson and Abdullah Alaoudh investigate in Foreign Policy.

Mohammed bin Salman’s bloody dream city of Neom

COVID-19 has bucked conventional wisdom on how the industry must operate.

"Big Pharma and its wealthy government backers have long defended their high prices and strict patent rules by pointing to the need to protect their intellectual property (or IP) given the time and expense involved in research and development. They argue that companies would have little incentive to invest in development without years of high prices first. Only then can they permit widespread production of low-cost generic versions that would benefit everyone." Ethan Guillén and Melissa Chan, writing in Foreign policy explore how the coronavirus outbreak has upended this norm.

The remaking of Big Pharma in a post-pandemic world

Former North Korean diplomat to newly elected South Korean politician.

"Prejudice in the country against former North Koreans runs deep, with defectors often accused of being spies. For most North Koreans, liberation has its share of trauma, with many finding it hard to adjust to South Korea's fierce job market and intense democracy." Thae Yong-ho wants to change that. Writing in Foreign Policy, Melissa Chan profiles the man who could be a key role in the future of Korean politics.

The future of Korean politics might be this defector from Pyongyang

Economist Thomas Piketty’s new book, Capital and Ideology, as reviewed by Foreign Policy.

"Radical solutions once seemed unthinkable in the past, too — until suddenly they no longer were." Foreign Policy's geopolitics correspondent, Keith Johnson, looks at Thomas Piketty’s new book, which examines rising inequality and offers some 'controversial' solutions.

The tyranny of property

The EU is a creature of multilateralism. Can it survive in a deglobalised world?

"Geopolitics is the ruthless pursuit of self-interest by powerful states, no matter the cost to others. Multilateralism involves mutual agreements among states pursuing their collective welfare. At a minimum, the two sit awkwardly with each other; at the worst, they are radically incompatible." Henry Farrell, professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University, analyses in Foreign Policy.

A most lonely union

Written by leading world economist and the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

"There is an alternative embraced by countries like Canada: to celebrate culture within community rather than attempting an impossible national homogeneity. Some communities will choose monoculture, while others will choose multicultural lifestyles." Raghuram Rajan, writing in Foreign Policy, looks at why sustainable capitalism needs to consider societal underpinnings and not just rely on competitive markets.

How to save global capitalism from itself

As many are turning to his socialist ideas in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Sanders leaves the stage.

"Cantankerous, uncompromising, and utterly convinced of his righteousness, Senator Bernie Sanders was like a socialist Moses who never got to see the promised land—even as both parties, the U.S. government, and much of the world were shifting in his direction, especially in the face of a pandemic that has brought about unprecedented federal intervention." Michael Hirsh, writing in Foreign Policy explains.

How the world got Berned

Is the ensuing global emergency an unexpected opportunity for goodwill between the two countries?

Barack Obama's former special assistant for the Middle East, Robert Malley, and Ali Vaez explore in Foreign Policy how the coronavirus pandemic could give Washington and Tehran an unprecedented opportunity; to show goodwill, dial down tensions while saving face, and avoid a dangerous confrontation.

The coronavirus crisis is a diplomatic opportunity for the United States and Iran

Ten precautions to protect you from contracting coronavirus.

As China’s epidemic continues to spread, things may seem scary. Former senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Laurie Garrett, writing in Foreign Policy, shares some advice on how to stay calm and safe from the virus.

The Wuhan virus: how to stay safe

China made huge mistakes managing the outbreak. The rest of the world may not do any better.

Melissa Chan and Ethan Guillen writing in Foreign Policy, investigate the West's discouraging response to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, and whether human-made mistakes could exponentially increment the crisis.

The West is about to fail the coronavirus test

Listen together: dirigibles ruled the skies once —  can they make a comeback?

Many often think the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 marked the definitive end of airships. And yet, although in lesser force, these have continued to take the skies ever since (remember those Goodyear blimps?). Nonetheless, there is one French company ready to take them to an even higher level. Justin Lin, writing in Foreign Policy, explores.

Find more great listens under "Kids and Family" on the Discover page. 

The age of the airship may be dawning again

A series of choreographed moves have set the stage for him to rule until at least 2036.

Vladimir Putin has been serving as the current President of Russia since 2012, after an initial run between 2000 and 2008. With his current term scheduled to end in 2024, the question in many people's minds is: what will he do next? Given the recent developments, we might have found out the answer. Foreign Policy's Russia correspondent, Reid Standish, reports.

Will Putin be Russia’s president for life?

Former special assistant to President Barack Obama explains the latest geopolitical earthquake.

"While past oil shocks have been driven by either supply or demand, the price collapse of 2020 is highly unusual in oil market history: It results from a massive demand shock and a huge supply overhang at the same time." Jason Bordoff, former senior director on the staff of the U.S. National Security Council and special assistant to Barack Obama, writes reports for Foreign Policy.

Why this oil crash is different

After his death last month, we examine the former Egyptian president's conflicted legacy.

Steven A. Cook, writing in Foreign Policy, looks at how the eulogies for Egypt’s fourth president focused on his downfall, and why history will remember his overlooked accomplishments while in office.

Ken Foster

The whole world got Hosni Mubarak wrong

In 1953 a coup initiated by the CIA brought down the Iranian Prime Minister.

In 2017, CIA documents exposed the incident's deeper complexities, from an insubordinate spy to America's unexpected support from a prominent Iranian cleric. Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writing in Foreign Policy reports.

64 years later, CIA finally releases details of Iranian coup

How director Bong Joon-ho conjured up a tale of economic insecurity in the Oscar-winning film.

"Parasite, the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for best picture, and the first to be condemned in public by a U.S. president, is a story of poverty and inequality." S. Nathan Park, writing in Foreign Policy, analyses the movie's bigger message about South Korea's middle-class.

‘Parasite’ has a hidden backstory of middle-class failure and chicken joints

Will the U.S.-Taliban truce bring peace to Afghanistan or further disruption?

As the U.S.-Taliban truce raises some hope for Afghans — the absence of the Afghan government to the talks is raising fears of yet another civil war. Author and freelance journalist Emran Feroz, writing in Foreign Policy, reports.

Afghans fear yet another civil war

Why this Academy Award winner wouldn't have been made without Miky Lee's money and influence.

The South Korean film Parasite has broken records and made Oscars history by becoming the first foreign film to win Best Picture. Here, Geoffry Cain, writing in Foreign Policy, explains how the vision of a Korean heiress super-charged the country's film industry and paved the way for Bong Joon-ho's film.

How a Samsung heiress helped make ‘Parasite’ a triumph

Why poshness is more than castles and cream tea - it's about class, power and privilege.

The Queen, Boris Johnson, the cast of TV show Made in Chelsea - what do they all have in common? Well, they're all posh to start with. Writing in Foreign Policy, Josh Glancy, explains.

British elites know who isn’t quite their type

Population ageing is a mark of success - but somehow, it's also a problem in of itself. 

Writing in Foreign Policy, Nicholas Gailey looks at a report into the EU's demographic future and sheds some light on why it need not look so grim.

Nick Camm

Europe is destined to age—but not to suffer the consequences

The broader - and potentially - more fatal ramifications of AI as a weapon of war.

Activists fret about armies relying on killer robots, but other forms of artificial intelligence could still be a nightmare. Writing in Foreign Policy, author Arthur Holland Michel considers.

Christopher Carley

The killer algorithms nobody’s talking about

Guinea-Bissau challenges the imposition of Western forms of government.

It’s easy to declare that Western forms of government should be imposed globally. But Ricci Shryock writing in Foreign Policy looks at the challenges faced in Guinea-Bissau - and why liberal democracy is not always the right answer.

Is liberal democracy always the answer?

Changes in technology, politics, and business are all transforming espionage.

The world of espionage is facing tremendous technological, political, legal, social, and commercial changes. Writing in Foreign Policy, Edward Lucas claims the winners will be those who break the old rules of the spy game and work out new ones.

The Spycraft Revolution

Will 2020 bring a renewed arms race or peace talks? 

As the last U.S. - Russia nuclear arms pact is set to expire, Michael Moran writing in Foreign Policy explains what the next year could look like.

2020: the end of New START, or the start of something new?

By treating it like one, are the United States missing out on its real potential?

The capabilities of AI could unite the US and China as strategic partners, but only if the US chooses competition over collaboration. Writing in Foreign Policy, Tim Hwang and Alex Pascal warn of what could be lost.

Michael Satow

Artificial intelligence isn’t an arms race

The protests and prisoner exchange may put talks with the United States further off.

The protests and prisoner exchange of autumn 2019 have had onlookers hopeful of increased stability in Iran's relationship with the US. Writing in Foreign Policy, Ariane Tabatabai argues that whatever change may be brewing internally, it's unlikely to change Iran's foreign policy position.

Don’t expect a thaw in Iran

Turkey, Iran, Russia and the Syrian government are jockeying for control of the lands.

The killing of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi in October 2019 inspired hopes of an end to the violence in Syria. But instead of guarding the peace, international forces like Turkey, Iran and Russia are scrabbling over the territory ISIS left behind. Seth J. Frantzman writing in Foreign Policy reports.

The fight for ISIS’s old territory is just beginning

He felt little solidarity for workers so why socialists have adopted him anyway?

John Maynard Keynes's theories inspired a century of establishment economics. Today, however, Keynesian ideas could hold the key to unite the left side of the political spectrum. Writing in Foreign Policy, Geoff Mann explores.

Socialism’s biggest hero is a bourgeois British capitalist

What happens when private firms have cyberweapons as powerful as those owned by governments? 

Writing in Foreign Policy, Neri Zilber investigates Israel's innovation hubs where private companies are developing some of the worlds most powerful surveillance tools.

Ashley Klanac

The rise of the cyber-mercenaries

China and the US are ahead in the race, but what will this mean for the countries left behind?

From data-colonisation to mass unemployment through automation, Yuval Noah Harari looks at why our conversations about AI have overlooked the real dangers faced by the countries lagging behind. Writing in Foreign Policy, the author and historian explains.

Yuval Noah Harari: Who will win the race for AI?

Why capturing energy using wind turbines and solar panels may be far from clean.

With renewables being hailed as the solution to the climate crisis, Jason Hickel writing in Foreign Policy explains why, through their demand on rare-earth minerals and precious metals, they could become as destructive as fossil fuels.

The limits of clean energy

The former royal family lost riches in the 20th century. But were they victims—or enablers of the Nazis?

More than 100 years since the monarchy was dissolved, the last emperor's great-great-grandson thinks they deserve their art, palaces and wealth back. But with controversy over their role in Germany's shaded past, will the state agree? Nate Berg writing in Foreign Policy reports.

The Kaiser’s family wants its stuff back. Germany isn’t sure they deserve it

Former Soviet leader's Pizza Hut commercial has found new fame online.

In 1997, the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev needed money, and Pizza Hut needed a spokesman. Writing in Foreign Policy, Paul Musgrave explores the ensuing advert, what it meant for Gorbachev's legacy and how it has found new popularity online. 

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Pizza Hut thanksgiving miracle

His enfranchisement of Bolivia's indigenous people will be the former president's lasting legacy.

Evo Morales’ had a chaotic departure from office in early November 2019. But Robert Albro writing in Foreign Policy explains why the country's first indigenous president will be remembered for how his office changed the face of civil society through the integration of indigenous people as equals. 

Scott Ciscon

Evo Morales’ chaotic departure won’t define his legacy

Ethiopia’s continued efforts to dam the Nile could end in war with Egypt.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile would give Ethiopia the power it needs to develop, but leave Egypt with little water for agriculture. As Russia and America step in to mediate the dispute, Imad K. Harb writing in Foreign Policy details how a conflict between Eygpt and Ethiopia could be avoided. 

River of the dammed

What Tunisia can teach its neighbours about the value of education.

In a region plagued by political turmoil, Tunisia has paved a stable path to democracy. Writing in Foreign Policy, Kim Ghattas looks at "how the country’s strong, secular education system and diverse school curriculums have fostered openness, critical thinking, and debate."

The Arab world’s star student

Why three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall we’re no closer to an international community.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 launched hopes of a freer and more liberal world. But has the haste to tear down walls yielded a global system in which bad actors are no longer held accountable? Writing in Foreign Policy, Michael Hirsh explains why our globalized world more often seems like an anti-community.

We weren’t ready for a world without walls

What the brilliance of the Fialka espionage machine can teach us about the nature of secrecy today.

Able to produce more than 500 trillion codes in six different languages, the Soviet espionage machine was far more advanced than the British Enigma. Writing in Foreign Policy, Anna Borshchevskaya tells the tale.

The Soviets’ unbreakable code

Did America’s free-market economists help put a protectionist demagogue in the White House?

Paul Krugman and other mainstream trade experts are now admitting that they were wrong about globalisation. Writing in Foreign Policy, Michael Hirsh examines why a new era for economists seems to be unfolding, one built up from past mistakes.

Economists on the run

Why did U.S. officials consistently misread the threat from Turkey?

In 2016, Donald Trump promised to withdraw troops from “endless wars” in the Middle East. But when he abruptly did so in October 2019, it caused havoc for U.S Syria policy - so where did it all go wrong? Lara Seligman, writing in Foreign Policy provides this in-depth report.

How the Iran hawks botched Trump’s Syria withdrawal

A portrait of resistance and calm commitment whilst living under a regime of uncertainty and violence.

Zabulon Simentov has seen it all, from imprisonment, abandonment, and a yearslong feud with Afghanistan’s only other Jew (now dead) to an argument so vociferous that even the Taliban, during their former rule, could no longer stand their bickering and kicked them both out of prison. And now Simentov must contemplate more upheaval as his old antagonists, the Taliban, vie to return to power. Meeting with Emran Feroz he shares his story in Foreign Policy. 

Afghanistan’s last jew gets ready for the Taliban—again

There are elections looming so how can governments adapt to accommodate the young vote?

Saving the planet from climate change will require political action. But with impassioned young people unable to vote, how can governments adapt before its too late? Writing in Foreign Policy, David Runciman proposes a solution.

Democracy is the planet’s biggest enemy

Space programmes are often seen as militaristic splurges, but are these complaints misguided?

Writing in Foreign Policy, Greg Autry, explains why space research, has been, and will be, critical in tackling climate change.

Space research can save the planet—again

Why blowing your paycheck is sometimes a rational choice.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Jeongmin Kim looks at why for some young Koreans a frivolous expense can be the perfect balance between today’s happiness and a potentially grim financial future.

Why young Koreans love to splurge

A new book asking readers to consider the ambitions - and fears - of the Chinese elite.

Can American values survive in a Chinese World? Tanner Green, writing in Foreign policy, reviews the book China's Vision of Victory looking at the China challenge for the United States—and China itself.

Can American values survive in a Chinese world?

In the central highlands of Afghanistan, an all-women team of deminers are taking back their country. 

Writing in Foreign Policy, Kern Hendricks, reports on the women ridding the country of its deadly land mines and in the process bringing hope of an equitable future. 

Meet the Afghan women taking their country back—one land mine at a time

The US/China trade war is a lot less personal than it's been painted.

Michael Pettis writing in Foreign Policy draws on the economic performance of Germany, Japan and China, to explain why global economic imbalances are actually at the core of the current situation.