Foreign Policy Magazine - home page

Primary featured article section

Cardboard figurines depicting U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Fallas festival in Valencia, on March 16, 2022.
Cardboard figurines depicting U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Fallas festival in Valencia, on March 16, 2022.

Nobody Is Competing With the U.S. to Begin With

Conflicts with China and Russia are about local issues that Washington can’t win anyway.

Argument
Anatol Lieven
This picture taken from southern Israel, near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 7, 2023, shows smoke rising from northern Gaza during shelling by Israeli forces amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
This picture taken from southern Israel, near the border with the Gaza Strip on November 7, 2023, shows smoke rising from northern Gaza during shelling by Israeli forces amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Israel Has Failed to Restore Deterrence

The concept that has always guided Israeli strategy may not survive the current war.

Argument
Sajjad Safaei
A protester wearing glasses and holding a sign screams into the camera. Behind is a crowd of more protesters holding signs and waving Israeli flags.
A protester wearing glasses and holding a sign screams into the camera. Behind is a crowd of more protesters holding signs and waving Israeli flags.

Why Won’t More Feminists Speak Up For Israeli Victims of Sexual Violence?

Israel’s government has promoted misinformation around Oct. 7, but that doesn’t mean victims should be ignored.

Analysis
Eetta Prince-Gibson
Demonstrators protest against a controversial bill limiting so-called foreign influence in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 28.
Demonstrators protest against a controversial bill limiting so-called foreign influence in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 28.

Turmoil in Georgia Could Draw in Russia

The likely passage of a Kremlin-style law has Georgians fighting for their democracy.

Analysis
Luke Coffey

Asia & the Pacific

Supporters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party take part in a post-election rally in Ankara, Turkey.
Supporters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party take part in a post-election rally in Ankara, Turkey.

Turkey’s Democracy Is Down but Not Out
Argument
Kate Johnston, Gibbs McKinley

Xi Jinping Has Tough Economic Choices Ahead

Japan’s Big Bet on Interest Rates May Not Pay Off

India’s Courts Must Keep Their Autonomy

China

A worker checks a robot arm at a robotics company during a tour in Xianghe county in China's Hebei province on Oct. 22, 2017.
A worker checks a robot arm at a robotics company during a tour in Xianghe county in China's Hebei province on Oct. 22, 2017.

Xi Believes China Can Win a Scientific Revolution
Argument
Tanner Greer, Nancy Yu

Does China Have to Play by the Rules?

How Much Leverage Does China Really Have Over Iran?

Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships

Middle East & Africa

A Palestinian woman and her son look out on the street ahead of a funeral procession of Palestinian men killed in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the West Bank.
A Palestinian woman and her son look out on the street ahead of a funeral procession of Palestinian men killed in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the West Bank.

Egypt Is Obliged to Let Gaza Refugees In
Argument
Alice Jill Edwards

The U.S. Military Is Getting Kicked Out of Niger

U.S. Fixation on Nuclear Deal Let Iran Loose on the Middle East

What Ghana Can Learn From Taiwan

Europe

Four exhaust pipe towers from a gas pipeline station release smoke into the twilight sky.
Four exhaust pipe towers from a gas pipeline station release smoke into the twilight sky.

How Globalization Rose and Fell With Nord Stream
Excerpt
Elisabeth Braw

The Islamic State Never Went Away

Russia’s Rosatom Fuels Putin’s War Machine

Germany Doesn’t Work Like It Used To

Americas

From left: World Bank President Ajay Banga, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and U.S. President Joe Biden wait for the arrival of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a group photo at the G-20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi.
From left: World Bank President Ajay Banga, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and U.S. President Joe Biden wait for the arrival of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a group photo at the G-20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi.

How Washington Should Manage Rising Middle Powers
Analysis
Christopher S. Chivvis, Beatrix Geaghan-Breiner

Cuba Is Ailing, but the Regime Remains Sturdy

How the World Can Prepare for Trump 2.0

What Columbia’s Protests Reveal About America

Weekend Reads

A photo illustration shows a deflated plastic globe with a pen speared into it.
A photo illustration shows a deflated plastic globe with a pen speared into it.

Where Global Governance Went Wrong—and How to Fix It

International agreements have not balanced our freedoms in the way that they should.

Essay
Joseph E. Stiglitz
From left: Robert Downey Jr.—who plays several roles—Duy Nguyen as Man, Hoa Xuande as the Captain, Fred Nguyen Khan as Bon, and Sandra Oh as Sofia Mori.
From left: Robert Downey Jr.—who plays several roles—Duy Nguyen as Man, Hoa Xuande as the Captain, Fred Nguyen Khan as Bon, and Sandra Oh as Sofia Mori.

HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’ Leans Into the Tragic Absurdity of the Vietnam War
Review
Jordan Hoffman
A ripped American flag rests abandoned along a road during a protest in response to the Republican National Convention being held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A ripped American flag rests abandoned along a road during a protest in response to the Republican National Convention being held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Democracy Has Run Out of Future
Review
Ivan Krastev, Leonard Benardo
Chinese President Xi Jinping waits in front of a painting of the Great Wall at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping waits in front of a painting of the Great Wall at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi’s Imperial Ambitions Are Rooted in China’s History
Excerpt
Michael Sobolik

FP Insider logo Subscribe for access to exclusive articles, insights, and more

WATERLOO, IOWA - DECEMBER 19: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he wraps up a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their party's nomination for the 2024 presidential race, when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
WATERLOO, IOWA - DECEMBER 19: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he wraps up a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their party's nomination for the 2024 presidential race, when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Does Trump Have a Foreign-Policy Vision?
Insider
Ravi Agrawal
Iranian pro-government supporters shout anti-Israel slogans while waving the Palestine flag at Palestine Square in Tehran, on April 14, 2024, in a celebration of the early morning Iran's IRGC attack on Israel. Iran fired over 100 drones and ballistic missiles on Saturday, April 14, 2024, in retaliation to an attack on a building attached to the country's consular annex in Damascus that killed seven members of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on April 01, 2024. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack on April 5, 2024 in Tehran. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian pro-government supporters shout anti-Israel slogans while waving the Palestine flag at Palestine Square in Tehran, on April 14, 2024, in a celebration of the early morning Iran's IRGC attack on Israel. Iran fired over 100 drones and ballistic missiles on Saturday, April 14, 2024, in retaliation to an attack on a building attached to the country's consular annex in Damascus that killed seven members of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on April 01, 2024. Iran has blamed Israel for the attack on April 5, 2024 in Tehran. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The Domestic Pressures Impacting Iran and Israel
Insider
Ravi Agrawal
Displaced Palestinian children pose for photos standing in front of makeshift tents at a camp beside a street in Rafah.
Displaced Palestinian children pose for photos standing in front of makeshift tents at a camp beside a street in Rafah.

The Economics of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze

FP Live logo FP Live Events

Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts.UpcomingPastAbout

Two boys sit with empty pots as they queue for aid.
Two boys sit with empty pots as they queue for aid.

How to Stave Off a Famine in Gaza

With food, fuel, and medicine all in short supply, who is responsible for providing aid to the millions of displaced Gazans? FP’s Ravi Agrawal will... READ MORE

Ask a Question

Ask a Question

✓  

Registered

Ask a Question

Ask a Question

Add to Calendar

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

matthew-no-logo
matthew-no-logo

Inside the GOP’s Foreign Policy
3-shot-logo-no-logo-v-2
3-shot-logo-no-logo-v-2

Iran’s Attack on Israel—What Happens Next?
ravi-no-logo
ravi-no-logo

The New Idea of India
3-shot-no-logo
3-shot-no-logo

The Crisis in Haiti

In the Magazine

Current Issue: Spring 2024 Archives
Spring-2024-print-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
Spring-2024-print-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The New Idea of India

Narendra Modi’s reign is producing a less liberal but more assured nation.

Essay
Ravi Agrawal
An illustration shows a tiger chasing a dragon up an economic indicator line against a graph paper background. The dragon is turning to snarl at the tiger.
An illustration shows a tiger chasing a dragon up an economic indicator line against a graph paper background. The dragon is turning to snarl at the tiger.

Is India Really the Next China?

The case for its economic ascent is strong, but government policies still stand in the way.

Analysis
Josh Felman, Arvind Subramanian

Modi’s Messenger to the World
Profile
Rishi Iyengar

Meet India’s Generation Z
Essay
Snigdha Poonam

Becoming Indian
Essay
Amitava Kumar

4 Books to Understand Modern India
Review
Mukul Kesavan

In Case You Missed It

An illustration shows piles of shipping containers and symbols of industry as protectionist islands in a sea.
An illustration shows piles of shipping containers and symbols of industry as protectionist islands in a sea.

America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add Up

Industrial policy and subsidies are nothing new and can be useful. But shutting off from the world will have consequences.

Essay
Adam Posen
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism
Essay
Gordon Brown
A fireball erupts behind a turreted building as smoke fills the sky after an Israeli strike over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
A fireball erupts behind a turreted building as smoke fills the sky after an Israeli strike over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

10 Conflicts to Watch
Analysis
Comfort Ero, Richard Atwood
A globe with blocks and chunks missing from it sits atop the shoulders of a person looking into a dystopian horizon.
A globe with blocks and chunks missing from it sits atop the shoulders of a person looking into a dystopian horizon.

The Global Credibility Gap
Essay
Jared Cohen, Ian Bremmer
China-military-readiness-war-us-taiwan-Doug-Chayka-illustration
China-military-readiness-war-us-taiwan-Doug-Chayka-illustration

How Primed for War Is China?
Essay
Michael Beckley, Hal Brands
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar
Essay
Jo Inge Bekkevold
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greet each other at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2018.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greet each other at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2018.

6 Swing States Will Decide the Future of Geopolitics
Analysis
Cliff Kupchan

Subscribers’ Picks

A man walks past a banner depicting Iranian missiles along a street in Tehran on April 19.
A man walks past a banner depicting Iranian missiles along a street in Tehran on April 19.

The Iran-Israel War Is Just Getting Started

As long as the two countries remain engaged in conflict, they will trade blows—no matter what their allies counsel.

Analysis
Raphael S. Cohen
New Zealand’s then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023.
New Zealand’s then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023.

New Zealand Becomes the Latest Country to Pivot to the U.S.

Beijing’s bullying tactics have pushed Wellington into Washington’s welcoming arms.

Analysis
Derek Grossman
Workers at a construction site of the new administrative capital of Egypt, an unfinished skyscraper is in the background.
Workers at a construction site of the new administrative capital of Egypt, an unfinished skyscraper is in the background.

A Tale of Two Megalopolises

What new cities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt tell us about their autocrats.

Essay
Jan-Werner Müller
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the State Guest House in Beijing on April 16.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the State Guest House in Beijing on April 16.

The Strategic Unseriousness of Olaf Scholz

His latest trip confirms that Germany’s China policy is made in corporate boardrooms.

Analysis
James Crabtree

Books

The sun sets over the first offshore wind farm in France, off the coast of the western city of Saint-Nazaire.
The sun sets over the first offshore wind farm in France, off the coast of the western city of Saint-Nazaire.

Can Wind and Solar Solve Climate Change?

A new book unwittingly makes the case that they can’t.

Review
Ted Nordhaus
The book covers of Underground Empire and Digital Empires by Henrey Farrell and Abraham Newman and Anu Bradford.
The book covers of Underground Empire and Digital Empires by Henrey Farrell and Abraham Newman and Anu Bradford.

The New Empires of the Internet Age
Review
Daniel W. Drezner
Four book covers of: India Is Broken, Price of the Modi Years, City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh, and Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India.
Four book covers of: India Is Broken, Price of the Modi Years, City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh, and Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India.

4 Books to Understand Modern India
Review
Mukul Kesavan
Table for Two: Fictions, Amor Towles, Viking, 464 pp., $32, April 2024
Table for Two: Fictions, Amor Towles, Viking, 464 pp., $32, April 2024

The World Still Loves (Yesterday’s) America
Review
Jessi Jezewska Stevens
The cover of Fareed Zakaria's book Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
The cover of Fareed Zakaria's book Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present

Is This a Revolution? Or Are People Just Very Ticked Off?
Review
Michael Hirsh
This article is adapted from Made in China: When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade (Harvard University Press, 352 pp., $37.95, March 2024).
This article is adapted from Made in China: When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade (Harvard University Press, 352 pp., $37.95, March 2024).

How ‘Made in China’ Became American Gospel
Excerpt
Elizabeth O’Brien Ingleson
The book cover of Forgottenness by Tanja Maljartschuk.
The book cover of Forgottenness by Tanja Maljartschuk.

Can Ukraine Escape the Curse of Nonexistence?
Review
Johannes Lichtman

Trending

  1. Turmoil in Georgia Could Draw in Russia
    Analysis
    Luke Coffey

  2. Nobody Is Competing With the U.S. to Begin With
    Argument
    Anatol Lieven

  3. What Do Russians Really Think About Putin’s War?
    Argument
    Christian Caryl

  4. The Very Real Limits of the Russia-China ‘No Limits’ Partnership
    Analysis
    Keith Johnson

  5. Appeasement Is Underrated
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  6. Cuba Is Ailing, but the Regime Remains Sturdy
    Argument
    William M. LeoGrande

  7. Turkey’s Democracy Is Down but Not Out
    Argument
    Kate Johnston, Gibbs McKinley

  8. Without Indonesia’s Nickel, EVs Have No Future in America
    Argument
    Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan

  9. Chad’s Great-Power Balancing Act
    Africa Brief
    Nosmot Gbadamosi

  10. Where Global Governance Went Wrong—and How to Fix It
    Essay
    Joseph E. Stiglitz

Visual Stories

A man fishes at a port near the Lungmen, a nuclear power plant that has suspended its construction, in New Taipei City.
A man fishes at a port near the Lungmen, a nuclear power plant that has suspended its construction, in New Taipei City.

Taiwan Can’t Shake Its Nuclear Ghosts

The island’s resistance to a dependable—and desperately needed—source of energy has been shaped by a covert history.

Analysis
Jane Darby Menton, Andrew W. Reddie
Pilgrims walk down one of the main roads that lead to the new Ram Mandir
Pilgrims walk down one of the main roads that lead to the new Ram Mandir

How the Ram Mandir Has Transformed India

To some, Modi’s new temple embodies the revival of a Hindu golden age. To others, it symbolizes the waning of a pluralist nation.

Dispatch
Ariel Sophia Bardi

Latest

Loading graphics