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Then-U.S. President Barack Obama, standing with then-Vice President Joe Biden, holds a press conference about the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2015.
Then-U.S. President Barack Obama, standing with then-Vice President Joe Biden, holds a press conference about the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2015.

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

Washington’s shortsighted policies enabled Tehran and its proxies to destabilize the region.

Argument
Lina Khatib
A chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory on October 8, 2019 in New York.
A chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory on October 8, 2019 in New York.

Europe Could Soon Be Hooked on Fentanyl

The continent invented the drug but has been spared its worst ravages—until now.

Analysis
Giovanni Legorano
A man stands in the center of a busy ammunition factory packaging workfloor, surrounded by equipment and neatly stacked shells as he grabs a 155 mm howitzer shell from a set stacked vertically. The shells are high enough to come up to the man's waist. He wears a T-shirt, gloves, baseball cap, and protective goggles.
A man stands in the center of a busy ammunition factory packaging workfloor, surrounded by equipment and neatly stacked shells as he grabs a 155 mm howitzer shell from a set stacked vertically. The shells are high enough to come up to the man's waist. He wears a T-shirt, gloves, baseball cap, and protective goggles.

The U.S. Munitions Deficit Is a Political Problem

Just three U.S. states receive one-third of all defense contract awards.

Argument
Robert Almelor Delfeld
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Colombia-Brazil Business Forum in Bogotá on April 16.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Colombia-Brazil Business Forum in Bogotá on April 16.

New Leaders Turn the Region’s Geopolitics on Its Head

Argentina wants to become a NATO partner—and Colombia seeks to join BRICS+.

Latin America Brief
Catherine Osborn

Asia & the Pacific

Chinese President Xi Jinping sits at a wood-paneled desk, shuffling through paper documents as he presides over a meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Xi is a middle-aged man wearing a black suit and red tie, and he wears a serious expression as he reads the documents.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sits at a wood-paneled desk, shuffling through paper documents as he presides over a meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Xi is a middle-aged man wearing a black suit and red tie, and he wears a serious expression as he reads the documents.

Xi Jinping Has Tough Economic Choices Ahead
Raja Krishnamoorthi

India’s Courts Must Keep Their Autonomy

Is the U.S. Preparing to Ban Future LNG Sales to China?

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

China

China’s silver medalists, Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Zhang Yufei, and Yang Junxuan, stand on the podium next to the British gold medalists after the final of the mixed 4x100m medley relay swimming event during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
China’s silver medalists, Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Zhang Yufei, and Yang Junxuan, stand on the podium next to the British gold medalists after the final of the mixed 4x100m medley relay swimming event during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Does China Have to Play by the Rules?
China Brief
James Palmer

How Much Leverage Does China Really Have Over Iran?

Beijing Walks a Fine Line in the Middle East

America’s Flailing Industrial Policy Can Take Lessons From China

Middle East & Africa

Protesters speak with police during a demonstration dubbed 'Fabewoso - Bring it on' to raise awareness about the high rate of corruption in the country, in Accra on May 26, 2017.
Protesters speak with police during a demonstration dubbed 'Fabewoso - Bring it on' to raise awareness about the high rate of corruption in the country, in Accra on May 26, 2017.

What Ghana Can Learn From Taiwan
Analysis
Audrey Elom Donkor

Will Washington Sanction Sudan’s RSF?

Why Aren’t We Talking More About the Famine in Gaza?

The Iran-Israel War Is Just Getting Started

Europe

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
Analysis
James Crabtree

The Islamic State Never Went Away

Russia’s Rosatom Fuels Putin’s War Machine

Germany Doesn’t Work Like It Used To

Americas

U.S. President Joe Biden, touching his temple with his right hand, delivers remarks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.
U.S. President Joe Biden, touching his temple with his right hand, delivers remarks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.

Congressional Push for Oil Sanctions Puts Biden in a Bind
Analysis
Keith Johnson

Latin American Start-Ups Make Their Pitch

The Terrorist Threat the West Still Ignores

‘Civil War’ Succeeds Because Its Politics Make No Sense

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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

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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 6: Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 6: Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. (photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Fareed Zakaria on an Age of Revolutions

Are we living in an age of revolutions? CNN host and author Fareed Zakaria will join FP's Ravi Agrawal for a wide-ranging discussion about... READ MORE

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Inside the GOP’s Foreign Policy
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Iran’s Attack on Israel—What Happens Next?
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The New Idea of India
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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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi talk to delegates during the Arab League's Summit for Jerusalem in Cairo, on Feb. 12, 2023.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi talk to delegates during the Arab League's Summit for Jerusalem in Cairo, on Feb. 12, 2023.

Arab Countries Have Israel’s Back—for Their Own Sake

Last weekend’s security cooperation in the Middle East doesn’t indicate a new future for the region.

Argument
Steven A. Cook
A woman wearing a dress with floral details and loose sleeves looks straight ahead. She is flanked by flags and statues of large cats in the background.
A woman wearing a dress with floral details and loose sleeves looks straight ahead. She is flanked by flags and statues of large cats in the background.

‘The Regime’ Misunderstands Autocracy

HBO’s new miniseries displays an undeniably American nonchalance toward power.

Review
Anastasia Edel
A new floating production, storage, and offloading vessel is under construction at a shipyard in Nantong, China, on April 17, 2023.
A new floating production, storage, and offloading vessel is under construction at a shipyard in Nantong, China, on April 17, 2023.

Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships

Beijing’s grab for hegemony in a critical sector follows a familiar playbook.

Analysis
Agathe Demarais
Nigeriens gather to protest against the U.S. military presence, in Niamey, Niger, on April 13.
Nigeriens gather to protest against the U.S. military presence, in Niamey, Niger, on April 13.

Washington’s Failed Africa Policy Needs a Reset

Instead of trying to put out security fires, U.S. policy should focus on governance and growth.

Argument
Daniel Twining, Will Meeker

Weekend Reads

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
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?
Review
Ted Nordhaus
A photo illustration shows a hand holding up a Neanderthal skull to examine it in the style of Shakespeare's character Hamlet performing the "Alas, Poor Yorick!" monologue.
A photo illustration shows a hand holding up a Neanderthal skull to examine it in the style of Shakespeare's character Hamlet performing the "Alas, Poor Yorick!" monologue.

The Real Meaning of Humanity’s Origin Story
Review
Nikhil Krishnan
An illustration shows the Colosseum of the Roman Empire juxtaposed with a digital sphere and iconography for a story about digital superpowers.
An illustration shows the Colosseum of the Roman Empire juxtaposed with a digital sphere and iconography for a story about digital superpowers.

The New Empires of the Internet Age
Review
Daniel W. Drezner

Books

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

Is the world’s most populous country booming or broken?

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
Book cover for Cosmopolitan Elites
Book cover for Cosmopolitan Elites

The Civil Servants Who Shaped Indian Diplomacy
Review
Sumit Ganguly
The book covers for A Century of Labour by Jon Cruddas and Keeping the Red Flag Flying by Mark Garnett, Gavin Hyman, and Richard Johnson.
The book covers for A Century of Labour by Jon Cruddas and Keeping the Red Flag Flying by Mark Garnett, Gavin Hyman, and Richard Johnson.

The Labour Party Is Never Ready for an Election
Review
John Kampfner

Trending

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    Analysis
    Anchal Vohra

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  3. The U.S. Munitions Deficit Is a Political Problem
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  4. The New Idea of India
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  6. Congress Helps Steer Taiwan Toward the ‘Porcupine Strategy’
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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

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