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Two men, one in a t-shirt, the other in a uniform, beret and sunglasses, hold up a large painted portrait of Jacob Zuma in military garb and holding a spear. The men stand in front of a large stadium, with the crowd seen behind them.
Two men, one in a t-shirt, the other in a uniform, beret and sunglasses, hold up a large painted portrait of Jacob Zuma in military garb and holding a spear. The men stand in front of a large stadium, with the crowd seen behind them.

Why Jacob Zuma Still Looms Large in South African Politics

South Africa’s controversial former president could end up as the country’s kingmaker—despite being banned from running for office.

Analysis
Sisonke Msimang
A sign for the U.S.-based McKinsey & Company management consulting firm is seen on a wall in Geneva, carved in a serif font in an expanse of gray stone.
A sign for the U.S.-based McKinsey & Company management consulting firm is seen on a wall in Geneva, carved in a serif font in an expanse of gray stone.

Consulting Firms Have Stumbled Into a Geopolitical Minefield

The era of free-flowing information is over.

Argument
Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman
An illustration of a blooming plum branch shows a statue of Chairman Mao at left with workers walking across a bridge before the scene turns into one of growth and modernity with city skyline plane and construction cranes.
An illustration of a blooming plum branch shows a statue of Chairman Mao at left with workers walking across a bridge before the scene turns into one of growth and modernity with city skyline plane and construction cranes.

What Produced the China Miracle?

A powerful new book challenges conventional wisdom about the role of the state in Beijing’s rise.

Review
Howard W. French
Elon Musk arrives to inaugurate a Starlink satellite unit at a community health center in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Elon Musk arrives to inaugurate a Starlink satellite unit at a community health center in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

Will Elon Musk Test the South Asian Market?

As the tech billionaire markets his Starlink internet service, the region presents an opening—as well as some challenges.

South Asia Brief
Michael Kugelman

Recent

Asia & the Pacific

Members of the media gather in front of a screen showing a live courtroom broadcast during the preliminary hearing in the trial of Kazakh former economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who was charged with "particularly cruel murder" and "torture" for killing his wife, at a court in Astana on March 11.
Members of the media gather in front of a screen showing a live courtroom broadcast during the preliminary hearing in the trial of Kazakh former economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who was charged with "particularly cruel murder" and "torture" for killing his wife, at a court in Astana on March 11.

How a Domestic Violence Trial Ended Kazakhstan’s Political Nihilism
Analysis
Botakoz Kassymbekova, Erica Marat

Why a Small Pacific Island Territory Is Upending Nickel Prices

Pakistan Seeks More IMF Funding Amid Protests

Singapore’s New PM Is Already Worried

China

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and first lady Wu Mei-ju gesture after his inaugural speech at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and first lady Wu Mei-ju gesture after his inaugural speech at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.

Taiwan’s New President Pledges Not to Yield to China
China Brief
James Palmer

Peru Learns to Read the Fine Print in China Deals

China and the U.S. Are Numb to the Real Risk of War

Why Are More Chinese Migrants Arriving at the U.S. Southern Border?

Middle East & Africa

Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire speaks to the media outside the High Court in Kigali on March 13.
Opposition politician Victoire Ingabire speaks to the media outside the High Court in Kigali on March 13.

Rwanda’s Undemocratic Election
Argument
Victoire Ingabire

Why Iran Believes It’s Winning Against Israel

What Raisi’s Death Means for Iran’s Future

Genocide Allegations Are Not a Political Football

Europe

Ukrainian servicemen fire artillery during an anti-drone drill in Chernigiv oblast, Ukraine, on Nov. 11, 2023.
Ukrainian servicemen fire artillery during an anti-drone drill in Chernigiv oblast, Ukraine, on Nov. 11, 2023.

Biden’s Catch-22 in Ukraine
Analysis
Raphael S. Cohen, Gian Gentile

‘We Are Allied, but We Are Not Aligned’

Russia Advances on Kharkiv as Ukraine Struggles to Fight Back

The Changing Nuclear Mind Game

Americas

U.S. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. sits at a podium with a serious look. Brown is a bald Black man wearing a navy blue military dress uniform. A few other people are seen out-of-focus, sitting in the background.
U.S. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. sits at a podium with a serious look. Brown is a bald Black man wearing a navy blue military dress uniform. A few other people are seen out-of-focus, sitting in the background.

The Pentagon Isn’t Buying Enough Ammo
Argument
Stacie Pettyjohn, Hannah Dennis

What Madam President Means for Mexico

The U.S. Should Stop Playing the Victim Over China Trade

The United States Has a Keen Demographic Edge

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

American singer Beyoncé performs onstage at an arena in Sweden, surrounded by background dancers. Beyoncé wears large earrings and a short dress and elaborate jacket made out of the same holographic, silvery fabric. Two backup dancers kneel in bridge poses, and Beyoncé sits on top of them with her microphone as she looks out at the audience with a small smile.
American singer Beyoncé performs onstage at an arena in Sweden, surrounded by background dancers. Beyoncé wears large earrings and a short dress and elaborate jacket made out of the same holographic, silvery fabric. Two backup dancers kneel in bridge poses, and Beyoncé sits on top of them with her microphone as she looks out at the audience with a small smile.

How the Beyoncé Bump Affected Sweden
Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
Tesla vehicles stand outside of a Brooklyn showroom and service center in New York City.
Tesla vehicles stand outside of a Brooklyn showroom and service center in New York City.

What’s Ailing Tesla?
Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in France as part of a five-day trip to Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in France as part of a five-day trip to Europe.

China Wants to ‘Divide and Conquer’ Europe
Insider
Ravi Agrawal

Weekend Reads

A pencil-drawn portrait of Robert Lighthizer seen in profile, wearing glasses and looking to the right.
A pencil-drawn portrait of Robert Lighthizer seen in profile, wearing glasses and looking to the right.

The Man Who Would Help Trump Upend the Global Economy

As a potential U.S. Treasury secretary, Robert Lighthizer has more than trade policy to revolutionize.

Profile
Edward Alden
A top-down view of a number of Taiwanese dishes on a dark table.
A top-down view of a number of Taiwanese dishes on a dark table.

Taiwan’s Dinner Table Diplomacy
Dispatch
Clarissa Wei
A woman in a futuristic suit lifts her hand above her head as she looks into the distance. Behind her is a robot soldier with a human head and a Western vigilante in cowboy hat and long coat, with a hole where his nose should be.
A woman in a futuristic suit lifts her hand above her head as she looks into the distance. Behind her is a robot soldier with a human head and a Western vigilante in cowboy hat and long coat, with a hole where his nose should be.

The True Horseman of the ‘Fallout’ Apocalypse
Review
Syrus Solo Jin
A photo collage of historic black-and-white images of Soviet leaders: Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev, are toward the front, and a larger cutout of Joseph Stalin looms over them in the background. Behind that is a textured red background with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol of the Soviet Union.
A photo collage of historic black-and-white images of Soviet leaders: Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev, are toward the front, and a larger cutout of Joseph Stalin looms over them in the background. Behind that is a textured red background with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol of the Soviet Union.

Putting the Cold War on the Couch
Review
Casey Michel

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Mexican leftist presidential candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, Claudia Sheinbaum, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Chilchota, Michoacan state, Mexico, on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Enrique Castro / AFP) (Photo by ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Mexican leftist presidential candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, Claudia Sheinbaum, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Chilchota, Michoacan state, Mexico, on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Enrique Castro / AFP) (Photo by ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images)

What to Expect From Mexico’s Elections

Polls suggest that former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum will succeed the highly popular Andrés Manuel López Obrador as Mexico's president. What are her... READ MORE

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Fareed Zakaria on an Age of Revolutions
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Iran After Raisi
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Reimagining Globalization
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Inside China’s New Diplomatic Push

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

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Firouzabadi, then head of the Iranian military, look through binoculars during the test firing of short- and medium-range missiles.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Firouzabadi, then head of the Iranian military, look through binoculars during the test firing of short- and medium-range missiles.

The Day After Iran Gets the Bomb

Scholars and policymakers are still trying to understand what would happen after Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon.

Argument
Stephen M. Walt
The logo of the CIA is seen in shades of gray on the floor of a lobby at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
The logo of the CIA is seen in shades of gray on the floor of a lobby at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

U.S. Intelligence Is Facing a Crisis of Legitimacy

Bad-faith attacks are putting U.S. security in danger.

Argument
David V. Gioe, Michael S. Goodman, Michael V. Hayden
A uniformed person is seen from behind saluting a large navy ship with sailors on the deck.
A uniformed person is seen from behind saluting a large navy ship with sailors on the deck.

The U.S. Navy Can’t Build Ships

Decades of deindustrialization and downsizing have left America without shipyards to build and maintain a fleet.

Argument
Gil Barndollar, Matthew C. Mai
Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters during her presidential campaign launch event in Mexico City.
Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters during her presidential campaign launch event in Mexico City.

The Woman Inheriting AMLO’s Revolution

If she wins Mexico’s presidency, Claudia Sheinbaum’s most daunting political challenge will be persona, not policy.

Profile
Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert

Books

A photo collage illustration shows Navy brass pictured with Fat Leonard raising glasses against a backdrop of Navy ships in the Pacific. Overlaid text reads: Wanted by U.S. Marshals next to a round image of Fat Leonard applying a spa facial mask.
A photo collage illustration shows Navy brass pictured with Fat Leonard raising glasses against a backdrop of Navy ships in the Pacific. Overlaid text reads: Wanted by U.S. Marshals next to a round image of Fat Leonard applying a spa facial mask.

‘Fat Leonard’ Was a Crook U.S. Admirals Called Bro

In the Navy, you can do as you please.

Review
James Palmer
This article is adapted from The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power, and People, Paul Seabright, Princeton University Press, 504 pp., $35, May 2024
This article is adapted from The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power, and People, Paul Seabright, Princeton University Press, 504 pp., $35, May 2024

The Divine Marketplace Is Pretty Crowded
Excerpt
Paul Seabright
The book cover for The Jazzmen by Larry Tye.
The book cover for The Jazzmen by Larry Tye.

Duke Ellington, the Jazz Legend Who Became a Diplomat
Excerpt
Larry Tye
Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories, Amitav Ghosh, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 416 pp., $32, February 2024 Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe, Sathnam Sanghera, PublicAffairs, 464 pp., $35, May 2024
Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories, Amitav Ghosh, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 416 pp., $32, February 2024 Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe, Sathnam Sanghera, PublicAffairs, 464 pp., $35, May 2024

The Opioid High of Empire
Review
Nikhil Kumar
This essay is adapted from the book The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society by Joseph E. Stiglitz, W.W. Norton, 384 pp., $29.99, April 2024
This essay is adapted from the book The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society by Joseph E. Stiglitz, W.W. Norton, 384 pp., $29.99, April 2024

Where Global Governance Went Wrong—and How to Fix It
Essay
Joseph E. Stiglitz
The book cover for In the Long Run: The Future as a Political Idea by Jonathan White
The book cover for In the Long Run: The Future as a Political Idea by Jonathan White

Democracy Has Run Out of Future
Review
Ivan Krastev, Leonard Benardo
The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers, Verso, 432 pp., $26.07 (that's the price on the affiliate link), March 2024
The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers, Verso, 432 pp., $26.07 (that's the price on the affiliate link), March 2024

Can Wind and Solar Solve Climate Change?
Review
Ted Nordhaus

Trending

  1. What Produced the China Miracle?
    Review
    Howard W. French

  2. Consulting Firms Have Stumbled Into a Geopolitical Minefield
    Argument
    Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman

  3. South Africa’s Uncertain Election, Explained
    Explainer
    Christina Lu

  4. Rwanda’s Undemocratic Election
    Argument
    Victoire Ingabire

  5. The Problem With ‘Conflict-Free’ Minerals
    Deep Dive
    Mélanie Gouby

  6. Why Realists Oppose the War in Gaza
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  7. Why Jacob Zuma Still Looms Large in South African Politics
    Analysis
    Sisonke Msimang

  8. Europe Is Ready to Play Hardball With Georgia
    Analysis
    Giovanni Legorano

  9. What Raisi’s Death Means for Iran’s Future
    Analysis
    Jack Detsch

  10. How Primed for War Is China?
    Essay
    Michael Beckley, Hal Brands

Visual Stories

A woman wearing mittens, a coat, and a winter hat touches a flag with a soldier's face on it to her face. Behind her is a snowy graveyard scene with flowers and Ukrainian flags.
A woman wearing mittens, a coat, and a winter hat touches a flag with a soldier's face on it to her face. Behind her is a snowy graveyard scene with flowers and Ukrainian flags.

The Resilience of Ukraine’s War Widows

Perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have lost their partners in the conflict with Russia. They look to rebuild amid precarity and uncertainty.

Dispatch
Liz Cookman, Paula Bronstein
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

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