5 Top Reads: Our Top Weekend Reads Our Top Weekend Reads...
Europe Needed Borders. Coronavirus Built Them.
The pandemic has the continent increasingly discussing its common boundaries—and common identity.
Pandemic Crisis Drives Cubans to Rare, Risky Protest
Economic devastation and tightened censorship have made for a bleak 2020.
Pakistan Has Its Problems, but It Won’t Perish
A new book offers riveting and memorable reporting, though it falls back on outdated narratives of a country that has moved on.
How Biden’s Climate Plans Will Shake Up Global Energy Markets
The new administration will use foreign policy tools to promote climate goals, boost clean energy, and punish carbon-intensive production.
Why Liberal Internationalism Is Still Indispensable—and Fixable
G. John Ikenberry’s new book traces what went wrong. And Biden is listening.
The Biden Transition
All the new hires and plans in one place. Click to read FP’s coverage on a fraught transfer of power.
Congress Isn’t Leading on Human Rights in China
The Biden team needs to step up and push new initiatives
Thailand’s Military Is Getting Ready for Another Crackdown
The Biden administration must prepare to stand up for protesters.
Will Biden’s National Security Team Include the Democrats’ Progressive Wing?
It’s unclear whether the party’s left can make its voice heard in the new administration.
Afghanistan Needs Truth Before It Can Have Reconciliation
The victims of the country’s endless wars could provide the key to a lasting peace.
Foreign Governments Are Aiding Nigeria’s Violence Against Protesters
The suppression of protests against police brutality wouldn’t have been possible without arms and training from abroad.
Honduras and Nicaragua Have Been Hit By Some of the Worst Natural Disasters in Decades
If Biden gets the response right, he could put the region on better footing for years to come.
Ethiopia Needs the United States to Act as an Honest Broker in the Nile Dam Dispute
As East Africa faces a triple crisis from COVID-19, floods, and locusts, cutting U.S. aid to Ethiopia is not the solution.
Where Do Things Stand With the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout?
Some Britons will get shots starting next week—but in the rest of the world, it’s going to take a while.
Meeks Makes History as First Black Lawmaker to Chair House Foreign Affairs Committee
The New York congressman fended off a progressive challenge in an unusually public race.
The Feminine Appeal of Macho Populism
Donald Trump isn’t the only right-wing populist to govern with aggression—and do surprisingly well with women.
South Korea Matters More to the United States Than North Korea’s Nukes
The Biden administration should prioritize one of America’s most important allies.
The Most Important Election. Ever.
Why the fate of the American republic—and the world—could depend on what happens Nov. 3.
A Perilous Presidential Handoff
The presidential transition of power has long been a weakness of the U.S. political system. But never more so than now.
The Real Hacking Threat
It doesn’t matter if Russia actually sways the vote. What matters is whether Americans think it did.
Emerging Stronger From the Great Lockdown
The managing director and the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund lay out a strategy for sustained recovery.
Biden Expected to Put the World’s Kleptocrats on Notice
The U.S. president-elect and his top advisors have made the fight against dirty money one of their early priorities.
Yellen’s Mandate: Massive Stimulus, Assuaging Fears of Inflation
New Treasury nominee hailed as the right woman for the moment.
Ethiopia’s Government and the TPLF Leadership Are Not Morally Equivalent
The leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front are seeking to manipulate the international community into backing a power-sharing deal.
Is OPEC Over?
After 60 years, the organization is struggling to weather the pandemic and peak oil—but there is a way forward.
Voices
How China Is Buying Up the West’s High-Tech Sector
Chinese acquisitions of Western firms are only part of the problem. Secret venture capital is handing power to Beijing under the radar.
Assad’s Syria Is Starting to Starve Like Saddam’s Iraq
How sanctions against the Syrian regime are forcing the country into famine.
Cutting Through the Hype on Asia’s New Trade Deal
The RCEP truly is a China-style trade agreement: platitudinous and ineffective.
Bangladesh Is Everyone’s Economic Darling. It Might Not Last.
Dhaka has shown real vision in its fiscal planning, but a turn toward authoritarianism could reverse its successes.
A FOCUS ON RACE AND FOREIGN POLICY
Why Is Mainstream International Relations Blind to Racism?
Ignoring the central role of race and colonialism in world affairs precludes an accurate understanding of the modern state system.
When Did Racism Become Solely a Domestic Issue?
International relations theorists once explored racism. What has the field lost by giving that up?
By Ignoring African Leaders, the West Paved the Way for Chaos in Libya
A race-based colonial mindset that views the continent as Europe’s playground and dismisses the concerns of Africans continues to fuel death and destruction.
Why Race Matters in International Relations
Western dominance and white privilege permeate the field. It’s time to change that.
Special insights on the post-pandemic world
Culture Shock
Eight voices on the future of entertainment, culture, and sports.
The Future of Travel
Seven predictions for how tourism will change.
Will Schools and Universities Ever Return to Normal?
Nine experts on the future of education after the pandemic.
The Future of the State
Ten leading global thinkers on government after the pandemic.
visual stories
The Month in World Photos
November brought results in the U.S. presidential election and a sharp rise in coronavirus cases around the world—plus a deadly attack at an Afghanistan university and devastating storms in Central America and the Philippines.
Russian Troops in Nagorno-Karabakh ‘Clearly a Win for Moscow’
The Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended six weeks of fighting means soldiers on the ground—either as peacekeepers or as a vanguard of Putin’s latest garrison state.
