What We’re Reading

Preeti Aroon “Carte Blanche” by Vijay Simha in Tehelka. China has received a lot of criticism for its economic investments in Sudan, but guess which country could be geting involved next? India. A Sudanese delegation recently visited New Delhi and invited Indian investors to come on over to make some money. Jerome Chen “Deprogramming Jihadists.” ...

By , an editor at Foreign Policy from 2013-2018.
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591610_081110_afghanistan2.jpg

Preeti Aroon

Preeti Aroon

Carte Blanche” by Vijay Simha in Tehelka. China has received a lot of criticism for its economic investments in Sudan, but guess which country could be geting involved next? India. A Sudanese delegation recently visited New Delhi and invited Indian investors to come on over to make some money.

Jerome Chen

Deprogramming Jihadists.” In this week’s New York Times Magazine, Katherine Zoepf writes about Saudi Arabia’s efforts to rehabilitate prisoners who did time for extremist activities. The program’s success lies in its approach — addressing psychological symptoms rather than treating the young men as enemies of the state.

Elizabeth Dickinson

In The Fate of Young Democracies, authors Ethan Kapstein and Nathan Converse try to determine why the world’s newest democracies succeed or fail. Though anything from inflation to initial wealth can impact these fragile new states, there’s good news: Democracies born today are far less likely to fail than at any time in the last five years. 

Rebecca Frankel

DAVID FURST/AFP/Getty Images

Five Days at the End of the World.” In City Journal, Andrew Klavan, putting his “money” behind his criticism of Hollywood for its allegedly bogus depictions of the war on terror, visits Afghanistan. After two days on a U.S. Army base, Klavan decides the protagonist of his would-be film wouldn’t “have to get shot at to be a hero. Dude’ll get a medal just for showing up.”

Blake Hounshell

Holding Pattern.” John Barry of Newsweek explains why everyone should just hold their horses — President-elect Barack Obama can’t do much on foreign policy until a number of things fall into place.

Joshua Keating

In his Rolling Stone piece, “The War Next Door,” (excerpts only) Guy Lawson reports from Sinaloa, Mexico, providing an invaluable introduction to the emerging narco state that Enrique Krauze recently discussed with FP. He also explores how the drug trade has influenced Mexican popular culture.

Kate Palmer

What the Recession Means for Foreign Policy.” In the Wall Street Journal, Richard Haass offers a smart run-down of the ways in which the global financial crisis will shape President-elect Obama’s relations with the world.

Rebecca Frankel was an editor at Foreign Policy from 2013-2018.

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