The return of World Leader March Madness

It’s back! Last year’s March Madness: Democrats vs. Dictators tournament of champions ended with a dramatic knife fight on the edge of an active Icelandic volcano between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. The tournament will return next week, setting the stage for a potential rematch and giving readers the chance for FP glory.  

If you didn’t follow it last year, the contest is a no-holds barred, bracket-style competition between the world’s most powerful leaders. You can pick your brackets in advance and we’ll announce the winners of each "game" over the course of the month based on entirely arbitrary and often nonsensical critera. This was obviously a rough year for the dictator division so we’ll have some new faces in the contest. The 10 readers with the top scores win a free one-year subscription to FP.

Things will be a bit more high-tech this year. Instead of requiring you to fill out a bracket by hand, we’ll have an interactive form that you can fill out online and share on Facebook. You will also be able follow your score and position on the leaderboard in realtime. 

After "selection Sunday" this weekend, we’ll be posting the first-round matchups and the form where you can fill out your brackets on Monday. Games will begin on Thursday and continue throughout March. 

Can Putin get his revenge? Will American decline and pre-election stress take their toll on defending champion Obama? Can newcomer Kim Jong Un make an impact?

Find out next week.