Argument
An expert’s point of view on a current event.
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Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel at the EU-League of Arab States summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Feb. 24, 2019. (Laurie Dieffembacq/AFP/Getty Images) Europe Isn’t Realistic. It’s Weak.
The EU has committed to outsourcing its dirty work to authoritarians in the Middle East and Africa—and to confusing dependence for maturity.
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A man wearing a Make Korea Great Again hat stands near conservative pro-U.S. demonstrators during a rally denouncing government policies toward North Korea in Seoul on March 1. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) Failure in Hanoi Doesn’t Mean Peace Is Dead
The foundations need to be laid for a long, hard route ahead.
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Indian television journalist Arnab Goswami in 2017. (Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty Images/Foreign Policy illustration) India’s Media Is War-Crazy
Journalism is taking a back seat to jingoism.
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China’s President Xi Jinping is welcomed by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on March 22, 2013. (Sergei Ilnitsky/AFP/Getty Images) The New Cold War’s Warm Friends
Why Chinese and Russian detente may be here to stay.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on March 1. (Minh Hoang/AFP/Getty Images) There’s a Silver Lining in the Clouds Over the North Korea Negotiations
The failure of high-level discussions may force Washington and Pyongyang to start more effective working-level talks.
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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks during a press conference in the seventh military zone in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on Feb. 20. (Julio Cesar Aguilar/AFP/Getty Images) Mexico’s Old-School War on Crime Gets a Surprising New Champion
Why is AMLO attempting to further militarize policing, instead of pursuing the progressive reforms he promised during his campaign?
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Motorcyclists ride past graffiti depicting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Feb. 27. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images) What’s Good for Maduro Is Bad for Chavismo
The more atrocities Venezuela’s dictator commits, the less likely his regime is to survive him.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres adjusts his tie as he arrives at the opening day of the 40th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on Feb. 25, 2019 in Geneva. (Fabrice Cofferini/AFP/Getty Images) The U.N. Hates Hate Speech More Than It Loves Free Speech
The U.N. Secretary General is going soft on one of the most fundamental human rights.
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Supporters of the All Progressives Congress rally as they celebrate the re-election of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano on Feb. 27. (Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images) Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Vote
Buhari promised an end to graft and corruption. Now he’ll have to deliver.
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Renu Begum, the eldest sister of Shamima Begum, holds a photo of her teen sister, who fled to Syria to join the Islamic State, as she is interviewed by the media at New Scotland Yard in London on Feb. 22, 2015. (Laura Lean/Getty Images) Teenage Terrorists Aren’t Lost Forever
Even ISIS recruits can be reintegrated into society, if the approach is right.
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Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif smiles during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 13, 2019. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images) How to Succeed in Iranian Politics Without Really Resigning
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif protested his weakness—and became stronger than ever.
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Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 13. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images) Iran’s Foreign Minister Is Staying, but That Doesn’t Mean He’s Won the Battle of Ideas
Javad Zarif’s gambit paid off, but his attempt to be a bridge between Tehran and the West has become virtually impossible in the Trump era.
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South Koreans watch U.S. President Donald Trump meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a television screen at a railway station in Seoul on Feb. 27. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) Sanctions Relief for Pyongyang Should Start Small
A gradual lifting of sanctions can keep North Korea incentivized to dump nukes.
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi waves during the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal expansion in Suez on Aug. 6, 2015. (David Degner/Getty Images) Worse Than Mubarak
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is bringing a new form of totalitarianism to Egypt.
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Alessandro Mahmoud, who goes by Mahmood, on stage during the first night of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival in Sanremo, Italy, on Feb. 5. (Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images) According to Italy’s Leaders, Rap Music Is Un-Italian
When a rapper named Alessandro Mahmoud won the country’s most prestigious music contest, xenophobic leaders quickly took advantage of his victory to open a new front in the culture war.
