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An illustration shows a stylized globe with a crack through it. A hand with a wrench tightens the screw atop the globe.
An illustration shows a stylized globe with a crack through it. A hand with a wrench tightens the screw atop the globe.

The Field of Geopolitics Offers Both Promise and Peril

The world’s most dismal science could make Eurasia safe for illiberalism and predation—or protect it from those forces.

Essay
Hal Brands
Sudanese women flash the victory sign during a rally to demand the return to civilian rule, in Khartoum, on Sept. 13, 2022.
Sudanese women flash the victory sign during a rally to demand the return to civilian rule, in Khartoum, on Sept. 13, 2022.

5 Ways Women Made a Difference in 2023

Amid rising conflict, these people and organizations fought for peace and justice.

Roundup
Xanthe Scharff
A Palestinian is seen from behind as they look outside through a large broken window. Some shards of fractured glass remain in the frame, but the rest of the opening reveals dark smoke billowing from a dense street of buildings in Gaza City. The sky is otherwise light but hazy.
A Palestinian is seen from behind as they look outside through a large broken window. Some shards of fractured glass remain in the frame, but the rest of the opening reveals dark smoke billowing from a dense street of buildings in Gaza City. The sky is otherwise light but hazy.

The Year of the Israel-Hamas War

The events of Oct. 7 sparked a conflagration in the Middle East that has reverberated around the world.

5 Top Reads
Jennifer Williams
Hussein al-Sheikh attends the funeral of former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Hussein al-Sheikh attends the funeral of former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The Year’s Best Profiles

Examining some of the political figures who changed our world in 2023.

Roundup
Dan Ephron
People walk along Shanghai's Bund waterfront with skyscrapers of the Lujiazui financial district in the background.
People walk along Shanghai's Bund waterfront with skyscrapers of the Lujiazui financial district in the background.

A Grim Year for the Chinese Economy

How the sharp slowdown has impacted young people, the military, and more.

5 Top Reads
James Palmer
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar hold a joint press conference in Moscow on Dec. 27.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar hold a joint press conference in Moscow on Dec. 27.

India’s Top Diplomat Visits Russia

The trip closes out another year in which New Delhi managed a balancing act between Moscow and Washington.

World Brief
Emily Tamkin
Posters for election candidates hang over a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Dec. 26.
Posters for election candidates hang over a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Dec. 26.

4 Trends to Watch in South Asia Next Year

From predictable elections to Russia’s increased role in the region, here’s what to expect in 2024.

South Asia Brief
Michael Kugelman
People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on Oct. 1.
People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on Oct. 1.

Russia Is Divvying Up Prigozhin’s Empire Among Putin’s Cronies

Wagner’s African resources are up for grabs.

Argument
Lucian Staiano-Daniels
Smoke plumes billow from a fire at a lumber warehouse in Khartoum.
Smoke plumes billow from a fire at a lumber warehouse in Khartoum.

The Year Geopolitical Competition Returned to Africa

From Sudan to Mauritania, regional and global powers are jockeying for position on the continent.

5 Top Reads
Sasha Polakow-Suransky
An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.
An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.

Foreign Policy’s Best Articles on Geopolitics and Strategy

Five big-think articles from 2023 that cut through the news.

Roundup
Stefan Theil
A soldier fighting for Ukraine stands in front of a destroyed monastery in Dolyna, Ukraine.
A soldier fighting for Ukraine stands in front of a destroyed monastery in Dolyna, Ukraine.

FP Live Looks Back at 2023

Stephen Walt explains why countries are accusing America of hypocrisy.

Q&A
Ravi Agrawal
A collection of illustrated flags fly over a textured background that fades from blue to gray. The flags of the G-7 and NATO are the largest and positioned near the top of the image. Beneath them are the smaller flags of individual countries, including China, Russia, India, and others.
A collection of illustrated flags fly over a textured background that fades from blue to gray. The flags of the G-7 and NATO are the largest and positioned near the top of the image. Beneath them are the smaller flags of individual countries, including China, Russia, India, and others.

Alliances Are Back at the Center of Power

States are increasingly focused on security and the age-old diplomatic instruments to achieve it.

5 Top Reads
Stefan Theil
From left: Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
From left: Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The Most Notable Obituaries in 2023

The legacies of departed leaders from Pervez Musharraf to Henry Kissinger still shape world politics.

Roundup
Jennifer Williams
The Russian warship Novocherkassk, of the Black Sea Fleet, is pictured in Sevastopol, Crimea, on July 27, 2019.
The Russian warship Novocherkassk, of the Black Sea Fleet, is pictured in Sevastopol, Crimea, on July 27, 2019.

Ukraine Strikes Russian Warship

The military success in Crimea came amid a difficult season for Kyiv, with international assistance tied up.

World Brief
Emily Tamkin
A woman walks past images depicting the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong at a stall in an antique market in Beijing on Dec. 26.
A woman walks past images depicting the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong at a stall in an antique market in Beijing on Dec. 26.

5 Predictions for China in 2024

From a small crisis with Taiwan to growing youth disillusionment, here’s what China likely faces next year.

China Brief
James Palmer
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