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The United Nations logo is seen on the back wall of the General Assembly Hall at U.N. headquarters in New York on May 12, 2006.
The United Nations logo is seen on the back wall of the General Assembly Hall at U.N. headquarters in New York on May 12, 2006.

The United Nations Is Convening—and Spluttering

Inertia and rivalries are producing a dangerous breakdown of multilateralism.

Argument
Mark Malloch-Brown
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.

The Alliances That Matter Now

Multilateralism is at a dead end, but powerful blocs are getting things done.

Analysis
Stefan Theil
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

Essay
Gordon Brown
An illustration shows two large hands with pinky fingers — and their own tiny hand tips — extended in a small handshake for a story about minilateral alliances.
An illustration shows two large hands with pinky fingers — and their own tiny hand tips — extended in a small handshake for a story about minilateral alliances.

The Nimble New Minilaterals

Small coalitions are a smart alternative to cumbersome multilateralism and formal alliances.

Analysis
C. Raja Mohan
An illustration shows half faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin for a story about a ChiRussia alliance.
An illustration shows half faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin for a story about a ChiRussia alliance.

The China-Russia Axis Takes Shape

The bond has been decades in the making, but Russia’s war in Ukraine has tightened their embrace. This article has an audio recording

Analysis
Bonny Lin
An illustration shows an expanding shield with the NATO alliance logo on it.
An illustration shows an expanding shield with the NATO alliance logo on it.

NATO’s Remarkable Revival

But the bloc’s future could look very different from its past.

Analysis
Jo Inge Bekkevold
A man looks at his destroyed home in Morocco.
A man looks at his destroyed home in Morocco.

Algeria Cracks Open Diplomatic Ties to Assist Morocco

Rabat’s deadly earthquake could be the catalyst needed to reboot Algerian-Moroccan relations.

World Brief
Alexandra Sharp
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to journalists at the G-20 summit venue in New Delhi on Sept. 10.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to journalists at the G-20 summit venue in New Delhi on Sept. 10.

Did New Delhi’s G-20 Summit Succeed?

India will tout the meeting as a victory, but the bloc remains deeply divided.

Analysis
Sumit Ganguly
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchange gifts following their talks at the Far Eastern Federal University campus in Vladivostok, Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchange gifts following their talks at the Far Eastern Federal University campus in Vladivostok, Russia.

Weapons, Prestige, and Sticking It to the West: Why Putin and Kim Jong Un Are Meeting

Russia needs weapons for Ukraine. North Korea is looking for a quid pro quo.

Report
Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive for a news conference following talks at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive for a news conference following talks at Camp David, Maryland, on Aug. 18.

Separate U.S. Alliances in East Asia Are Obsolete

Even if a formal U.S.-Japan-South Korea pact is unlikely, tighter coordination is unavoidable.

Analysis
Christopher B. Johnstone, Jeffrey W. Hornung
A photo illusration shows Jen Easterly and Sami Khoury, the U.S. and Canadian cyberchiefs, atop a background of digital code.
A photo illusration shows Jen Easterly and Sami Khoury, the U.S. and Canadian cyberchiefs, atop a background of digital code.

‘I Am Now More Concerned About the Formidable Threat From China.’

The United States’ and Canada’s chief cyberdefenders talk adversaries and AI.

Insider
Rishi Iyengar
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy (L) transfers crude oil from the Russian-flagged oil tanker Lana (R), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, on May 29, 2022.
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy (L) transfers crude oil from the Russian-flagged oil tanker Lana (R), off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, on May 29, 2022.

Greece Is Making a Killing Selling Ships to Russia

The world’s largest ship-owning nation is profiting from the sale of aging vessels, while enabling Moscow’s sanctions evasion.

Analysis
Elisabeth Braw
People walk around a model of a globe.
People walk around a model of a globe.

Inside This Weekend’s G-20 Summit

And what it might mean for Modi.

The Reading List
FP Contributors
Lyndon B. Johnson is surrounded by soldiers in this black-and-white photo as he visits U.S. troops in Vietnam. Johnson smiles as he shakes hands with a service member wearing uniform. He is flanked by security officers in dark suits.
Lyndon B. Johnson is surrounded by soldiers in this black-and-white photo as he visits U.S. troops in Vietnam. Johnson smiles as he shakes hands with a service member wearing uniform. He is flanked by security officers in dark suits.

Why U.S. Presidents Really Go to War

As a new book shows, it’s not always about strategy.

Review
Julian E. Zelizer
A macro image of dozens of tiny semiconductor chips on a circuitboard from inside a cell phone.
A macro image of dozens of tiny semiconductor chips on a circuitboard from inside a cell phone.

Let There Be Microchips

The semiconductor and its near-divine creation story.

Essay
Virginia Heffernan
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