The Year Ahead
List of The Year Ahead articles
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Employees on their lunch break at the Dongfeng Honda factory in Wuhan, China, on March 23. Has China Decided That ‘Moderately Prosperous’ Is Good Enough?
As China’s growth model sputters and Xi Jinping prioritizes repression over reform, China looks unlikely to join the ranks of developed countries.
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U.S. President Donald Trump steps out of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5. The Coming Republican Reckoning With Trump’s Legacy
Rebuilding Republican credibility in national security will require an honest look at Trumpism—and a return to our party’s foreign-policy principles.
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A face mask is seen in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York City on May 26, 2020. 2021 Outlook: A Quick Recovery but a Slew of New Economic Problems
As COVID-19 is conquered, the global economy will spring back swiftly. But the old problems that fed populist politics have only grown worse—and may be even harder to solve.
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Members of the Somali military watch as firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a car bomb exploded in Mogadishu on Jan. 29, 2019. 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2021
The world in 2021 will be haunted by the legacies of 2020: an ongoing pandemic, an economic crisis, Donald Trump’s divisive presidency—and new threats emanating from wars and climate change.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2018. 7 Reasons Why Silicon Valley Will Have a Tough Time With the Biden Administration
The coziness between Washington and Big Tech is over.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in South Korea’s Groundhog Year
Moon Jae-in has done everything he can to get his country right back where it started.
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Indian Border Security Force personnel and Pakistani Rangers India and Pakistan Are Edging Closer to War in 2020
Two crises dominated South Asia in 2019, and each one stands to get worse next year.
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A storm hits Southern California The Global Economy 2020: A Positive Outlook Shadowed by China, Debt, and Trade Tensions
Experts expect growth to rebound, but many of their projections are built on shaky foundations.
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2020 for the Future
Fridays for Future took foreign policy out of the hands of bureaucrats and officials in 2019. Next year, Greta Thunberg’s movement could go further.
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U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and members of the U.S. and Chinese trade negotiation teams while announcing a “phase one” trade agreement with China at the White House on Oct. 11. The Year of the Trade Truce
In 2019, Trump won a “phase one” deal with China. In 2020, Beijing may have to give him more.
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 20: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) (L), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (R) participate in the Democratic Presidential Debate at Tyler Perry Studios November 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls were chosen from the larger field of candidates to participate in the debate hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Can the Democrats Reinvent Themselves in Time to Win in 2020?
The Democratic Party is still fatally divided over outdated ideologies, proving the left hasn't yet learned the lessons of its 2016 defeat or the recent walloping of Britain's Labour Party.
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A member of the Iraqi forces walks past a mural bearing the logo of the Islamic State near Mosul, Iraq, on March 1, 2017. The Year the Islamic State Lost Its Last Strongholds
Many of its militants are now in prison, but that doesn’t mean the battle is over. In 2020, conflict could rise anew.
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People take part in a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong Why the Liberal International Order Will Endure Into the Next Decade
It’s true that democracy, globalism, and free trade are under assault, but they may prove stronger than the forces arrayed against them in the 2020s.
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Gen. Joseph Dunford, the then-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and then-Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Fang Fenghui shake hands after signing an agreement at the Bayi Building in Beijing on Aug. 15, 2017. Trade War and Peace
With the new China deal, Trump may see 2020 as the year he’ll win the United States’ trade wars. Instead, they’ll likely spin further out of his control.
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A fighter loyal to the Libyan Government of National Accord 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2020
Friends and foes alike no longer know where the United States stands. As Washington overpromises and underdelivers, regional powers are seeking solutions on their own—both through violence and diplomacy.
