Economics & Finance

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire addresses a conference on February 15, 2018 at the Economy Ministry in Paris.

OFAC Off

The European Union needs to defend its economic sovereignty from U.S. overreach. Creating its own agency for sanctions enforcement would be a start.

Argument |
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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie wave as they prepare to depart from Tokyo's Haneda airport on April 17, 2018. (Photo credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Abe Just Won’t Quit

Japanese prime ministers usually resign at the first whiff of scandal — but this one is breaking the mold.

Argument |
Jordan’s Chinese CH-4 drone on display at this year’s SOFEX arms show. (Sharon Weinberger/Foreign Policy)

China Has Already Won the Drone Wars

Chinese companies are proving that America is not first in the UAV export market. Can Trump roll that back?

Dispatch |
Journalists crowd around a laptop at the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 6. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Nobody Knows Anything About China

Including the Chinese government.

Argument |
A Chinese worker loads coal into a furnace on November 3, 2016 in Inner Mongolia, China. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

China’s Zombie Firms Can’t Lurch Forever

As state-backed companies' debts mount, China faces an inevitable slowdown.

EXCERPT |
Rex Tillerson U.S. arrives in Mexico City on February 1, 2018. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Rex Tillerson Proved CEOs Are DOA in Washington

The secretary of state's rocky tenure showed why politics should stop head-hunting business leaders.

Voice |
The World Bank headquarters in Washington on May 8, 2007. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The World Bank’s Doing Business Indicators Still Work

They are among the institution's most powerful tools — heed not the critics.

Elephants in the Room |
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, speak to the media following talks in Berlin on June 27, 2017. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Europe’s Sanctions-Blocking Threats Are Empty

When it comes to Iran sanctions, the EU must satisfy Trump’s demands. Access to the U.S. financial system hangs in the balance.

Elephants in the Room |
Bitcoin and other financial innovations are proliferating, Jan. 1, 2013. (Zach Copley/Flickr)

U.S. Sanctions Weapon Is Under Threat — but Not From Bitcoin

Forget cryptocurrencies. The real threat to American sanctions power is rapid technological innovation in finance.

Report |
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People in Riyadh watch a projection depicting a portrait of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an event on Sept. 23 commemorating the anniversary of the kingdom's founding. (/AFP/Getty Images)

The Saudis Go for Broke Against Iran

Riyadh and its allies are aiming to use their financial leverage to remake the Arab world — but their strategy could just as easily backfire.

Dispatch |
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and the landscape near the planned city of Neom. (Foreign Policy illustration/Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images/NEOM)

Saudi Arabia Is Betting Its Future on a Desert Megacity
Dispatch |
The sign and logo of Wanda Group, a Chinese multinational conglomerate corporation and FIFA partner, on Oct. 13, 2016 at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s No Accident That China’s Tycoons Are Bad Investors
Argument |
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ELIZABETH, NJ - OCTOBER 03: A Homeland Security ship patrols the harbor at Port Newark October 03, 2006 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As part of a new port security bill recently passed by Congress the federal government will spend $3.4 billion by 2011 to improve security at 22 major U.S. ports. With the new federal legislation, by mid-2008, about 11 million containers, or 98 percent of the cargo entering the United States, will be scanned for radiation and explosives. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Wants to Make Ex-Im Bank Great Again
The Cable |
Cars from German manufacturer Volkswagen are pictured in the port of Bremerhaven, nothern Germany, on July 24, 2017. Daimler, BMW, and VW with its Audi and Porsche subsidiaries were all involved in the talks to agree on technology, suppliers, markets, strategies and polluting emissions, German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported. / AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ (Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

German Car Companies Are Driving the Country Off a Cliff
Argument |
Members of a police SWAT team lineup outside the main Olympic Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during security drill rehearsals on July 23, 2008 in Beijing. The 2008 Olympics' security chief has said that Beijing can stage a fun Olympics as well as a safe one, in response to charges that a massive security clampdown was squeezing the joy out of the Games. More than 110,000 troops and police were engaged in security and were joined by hundreds of thousands of volunteers and that millions of Beijing residents had also been roped into the operation. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Hostage Taking Is China’s Small-Claims Court
Argument |
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives at the White House October 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Prime Minister participated in a bi-lateral meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Downfall of Nawaz Sharif and the Triumph of Stupidity
Argument |
The Google self-driving car maneuvers through the streets of in Washington, DC May 14, 2012. The system on a modified Toyota Prius combines information gathered from Google Street View with artificial intelligence software that combines input from video cameras inside the car, a LIDAR sensor on top of the vehicle, radar sensors on the front of the vehicle and a position sensor attached to one of the rear wheels that helps locate the car's position on the map. As of 2010, Google has tested several vehicles equipped with the system, driving 1,609 kilometres (1,000 mi) without any human intervention, in addition to 225,308 kilometres (140,000 mi) with occasional human intervention. Google expects that the increased accuracy of its automated driving system could help reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths, while using energy and space on roadways more efficiently. AFP PHOTO/Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/GettyImages)

Bad Code Is Already a Problem. Soon, Companies Will Be Liable.
Lawfare |
Technicians sit in a control room at the State Grid vehicle battery recharging and exchange station in Beijing on May 30, 2012. According to government sources, China is to set aside around two billion yuan (320 million USD) as part of drive to cut carbon emissions and produce energy-saving vehicles. AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones (Photo credit should read Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages)

How Badly Is China’s Great Firewall Hurting the Country’s Economy?
Argument |
HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 14: A partially-finished passenger plane of the A320 series stands in an assembly hall at the Airbus factory on July 14, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Both Boeing and Airbus saw their 2nd quarter deliveries of completed aircraft fall by 8% and 7% respectively compared to one year ago. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

If Trump Is Serious About Curbing Iran, He’ll Kill Boeing’s Plan to Sell It Planes
Elephants in the Room |
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China’s Seen Globally As Gaining Ground on United States
The Cable |
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As America Retreats, the World Moves Forward on Trade
The Cable |
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Japanese Retail Giant to Stop Selling Ivory
The Cable |

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Afghan pigeon fancier Abdul Ghani feeds his pigeons as they fly from the rooftop of his home in Herat province on June 30. HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP/Getty Images

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A pigeon fancier in Afghanistan, migrants in the Mediterranean, and a fire-breathing stuntman in India.

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In the Magazine

Current Issue: July 2018 | Archives

In the Magazine

Current Issue: July 2018 | Archives
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The Red Dress illustration for Foreign Policy

Learning to Work With Robots

AI will change everything. Workers must adapt — or else.

Feature |
Print

Facing the Future of Work

How to adapt to robots, AI, trade wars, and an aging planet.

Feature |

How Venezuela Struck It Poor

The tragic — and totally avoidable — self-destruction of one of the world’s richest oil economies.

Feature |

The Occupation as Entertainment

The second season of the acclaimed TV thriller “Fauda” obscures the dark realities of Israeli rule in the West Bank.

Review |