U.S. Foreign Policy

Masoud Pezeshkian says he wants to rekindle the nuclear deal. The ball is now in the West’s court.

If the United States wants to deter political violence abroad, an ounce of prevention will be worth a pound of cure.

Five questions to ask before welcoming Seoul to the nuclear weapons club.

Studied silence isn’t a sustainable policy anymore.

For better and worse, one of America’s important grand strategists was singularly focused on military strength.

The Organization of American States’ pro-Israel stance may erode its legitimacy in the region.

H. R. McMaster, a former national security advisor, opens up on the global issues he wished the candidates would discuss.

Republicans and Democrats have mistakenly put Germany at the center of the trans-Atlantic relationship.

Washington should abandon a failed approach to Moscow that does not learn or self-adjust.

Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, and tariffs dominated the foreign-policy sections of the high-stakes showdown.

The former president was less isolationist and more of a diplomatic success than most observers admit.

Without a secure Europe, the United States risks becoming a hemispheric potentate on the margins of the world.

Not so, argues the White House’s ambassador in Beijing, Nicholas Burns.

Maduro’s latest move could usher the ongoing political crisis into a dangerous endgame.

How the U.S. election calendar is affecting the Middle East peace talks.

Dramatic global shifts since Donald Trump’s first term could lead to unexpected policies.

Targeted pressure on elites could sway Maduro to support a peaceful transfer of power.

Meet the 11 men whose worldviews are shaping the 2024 Republican ticket.

An FP Live discussion with Anne-Marie Slaughter and Matt Duss.

She learned a lot from President Joe Biden but forged her own path on tech threats.

How Michel Martelly, an erstwhile U.S. ally, found himself in Washington’s crosshairs.

No multilateral sanctions campaign will be effective unless it is backed by the power of the dollar, which dominates global trade and banking.

The United States’ biggest adversaries are far from a unified threat.

The world’s top political personnel are increasingly feminist. Policy is another matter.

Amid post-election mayhem in Caracas, Washington has prioritized diplomacy over punishment.

The VP pick may help Harris reinvest in diplomacy—and abandon America’s reflex for military interventionism.

How several political prisoners without dual citizenship were included in a historic east-west prisoner swap.

The choice could help Democrats in Midwestern battleground states.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveils a new “North Star” for digital diplomacy.

Everything we know about the Democratic nominee’s foreign-policy views.

The Israeli leader defended the war in Gaza, but his visit was overshadowed by U.S. politics.

The Republican ticket has unified—around a fundamentally unrealistic foreign policy.

What she can do to right U.S. foreign policy and bring back voters.

Revisiting the nuclear deal is unlikely before November, but Washington and Iran’s new president must seek to defuse Israel-Hezbollah tensions.

Myths about “military-aged men” distract from a soft-power opportunity.

Republicans want to help him out—but Democratic lawmakers don’t need to provide the crowd.

As more analysts predict a GOP victory, the prospect of a Trump-Vance administration has worried many U.S. allies.

Trump’s transactional approach to Taiwan sets him apart from the China hawks advising him.

The United States has both a moral and strategic imperative to fight for equality globally.

Why the president’s weakened physical condition doesn’t make the country more vulnerable.

The U.S. president has always been a gaffe machine. But no one understands foreign policy better.

After years of false alarms, the Western military alliance is finally approaching a precipice.

An alliance that includes Ukraine will require a vastly larger military and economic commitment.

The U.S.-European relationship will have several practical benefits for Washington’s rivalry with Beijing.

The policy would directly counter the one thing he claims to be fighting against.

Border security, Middle East unrest, and support for Ukraine will likely dominate foreign-policy talking points.

President Ruto is valued by the White House but much less popular at home.

International affairs have rarely been featured in presidential debates—but this week’s showdown could be an exception.

Amid China’s rise, Americans should ask what Beijing is doing right—and what they’re doing wrong.

It’s time to use the U.S. military’s playbook for building a wartime bridge to Ukraine.

To help Taipei, Washington needs to get smarter about weapons transfers.

The U.S. president announced a new $225 million package for Kyiv while reiterating Washington’s support for its war effort.

The U.S. military’s collapsed pier in Gaza is symbolic of a much bigger issue.

It’s time to ditch both romantic ideals of remaking the region and the policy of retrenchment.

Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another major attack against Israel, the U.S. president said.

For the sake of the international order, Biden must abandon his proposed deal with Riyadh.

The Biden administration’s disavowal of students’ concerns will only make things worse.

As the Dominican Republic basks in post-election optimism, Haiti readies for a foreign security intervention.

Its long-standing attitude toward the island is based on a set of military and political foundations that no longer exist.

Amazon’s adaptation of the video game knows what Americans should really be afraid of.

Washington is brokering a diplomatic deal that could deeply distort its relationship with Riyadh.

Why are China hawks exaggerating the threat from Beijing?

All of the administration’s diplomatic weaknesses were already visible in the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The hype about a bilateral agreement is misplaced. Diplomatic normalization and a Palestinian state are needed to really change the regional playing field.

Conflicts with China and Russia are about local issues that Washington can’t win anyway.

And why it would be a mistake to judge emerging powers by the strength of their ties to China or Russia.

Cease-fire talks center on freeing captives and a permanent truce, even as Israel threatens a Rafah offensive.

Rejecting diplomacy by citing Neville Chamberlain’s deal with the Nazis is a willfully ignorant use of history.

A new book lays claim to interpreting the former president’s global legacy—and has a plan for what a second term could accomplish.

U.S. allies intercepted hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles, and then Israeli forces counterattacked in a limited strike—but the threat of regional war remains.

The U.S. president can’t stop Israel from retaliating against Iran, but he can choose whether to help Israel manage the consequences.

U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine needs to be part of a new trans-Atlantic bargain.

But pushback from the far right and far left could stall efforts to pass the four-part package.

Israel is in growing danger—but the responsibility lies more in Washington than in Tehran.

Past U.S. presidents rejected Israel’s push to strike Tehran, but Biden is falling into his trap.

Instead of trying to put out security fires, U.S. policy should focus on governance and growth.

Squabbles over Ukraine aid obscure broader consensus among the party’s two major wings.

Both Democrats and Republicans recognize the need for a more realist approach to Maduro’s government.

The United States and Japan aim to counter Beijing’s influence in the South China Sea.

In their 100th column, Matt and Emma revisit clashes over Taiwan, Ukraine, Iran—and how to deter an alien invasion.

The forum has prevented backsliding elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.

If New Delhi and Washington leave frictions to fester, they could ultimately derail future cooperation.

The industry’s “digital trade” strategy seeks to preemptively constrain governments.

The West’s warnings about Vladimir Putin’s future plans are getting louder—but not any more convincing.

American abstention on a U.N. vote this week caused a major public spat between the two partners.

Humanitarian organizations argue that truck deliveries into Gaza are safer, cheaper, and more effective.

Civil society loses—and China and Russia fill the vacuum.

The U.S.-led resolution signals a subtle shift in the Biden administration’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the end of the Cold War.

Washington wants Israel to secure the Egypt-Gaza border instead of launching an all-out offensive on Rafah.

A close look at the foundations of U.S. influence—and the lack of it.

The chair of the Federal Trade Commission makes the case for competition in an increasingly consolidated world.

The country risks becoming an “open-air jail,” Haiti’s former foreign minister warns.

As Biden and Trump gear up for a rematch, rifts are emerging within both Democratic and Republican ranks.

The calls for renewed U.S. global leadership are getting louder. They’re as mistaken as they ever were.

Neighboring Caribbean countries pushed Washington to support a leadership transition in Port-au-Prince.

A cease-fire deal remains distant as Hamas rejects key Israeli hostage demands until it receives a permanent truce offer.

A nationwide military deployment leaves little room for necessary social investments.

The Biden administration’s delicate, much criticized line recognizes the lack of a coherent alternative strategy.

Hamas and Israeli officials remain at odds over ongoing cease-fire talks.