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Who Shapes Environmental Policy Worldwide?

In the Amazon and elsewhere, nature’s last best hope is a hodgepodge of forces.

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Pervez Musharraf Dragged His Country Down

The charismatic Pakistani general aimed to be a great national leader but failed by shredding the constitution and recklessly doing Washington’s bidding.

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Xi Jinping’s Power Grab Is Paying Off

The Chinese leader will probably survive a turbulent time.

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: Innovation Island Innovation Island...

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Innovation Island

Iceland ranks highly in the Global Talent Competitive Index and boasts exciting innovations in the energy, biotech, sustainability and creative industries.

Iceland offers the perfect conditions for its thriving data center sector.
Iceland offers the perfect conditions for its thriving data center sector.
Iceland offers the perfect conditions for its thriving data center sector. James Teohart/Shutterstock

Iceland’s increasing presence on the world stage in a broad range of sectors is testament to its excellent education that nurtures young minds and encourages them to explore creative and original ways of thinking and problem solving.

The largest and oldest educational establishment of its kind in the country, the University of Iceland offers a broad selection of courses to around 15,000 students – an impressive 70% of all university students nationwide. Founded in 1911 as a small local university, the popular seat of learning has expanded to become an international research university with a hi-tech science park involving the university and prominent industry partners, like players from fields such as biotech and pharmaceuticals. The university also has more than 400 agreements with foreign counterparts, including American universities. “One of our biggest accomplishments in this area happened in 2019 when we completed an agreement with the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP),” says Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland. “We had been working on this agreement for around 25 years.”

Nestled in the country’s attractive northeast, the University of Akureyri is a medium-sized university which two decades ago adopted a special focus on online education. Professors and teachers record their lectures and upload them to digital platforms to ensure they are accessed by as many students as possible. The university is a leading education venue for nurses, police officers and other public sector workers.

With the attractive town located near the Arctic Circle, the University of Akureyri eagerly promotes sustainability through its courses, which include a program on fisheries management to develop the next generation of workers for the vital fishing industry. The growing importance of tourism to the economy and employment means the university also runs a travel research center designed to optimize the sector’s business potential given the surge in foreign visitor numbers.

Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, Rector of the University of Akureyri says: “Fisheries management is very important for the sustainable future of the fisheries industry, from an environmental and a utilization perspective. We have created a learning environment that is very popular; our student population has increased by 50% since 2014 when we chose to fully tap the online environment.”

Film Production Paradise

Top shows like Game of Thrones have flocked to Iceland’s rugged landscapes, yet post-COVID-19, few nations offer such a safe environment

From the the big screen, to the small screen and the games console screen, Iceland’s vibrant creative industries ecosystem is being showcased more than ever before, with its beautiful environment and creative talent pool flying the flag around the world.

Tax breaks and financial incentives have helped entice top international directors to its shores and mountains, with revenue from the movie industry tripling in the last decade alone. “The creation of new film clusters is important to boost film related-activities outside Reykjavik,” says Laufey Guðjónsdóttir, Director of the Icelandic Film Centre (IFC). The IFC provides financial support for the production and co-production of Icelandic feature films, documentaries, short films and TV fiction.

Iceland’s creative talents are also increasingly being utilized by the lucrative video gaming industry, as underlined by innovative CCP Games’s creation of the award-winning intergalactic game, EVE Online. Lockdowns have only boosted its popularity and grown its huge fan-base. “There is maybe some uniqueness that comes from being a tiny country in the middle of nowhere and that makes for a different type of originality,” comments CCP Games’ CEO, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson.

Family Firm Flourishes

Very active in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, 1912 is also involved in the food service, duty- free and industry segments

A household name for more than a century, 1912 is one of Iceland’s oldest family-owned firms, as well as one of its most successful through its core focus on technology, knowledge, and resources to maximize performance. Headed by Ari Fenger for the past 13 years, the dynamic executive – who is the fourth generation of his famous family to lead the company – has tripled turnover while at the helm and provided strategic direction in an increasingly competitive sector.

Subsidiary Nathan & Olsen specializes in the sale and marketing of brands in the cosmetics and grocery market, sibling Ekran provides large-scale kitchens and the food industry with daily supplies, while Emmessís is a leading producer of ice cream.

“The U.S. market is very important for us in Iceland as it is our single largest trading partner and investor,” the CEO states. “Icelanders welcome foreign investment and with the strong infrastructure in place, natural resources and well-educated workforce we should be an alternative option for foreign investors.” Fenger, who is also Chairman of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce, adds: “We are still growing internally after recent acquisitions, but are looking for opportunities to acquire businesses if they fit our strategy.”


Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice Forges New Openings

  • Land of Fire and Ice Forges New Openings
  • Banking Sector Enjoys Remarkable Recovery
  • Innovation Island
  • Major Investment to Improve Gateways

Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice Forges New Openings

  • Land of Fire and Ice Forges New Openings
  • Banking Sector Enjoys Remarkable Recovery
  • Innovation Island
  • Major Investment to Improve Gateways

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A Russian flag at the Embassy of Russia is seen through a bus stop post in Washington, DC on April 15, 2021. - The US announced sanctions against Russia on April 15, 2021, and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is the Kremlin's US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. President Joe Biden ordered a widening of restrictions on US banks trading in Russian government debt, expelled 10 diplomats who include alleged spies, and sanctioned 32 individuals alleged to have tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election, the White House said. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A Russian flag at the Embassy of Russia is seen through a bus stop post in Washington, DC on April 15, 2021. - The US announced sanctions against Russia on April 15, 2021, and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is the Kremlin's US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. President Joe Biden ordered a widening of restrictions on US banks trading in Russian government debt, expelled 10 diplomats who include alleged spies, and sanctioned 32 individuals alleged to have tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election, the White House said. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Do U.S. Sanctions Work?

February 6, 2023  |  12:00pm ET
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When Washington seeks to curtail Beijing’s ambitions or punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine, it often turns to a familiar tool: sanctions. In the last two years, the Biden administration ...Show morehas deployed unprecedented muscle in the form of sanctions as part of its foreign-policy arsenal. The question is whether those sanctions work effectively. In which countries are they achieving their desired impact? Where are they less successful? And how does the use of sanctions impact U.S. power more broadly? Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with two experts: Agathe Demarais, the global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit and author of Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests, and Nicholas Mulder, an assistant professor of history at Cornell University and author of The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War. Together, they will explore how sanctions impact U.S. interests today and whether policymakers need to change course.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 29:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir react after sworn in at the Israeli parliament during a new government sworn in discussion at the Israeli parliament on December 29, 2022 in Jerusalem, Israel. Conservative Benjamin Netanyahu and a bloc of nationalist and religious parties won a clear election victory last month and will be sworn in as government to the Knesset today. This completes Netenyahu's political comeback with a record sixth term in office.  (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 29: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir react after sworn in at the Israeli parliament during a new government sworn in discussion at the Israeli parliament on December 29, 2022 in Jerusalem, Israel. Conservative Benjamin Netanyahu and a bloc of nationalist and religious parties won a clear election victory last month and will be sworn in as government to the Knesset today. This completes Netenyahu's political comeback with a record sixth term in office. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Israel’s Democratic Decline

February 13, 2023  |  11:00am ET
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The new Israeli government is said to be the most far-right, religiously extreme, and ultranationalist coalition in the country’s history, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-ser...Show moreving prime minister.  Is Israel’s democracy really at risk? What would the government’s planned judicial overhaul mean for Israel’s standing, global cooperation, and economic investments? How does the new government complicate matters for U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security strategy?  Join FP’s Dan Ephron in conversation with Amir Tibon, a senior editor and writer at Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. They’ll discuss Israel’s new far-right government, its plans to overhaul and weaken the judiciary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, and U.S. policy on Israel under President Joe Biden. 

An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.
An illustration shows US President Joe Biden surrounded by the foreign-policy issues he has faced in his first two years in office.

Biden’s Foreign-Policy Report Card

February 1, 2023 | View Now

To mark the halfway point in U.S. President Joe Biden’s first term in office, Foreign Policy asked 20 experts to grade his administration’s performance on relationships with Russia and C...Show morehina, as well as on issues such as defense, democracy, and immigration. The assessments ranged all the way from A- to a failing grade. But more broadly, is there a way to define his administration’s agenda? Is there a Biden doctrine? FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke to experts with very different perspectives for insights. Nadia Schadlow was a deputy national security advisor in the Trump administration and is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Stephen Wertheim is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a longtime advocate for ending so-called forever wars. Perhaps surprisingly, Wertheim was more critical of Biden’s foreign policy—specifically on China—than was Schadlow. Is that because Biden has largely doubled down on former President Donald Trump’s China policies? Watch the interview or read the condensed transcript to find out.

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