List of Culture articles
Joaquin Phoenix (center) stars in the film "Napoleon."
What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War
The film’s ideas have poisoned military thinking for centuries.
Ones-And-Tooze-podcast-series-1500x1000-site (1)
Napoleon: The Movie and the Man
Ones and Tooze: The economics of the Napoleonic Wars, their aftermath, Ridley Scott’s latest film.
A colorful grid of images representative of the gift guide: Slippers, beer, blanket, water bottle, olive oil among others
FP’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas for the world travelers, inquisitive minds, and global foodies in your life.
A two-toned background shows the covers of 10 books that are included in the holiday reading guide below.
Foreign Policy’s Holiday Book List
Our columnists and staff writers recommend their top reads for the end of the year.
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The Maestro of Mediation
The Negotiators: William Ury has helped resolve some of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Here’s how he does it.
Members of the Kanakanavu tribe perform in traditional costumes during a Siraya harvest festival in Taiwan’s Donghua village.
The Inconvenient Truth of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples
Tribal groups assert their own claims on a contested island.
A devotee is seen in profile as she performs a prayer ritual in front of statues of Hindu gods, which are surrounded by candles. The woman, dressed in red, holds an object that has been set on fire while she kneels. Her eyes are closed as she prays.
Nepal’s Stolen Gods Seek New Homes
Communities want statues to become a part of living heritage again.
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Top Negotiator for Hollywood Writers Traces Steps That Led to a Deal With Studios
The Negotiators: Ellen Stutzman gives her most extensive interview yet about the agreement that ended the 146-day strike.
An illustration of Imelda Marcos holding a parasol as she lounges on the sand, leaning on skulls, as shoes and palm fronts swirl around her.
The Fabulous Mythmaking of Imelda Marcos
A new novel claws back history from a family that would otherwise have it disappear.
A Confucius Institute float during the parade for the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 2011 in the streets of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Cultural Decoupling From China Is Not the Answer
Beijing’s censorship has pernicious effects on artists and educational institutions—but abandoning all cultural ties would do more harm than good.
An illustration shows a figure laying down beneath the pavement, palms facing up, underneath a Russian tan with the word prisposoblenchestvo, referring to conformism, written in Cyrillic letters.
Wartime Russians Fall Back on an Ancient Survival Strategy
Conformism and acquiescence have a long tradition in a culture of chaos and repression.
Infantry soldiers following a British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) training excercise at the Loldaiga conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, on Nov. 14, 2022.
A Challenge to British Impunity in Kenya
A parliamentary inquiry into an alleged 2012 murder by British soldiers is causing a diplomatic crisis for the U.K. government.
A Saudi man wearing a white traditional headdress walks past a framed Andy Warhol artwork.
Saudi Arabia Really Wants You to Think It’s Cool
The desert kingdom’s rebranding project goes way beyond sportswashing. But it’s all a little too contrived.
Tourists look up at a giant buddha statue carved into the side of a mountain.
China Is Closing In on Itself
The absence of foreigners in the country is a symptom of China’s restrictive, security-driven view of the world.
People shout into microphones with their arms up.
How a Netflix Show Sparked a #MeToo Wave in Taiwan
“Wave Makers” offers a clear porthole into the unique culture of modern Taiwanese politics.
A collage photo illustration shows examples of soft power around the world including a smoking NAFO shiba inu in a beret and fatigues, a dancing woman from the Bollywood movie "Monsoon Wedding," Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens, K-pop band BTS, and a panda.
Soft Power Is Making a Hard Return
Leaders are reaching for fellas and films as much as bullets and blockades.
People attend the ceremony for the installation of commemorative plaques to the victims of Soviet repression on the wall of their former house in central Moscow.
How Memory Survives in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s dictator controls its past. But can history that avoids politics live on?
A mosque stands in front of a cloudy sky. It has two symmetrical minarets and a red banner with yellow writing in two languages. In front of the mosque are cable lines and a video camera on a metal pole.
China Is Taking a Wrecking Ball to Famous Mosques
Beijing is choosing repression over religious diplomacy.
People browse books at a stall at the 34th Tehran International Book Fair at Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran on May 14.
Reading ‘Lolita’? Not in Tehran.
Iran’s vibrant tradition of literature translation is becoming collateral damage in the Raisi regime’s retrograde cultural agenda.
The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, 2005.
Hollywood Runs—and Ruins—U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. films entertain the world—and distort policy at home.

What Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ Gets Wrong About War
The film’s ideas have poisoned military thinking for centuries.

Napoleon: The Movie and the Man
Ones and Tooze: The economics of the Napoleonic Wars, their aftermath, Ridley Scott’s latest film.

FP’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas for the world travelers, inquisitive minds, and global foodies in your life.

Foreign Policy’s Holiday Book List
Our columnists and staff writers recommend their top reads for the end of the year.

The Maestro of Mediation
The Negotiators: William Ury has helped resolve some of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Here’s how he does it.

The Inconvenient Truth of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples
Tribal groups assert their own claims on a contested island.

Nepal’s Stolen Gods Seek New Homes
Communities want statues to become a part of living heritage again.

Top Negotiator for Hollywood Writers Traces Steps That Led to a Deal With Studios
The Negotiators: Ellen Stutzman gives her most extensive interview yet about the agreement that ended the 146-day strike.

The Fabulous Mythmaking of Imelda Marcos
A new novel claws back history from a family that would otherwise have it disappear.

Cultural Decoupling From China Is Not the Answer
Beijing’s censorship has pernicious effects on artists and educational institutions—but abandoning all cultural ties would do more harm than good.

Wartime Russians Fall Back on an Ancient Survival Strategy
Conformism and acquiescence have a long tradition in a culture of chaos and repression.

A Challenge to British Impunity in Kenya
A parliamentary inquiry into an alleged 2012 murder by British soldiers is causing a diplomatic crisis for the U.K. government.

Saudi Arabia Really Wants You to Think It’s Cool
The desert kingdom’s rebranding project goes way beyond sportswashing. But it’s all a little too contrived.

China Is Closing In on Itself
The absence of foreigners in the country is a symptom of China’s restrictive, security-driven view of the world.

How a Netflix Show Sparked a #MeToo Wave in Taiwan
“Wave Makers” offers a clear porthole into the unique culture of modern Taiwanese politics.

Soft Power Is Making a Hard Return
Leaders are reaching for fellas and films as much as bullets and blockades.

How Memory Survives in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s dictator controls its past. But can history that avoids politics live on?

China Is Taking a Wrecking Ball to Famous Mosques
Beijing is choosing repression over religious diplomacy.

Reading ‘Lolita’? Not in Tehran.
Iran’s vibrant tradition of literature translation is becoming collateral damage in the Raisi regime’s retrograde cultural agenda.

Hollywood Runs—and Ruins—U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. films entertain the world—and distort policy at home.