A curated selection of FP’s must-read stories.
Editors' Picks
List of Editors' Picks articles
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An employee works on photovoltaic modules destined for export at a factory in Sihong, China, on Sept. 3. Trump Will Be His Own Trade Czar
Expect chaos as an unpredictable president uses trade threats to pursue whatever unrelated issue he wishes.
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Syrian refugees and their supporters celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen in Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 8. In Post-Assad Middle East, Iran’s Loss Is Turkey’s Gain
Ankara will seek to fill the regional power vacuum left by the fall of Tehran’s most valuable client.
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An anti-government fighter steps on the head of a statue of late Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in the Damascus district of Kafr Sousa on Dec. 9. Washington Needs a New Syria Policy Right Now
Assad’s fall offers a chance to reverse years of indecision.
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A framed picture of Bashar al-Assad is seen with its glass shattered on the ground. How the World Got Syria Wrong
The international community misjudged the strength of the Assad regime—and its fixation on an external political process is being overtaken by internal events.
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Three children in winter coats sit on a merry The Battle for Ukraine Is a War of Demography
Russia's crisis of depopulation is at the heart of Vladimir Putin’s paranoid military strategy.
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Book covers for 10 new fiction releases in December The Novels We’re Reading in December
Stories about houses and the meaning of home, from Cape Cod to Kolkata.
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Fireworks launched by protestors explode along police lines amid ongoing mass demonstrations against the Georgian government's decision to suspend European Union membership talks, near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Dec. 1. Four Scenarios for the Protests in Georgia
With clashes intensifying, Georgia appears to be in a pre-revolutionary state.
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U.S. President Joe Biden looks at a quantum computer with several people standing nearby. Biden Tees Up Trump With a Final China Chip Battle
New U.S. export controls on China—and Beijing’s immediate countermeasures—have set the tone for the incoming administration.
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A torn picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen at the Bab al-Hawa border gate between Turkey and Syria on July 21, 2012. Why Assad’s Regime Is Collapsing So Quickly
While nobody was looking, the Syrian regime was increasingly hollowing out.
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A worker wearing an orange hard hat sticks his head inside a rotor as he uses a tool to work on it. The Fiction of Western Unity on China De-Risking
U.S. allies must prepare for an administration that views almost any tie to China as a source of vulnerability.
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Protesters march against South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol following his declaration of martial law in Seoul. South Koreans Know What Dictatorship Looks Like
Public memory helped fuel the rapid fight to protect democracy.
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Visitors interact with an immersive light and AI display at the "Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness" exhibition by Australian art studio Eness at the Icon Siam shopping mall in Bangkok on Dec. 2. Trump Must Rebalance America’s AI Strategy
The Biden administration’s approach was risky and needs to be corrected.
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Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on Dec. 4, after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. How South Koreans Rejected Martial Law
A self-coup attempt by President Yoon Suk-yeol has dramatically flopped.
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An anti-regime fighter armed with a rifle walks past a military helicopter stationed at Aleppo International Airport on Dec. 2, after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group and allied factions took control of the city. A Weak Assad Benefits Turkey—and Is a Headache for Trump
After years of relative quiet, renewed fighting in Syria could be the new U.S. administration’s first major foreign-policy challenge.
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A person walks with a red fire extinguisher near a burning car. The street is full of smoke and rubble. On the left is a person on a motorbike. The Fall of Aleppo Poses a Significant Threat to Syria’s Leader
Allies Iran and Russia are busy with their own wars, leaving Assad vulnerable.
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