EXCERPT

South Sudan was born amid great hope but has since descended into war. It will take a new generation of leaders to make it a successful state.

Liberals shouldn’t leave emotion to the right-wing populists.

Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged a new dawn as president, but the secretary-general of his own party has built a web of corruption that thrives on darkness.

In the world’s biggest democracy, good politics often have nothing to do with good economics.

Saudi Arabia is fighting for a dangerous monopoly on Islamic thought.

The U.S. military has long relied on women to entertain the troops. Here’s how that’s slowly changing.

Russia’s best killers learned their skills fighting Moscow.

Autocrats and counterfeit democrats have perfected the art of rigging polls to stay in power — without breaking any laws.

Netanyahu came close to ordering airstrikes in 2010 — but was thwarted by his own security chiefs.

Endless elections, unqualified leaders, uninformed voters, and short-term thinking are impeding economic growth.

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

Solar power is the world’s most promising clean energy solution, but governments must abandon outdated policies for it to succeed.

The Marshall Plan recognized the limits of U.S. power in Europe. To be successful, so must diplomacy with Moscow today.

A decade of targeted assassinations has pushed the boundaries of Israel's laws and military ethics — and harmed its image across the globe.

The alleged use of a “sound weapon” against U.S. Embassy officials in Cuba harks back to a Cold War medical mystery.

The Pentagon's secret plan to crowdsource intelligence from Afghan civilians turned out to be brilliant — too brilliant.

In India's contentious politics, it's impossible to avoid the smell of cash.

The Soviet leader is remembered as the man who killed a superpower. But Gorbachev’s gambit on reforms could have worked -- if only he wasn't betrayed by the Communist Party.

How palace intrigues in the Kremlin, the death of Qaddafi, and war in Ukraine ushered in a new era of mistrust between Russia and the United States under Obama.

How an obscure academic and a marginalized philosopher captured the minds of the Kremlin and helped forge the new Russian nationalism.