A grid showing the covers of 15 new book releases coming this summer.
A grid showing the covers of 15 new book releases coming this summer.

FP’s Books of the Summer

The biggest releases in foreign affairs, history, and economics.

Books
FP Editors
A tourist leans against a sign that reads "Welcome to the People's Temple Jonestown" as two people take photos of them. The sign arches over a muddy dirt road with dense trees and brush on either side.
A tourist leans against a sign that reads "Welcome to the People's Temple Jonestown" as two people take photos of them. The sign arches over a muddy dirt road with dense trees and brush on either side.

After Chernobyl, Jonestown?

Guyana taps into the dark tourism trend by opening the site where cult members purportedly drank the Kool-Aid.

Dispatch
Alexander Wooley
Crew members gather on a dock before the USS Santa Fe as the flags of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom wave.
Crew members gather on a dock before the USS Santa Fe as the flags of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom wave.

If AUKUS Is Toast, What Should Australia Do Next?

Amid Elbridge Colby’s review of the submarine deal, three books consider the future of the alliance itself.

Review
Connor O’Brien
An illustration shows the legs and shoes of a person with either foot astride the opening of the Panama Canal. The legs are covered in the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag. A container ship is seen entering the canal.
An illustration shows the legs and shoes of a person with either foot astride the opening of the Panama Canal. The legs are covered in the stars and stripes of the U.S. flag. A container ship is seen entering the canal.

A Man, a Plan, and a Long History of Overplayed Hands

Trump did not invent hardball U.S. diplomacy with Panama. Then, as now, it is doomed to backfire.

Analysis
Tom Long, Carsten-Andreas Schulz
Superman carries a woman through an explosion.
Superman carries a woman through an explosion.

Superman the Interventionist

The new movie chafes against Trump-era politics.

Review
Jordan Hoffman
Empress Farah Pahlavi in coronation attire with crown and robe, followed by attendants, during a royal ceremony in an ornate palace.
Empress Farah Pahlavi in coronation attire with crown and robe, followed by attendants, during a royal ceremony in an ornate palace.

Empress Farah Pahlavi and the Myth of the Secular Shah

Both admirers and critics see Iran’s Pahlavi dynasty as the embodiment of pro-Western modernization. But was it?

Argument
Perin E. Gürel
Nehru leands back to consult with another seated delegate in a crowd of people sitting in rows.
Nehru leands back to consult with another seated delegate in a crowd of people sitting in rows.

Bring Back the Spirit of Bandung

The 1955 conference’s value-based approach to international affairs offers a model for middle powers today.

Argument
Galip Dalay, Faisal Devji, Nathalie Tocci
Ratcliffe in a suit walks in profile past a semi-circle window in a white wall.
Ratcliffe in a suit walks in profile past a semi-circle window in a white wall.

When the Threat Is Inside the White House

What CIA insiders make of the MAGA moles and toadies now in charge of U.S. national security.

Excerpt
Tim Weiner
Employees of Christie's auction house hold up Spanish painter Pablo Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')" during a press preview in London on April 10.
Employees of Christie's auction house hold up Spanish painter Pablo Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')" during a press preview in London on April 10.

What Determines the Value of Art?

Investment in the global art market seems to be growing more speculative. This article has an audio recording

Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
Elite police and soldiers are silhouetted behind a Chinese flag.
Elite police and soldiers are silhouetted behind a Chinese flag.

China Is Not Ready for Global Leadership

Pax Americana is dead, but Pax Sinica is nowhere in sight. This article has an audio recording

Essay
Jo Inge Bekkevold
An illustration showing drawn likeness of John Cena, Idris Alba and others on a red and white starburst.
An illustration showing drawn likeness of John Cena, Idris Alba and others on a red and white starburst.

Why Must Hollywood Presidents Kick Ass and Take Names?

The French aren’t making action movies about heads of state.

Review
Jordan Hoffman
1-fiction-Books-in-brief-foreign-policy-July
1-fiction-Books-in-brief-foreign-policy-July

The Novels We’re Reading in July

From a Salvadoran multiverse to queer life in contemporary Nigeria.

Books
Chloe Hadavas, Allison Meakem
An illustration shows a hand holding up a head-shaped hourglass in a Hamlet-esque pose. Inside the hourglass are sands enveloping the statue of liberty and other monuments.
An illustration shows a hand holding up a head-shaped hourglass in a Hamlet-esque pose. Inside the hourglass are sands enveloping the statue of liberty and other monuments.

The End of Modernity

A crisis is unfolding before our eyes—and also in our heads.

Essay
Christopher Clark
An illustration depicts historical moments from the past in the curtains of the Oval Office: Julius Caesar, the Cultural Revolution in China, and three American presidents. The room shows an empty chair at the Resolute Desk and a presidential seal on the rug.
An illustration depicts historical moments from the past in the curtains of the Oval Office: Julius Caesar, the Cultural Revolution in China, and three American presidents. The room shows an empty chair at the Resolute Desk and a presidential seal on the rug.

Why Compare the Present to the Past?

Thinking via historical analogy has become the preferred way to confront our anxieties.

Essay
Ivan Krastev, Leonard Benardo
Hundreds of people gather around a giant doll with pigtails, an orange jumper and red glowing eyes.
Hundreds of people gather around a giant doll with pigtails, an orange jumper and red glowing eyes.

Why Is ‘Squid Game’ So Popular?

One of the most vicious, violent, and nihilistic works of entertainment ever made is also truly the work of an auteur.

Review
Jordan Hoffman
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