The book Great Power Diplomacy by A. Wess Mitchell atop a stack of books behind a black paper tear.
The book Great Power Diplomacy by A. Wess Mitchell atop a stack of books behind a black paper tear.

Add This to the Canon of Great Diplomacy Books

A. Wess Mitchell’s tour through two millennia of diplomacy is catnip for foreign-policy wonks. This article has an audio recording

Review
Keith Johnson
A group of young people walk down a road past Soviet tanks. One person holds up a small flag of Czechoslovakia.
A group of young people walk down a road past Soviet tanks. One person holds up a small flag of Czechoslovakia.

Moscow’s Shadow Looms Over Bratislava

Russia’s historic role remains central to the debate over Slovak foreign policy today.

Analysis
Frankie Vetch
Two men pose in front of a brown sculpture of a headless Mao Zedong kneeling with one hand over his heart. The man on the left holds the sculpted severed head of Mao. The man on the right leans against the statue’s base and smokes a cigarette.
Two men pose in front of a brown sculpture of a headless Mao Zedong kneeling with one hand over his heart. The man on the left holds the sculpted severed head of Mao. The man on the right leans against the statue’s base and smokes a cigarette.

China Is Stamping Out Dissident Art

Curators, painters, and performers are facing jail or exile.

Analysis
Shannon Van Sant
Dewy sits at a desk, before a sign that reads: "CRUSADE FOR FREEDOM: SEND A MESSAGE BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN." Behind him is also a map of the Eastern Bloc with an image of the Statue of Liberty.
Dewy sits at a desk, before a sign that reads: "CRUSADE FOR FREEDOM: SEND A MESSAGE BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN." Behind him is also a map of the Eastern Bloc with an image of the Statue of Liberty.

We’ve Forgotten What ‘Soft Power’ Is

Internationalists are mourning the loss of soft power. Do they even know what that means anymore? This article has an audio recording

Argument
Suzanne Nossel
Four camouflage military vehicles with missiles perched on their surfaces are seen from above on a lined concrete lot.
Four camouflage military vehicles with missiles perched on their surfaces are seen from above on a lined concrete lot.

Is the U.S. Ready for War With China?

U.S. military planners are caught in an impossible dilemma. This article has an audio recording

Excerpt
Franz-Stefan Gady
A tight shot of a a Labubu character's face.
A tight shot of a a Labubu character's face.

Plush Power

How Labubu dolls became China’s first contemporary cultural export.  This article has an audio recording

Argument
Bobby Ghosh
Two people dressed in military gear in the cockpit of an airplane, flying above cloud cover.
Two people dressed in military gear in the cockpit of an airplane, flying above cloud cover.

‘A House of Dynamite’ Isn’t Explosive Enough

Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller is terrifying—but falls short of true provocation.

Review
Megan DuBois
Henry Kissinger holds papers under one arm as he looks out of a tall window with drapes on either side.
Henry Kissinger holds papers under one arm as he looks out of a tall window with drapes on either side.

It’s (Still) Henry Kissinger’s World

A new documentary argues Nixon’s secretary of state learned the wrong lessons from his experiences with Nazi Germany.

Review
Julian E. Zelizer
A woman is seen in mid-thigh deep water on a flooded street. Other people are behind her with buses on either side.
A woman is seen in mid-thigh deep water on a flooded street. Other people are behind her with buses on either side.

Even Doomsday Will Divide Us

Megha Majumdar’s “A Guardian and a Thief” interrogates how the have-nots get by in a climate catastrophe.

Review
Somak Ghoshal
Visitors look at books at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 15.
Visitors look at books at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 15.

From Gutenberg to the Deutsche Mark, the Long History of the Frankfurt Book Fair

The world’s largest annual book event gets underway. This article has an audio recording

Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
An. illustration shows the back of a pickup laden with durian. One is cracked open with an odor waft coming out of it toward a Chinese flag at left. Palm trees frame the scene. The truck plate says Bangkok in Thai lettering.
An. illustration shows the back of a pickup laden with durian. One is cracked open with an odor waft coming out of it toward a Chinese flag at left. Palm trees frame the scene. The truck plate says Bangkok in Thai lettering.

The Rise of Durian Diplomacy

In Asia, soft power rests on a divisive, spiky fruit.

Analysis
Gloria Dickie
A soldier is seen through bare branches as he reads by a campfire.
A soldier is seen through bare branches as he reads by a campfire.

7 Books That Reveal How Kremlin Decision-Makers Think

Don’t read these new titles on Russia’s wars before bedtime.

Review
Edward Lucas
The Life and Thought of Alexandre Kojève, Marco Filoni, trans. David Broder, Northwestern University Press, 280 pp., $38, July 2025
The Life and Thought of Alexandre Kojève, Marco Filoni, trans. David Broder, Northwestern University Press, 280 pp., $38, July 2025

The Forgotten Beginning of the End of History

Alexandre Kojève was one of the most influential 20th-century thinkers. How can we make sense of him today?

Review
Jack Hanson
Professor Michael Sandel leads a dialogue on the ethics of artificial intelligence in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.
Professor Michael Sandel leads a dialogue on the ethics of artificial intelligence in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.

Michael Sandel’s Critique of Liberalism

The prize-winning political philosopher on how to engage in morally robust public discourse in the age of Trump.

Q&A
Cameron Abadi
A man in a coat outside of a glass office building, with high rise buildings under construction in the background.
A man in a coat outside of a glass office building, with high rise buildings under construction in the background.

China’s Tech Obsession Is Weighing Down Its Economy

A decade of cutting-edge investment hasn’t translated into growth.

Essay
Scott Kennedy, Scott Rozelle
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