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
A giant panda's tongue hangs out while eating.
A giant panda's tongue hangs out while eating.

The Expedition That Launched a Century of Panda-Mania

A new book details how the United States helped create a truly political animal.

Review
Gloria Dickie
The book cover of Michael Luo's Strangers in the Land.
The book cover of Michael Luo's Strangers in the Land.

The Forgotten Stories of the Chinese in America

‘Strangers in the Land’ illuminates a dark, enduring period of U.S. history.

Review
Jenny Tinghui Zhang
An illustration shows a world map fractured into several groupings that align with the dividing lines laid out in Samuel Huntington's book Clash of Civilizations. The broken up continents are scattered against a green background.
An illustration shows a world map fractured into several groupings that align with the dividing lines laid out in Samuel Huntington's book Clash of Civilizations. The broken up continents are scattered against a green background.

How to Sell a Clash of Civilizations

The incoherence of Samuel Huntington’s famous thesis is also its power.

Argument
Nick Danforth
A Chechen fighter stands in front of a house destroyed by Russian artillery in central Grozny on Jan. 15, 1995.
A Chechen fighter stands in front of a house destroyed by Russian artillery in central Grozny on Jan. 15, 1995.

The Fate of the World’s Forgotten Wars

A new book raises questions about Russia’s bygone fight in Chechnya—and the future legacy of conflicts today.

Review
John Kampfner
Load 15 More Articles
Loading graphics