Consensus Lost
How FP set out to change the world.
The War in Tigray Is a Fight Over Ethiopia’s Past—and Future
The current conflict is the latest battle in a long-running war over the country’s identity as a unitary or federal state. The United States can restore its credibility as an honest broker by helping resolve it.
In the Trenches With the Colonizer
The French Senegalese writer David Diop revises the modernist archetype with a protagonist long excluded from World War I literature: the African soldier on the front lines.
America’s Messiness Is Its Strength
As in the Holy Roman Empire, U.S. complexity and diversity let it thrive.
The United States Can’t Sleepwalk Into the Coming Military Revolutions
European leaders misjudged World War I. America shouldn’t repeat their mistake.
Trump’s Language of Hate Has Deep Roots in American Religious Bigotry
Catholics were the first scapegoats of the new republic, but others followed.
The Game That Ruins Friendships and Shapes Careers
For me, Diplomacy is an addictive quarantine hobby. For my high school frenemy, it was training for the Trump administration.
The 4 False Deathbeds of John F. Kennedy
The 35th president grew up wealthy, privileged, callow—and extremely sensitive to the weakness of others.
How Bad History Feeds Far-Right Fantasies
Justifying colonialism’s atrocities plays a toxic role in politics today.
QAnon’s Creator Made the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory
There’s no fact the sprawling movement can’t dismiss—and no madness it can’t imagine.
What Happens When Presidents Get Sick?
Just when the U.S. public needs clarity about Trump’s health, tradition and the president’s proclivities make that unlikely.
Our Top Weekend Reads
Media bubbles get a reality check, Sudan toys with Tel Aviv, and the ivory tower comes full circle.
Document of the Week: The Mighty U.N. Fighting Force That Never Was
After World War II, the United States envisioned the creation of a big-power fighting force to keep world peace. But the ambitious plan foundered amid bickering between Washington and Moscow.
You Can Only See Liberalism From the Bottom
Why Pankaj Mishra sees the ideology’s limits more clearly than its most powerful fans.
America’s Crumbling Strategy Needs (Literally) Machiavellian Answers
The Italian philosopher saw the power of technology and change.
The Postwar Global Order That Never Happened
After the wreckage of World War II, a new form of global community had huge momentum—but the United States rejected it.
The Dangerous Illusion of Japan’s Unconditional Surrender
For decades, U.S. foreign policy has been badly distorted by the way that World War II ended.
The Dutch Are Uncomfortable With Being History’s Villains, Not Victims
A refusal to confront colonial atrocities persists in the Netherlands.
‘The Tea Leaves Suggest That if He Doesn’t Cheat, He’s Going to Lose’
The presidential historian Timothy Naftali notes there’s no historical precedent for delaying an election, even in the middle of major wars, but Trump’s Republican Party is all about holding on to power.
Oh God, Not the Peloponnesian War Again
Western strategists need to learn some new history. Here are eight suggestions from Asia.
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