List of Theory articles
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An armed Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat after the interception of 147 migrants attempting to reach Europe near the coastal town of Zawiyah on June 27, 2017. The West’s Obsession With Border Security Is Breeding Instability
In the name of fighting illegal immigration, the EU, the United States, and Australia are emboldening authoritarian regimes, fueling abuses and corruption, and stoking intolerance at home.
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People wave Iraqi national flags as they take part in an anti-government demonstration at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on Oct. 24. Iraqi Nationalism Is Back
And the United States should be worried.
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Jawar Mohammed, a member of the Oromo ethnic group who has been a public critic of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, addresses supporters outside his home in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Oct. 24, a day after his supporters took to the streets, burning tires and blocking roads following rumors of Jawar's mistreatment by security forces. Ethiopia Will Explode if It Doesn’t Move Beyond Ethnic-Based Politics
Oromo nationalism helped bring Abiy Ahmed to power, but it could also be his undoing. To hold the country together, the Nobel-winning prime minister needs to convince various ethnic groups that he and his new party represent all Ethiopians.
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A woman walks next to posters commemorating the 60th anniversary of France's famous comic characters Asterix and Obelix in Paris on Oct. 9. Can Comics Save International Relations?
Academics need to get better at reaching non-experts. Narrative media offer one possibility.
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A convoy of U.S. armored vehicles in northeastern Syria on Nov. 3. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images) The Realists Are Wrong About Syria
Neither Trump nor the international relations experts who cheered his choice to withdraw U.S. troops have wrestled adequately with the costs of departure.
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Gergely Karacsony addresses an audience in Budapest, Hungary, after his victory in the capital city's mayoral election. Europe’s Populist Governments Have a Problem: Their Capitals
City-level opposition could be the key to defeating populism in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and beyond.
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Demonstrators hold posters of U.S. President Donald Trump depicted as Adolf Hitler during the Women's March in Barcelona on Jan. 21. Don’t Call Donald Trump a Fascist
What it means to brand today’s right-wing leaders with the F-word—and why you probably shouldn’t.
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Turkish-backed Syrian fighters patrol the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey on Oct. 31. The Kurds Are the Nation-State’s Latest Victims
The global order has been stuck with states since 1648. It’s time to move on.
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A member of law enforcement stands at attention in front of a map of the world at the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism International Law Enforcement Conference in Miami on June 11, 2007. How the United States Could Lose a Great-Power War
The U.S. military is focused on future fights against China and Russia—but it could be playing right into their hands.
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Syrian youths walk past a billboard showing a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on July 9, 2018. The caption below reads in Arabic: "If the country's dust speaks, it will say Bashar al-Assad." The Conditions That Created ISIS Still Exist
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death won’t eliminate the threat of Islamist extremism so long as autocratic regimes continue to hold sway in the Middle East.
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New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh (from left), Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier take part in a French-language debate at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, on Oct. 10. The Cure for Populism Is Equal Opportunity
Maxime Bernier flopped in Canada because voters still believe everyone has a fair shot.
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Maxime Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, poses for a photo during a meeting with the Toronto Star’s editorial board on Sept. 24. How Maxime Bernier Lost His Seat
Canada’s nationalist People’s Party has run a familiar populist playbook — and ended up a joke.
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trumps-world-cover-foreign-policy-fall-2019-print-3-2 It’s Trump’s World Now. What Do We Do About It?
How to fix U.S. democracy, populism, trade, and other pressing issues.
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Eva Vázquez illustration for Foreign Policy The Upside of Populism
The same impulse that brought Trump to power could save U.S. democracy.
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Women wave a Lebanese national flag and Lebanese Shiite movement flags in front of portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iran’s Proxies Are More Powerful Than Ever
The Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy is working—just not in the way that matters most.
