Winter 2020-21

Magazine / 50th Anniversary

50-years-zakaria-tepperman-foreign-policy-noma-bar-illustration-HP
50-years-zakaria-tepperman-foreign-policy-noma-bar-illustration-HP

America and the World: How to Build Back Better

Looking back on 50 years of U.S. foreign policy and the lessons they hold for Washington today.

isolation-american-foreign-policy-50-years-noma-bar-illustration-hp
isolation-american-foreign-policy-50-years-noma-bar-illustration-hp

The Case for a Middle Path in U.S. Foreign Policy

Neither pure isolationism nor unchecked internationalism has served the United States well. It’s time for a third option.

human-rights-truth-commission-foreign-policy-50-years-noma-bar-illustration-HP
human-rights-truth-commission-foreign-policy-50-years-noma-bar-illustration-HP

Foreign Policy Begins at Home

The best way for Biden and Harris to build better partnerships abroad is to get America’s own house in order—and that begins with human rights.

Looking Back

doomsday-predictions-foreign-policy-50-years-joan-wong-illustration
doomsday-predictions-foreign-policy-50-years-joan-wong-illustration

Wonks Gone Wild

In FP’s 50 years, its writers’ forecasts have ranged from prescient to spectacularly wrong. That’s because the field of international relations rewards catastrophic thinking.

bad-Ideas-foreign-policy-50-years-joan-wong-illustration
bad-Ideas-foreign-policy-50-years-joan-wong-illustration

When U.S. Foreign Policy Went Wrong

How to spot a bad concept when you see it.

Dollar-fall-rise-foreign-policy-joan-wong-illustration-article
Dollar-fall-rise-foreign-policy-joan-wong-illustration-article
john-kenneth-galbraith-economist-foreign-policy-prophet-50-years-hp
john-kenneth-galbraith-economist-foreign-policy-prophet-50-years-hp

America Abandoned Its Economic Prophet. The World Embraced Him.

John Kenneth Galbraith was an intellectual celebrity 50 years ago—and it would be a mistake to ignore him today.

Party Policy

Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 14., 2017.
Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 14., 2017.
Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 14., 2017.
Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 14., 2017.

Inside Joe Biden’s Foreign-Policy Worldview

The next U.S. president doesn’t belong to a single school of thought—and that’s a good thing.

President Donald Trump departs after speaking about Opportunity Zones in Washington on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Trump's lawyers have spoken to Justice Department officials repeatedly about the special counsel's findings. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump departs after speaking about Opportunity Zones in Washington on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Trump's lawyers have spoken to Justice Department officials repeatedly about the special counsel's findings. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

A Conservative Foreign Policy for the Future

Continuity, not revolution, should guide the United States.

The author’s essay in the Winter 1970-71 inaugural issue of Foreign Policy.
The author’s essay in the Winter 1970-71 inaugural issue of Foreign Policy.

Grave New World

Why Biden’s job will be so much harder than his predecessors’.

Geopolitics

Biden-China-asia-pivot-mojo-wang-illustration_hp
Biden-China-asia-pivot-mojo-wang-illustration_hp

A New Pivot to Asia

The fuzzy goodwill between Biden and America’s Asian allies will soon be tested by China’s growing power.

africa-us-foreign-policy-kingsley-nebechi-illustration-hp
africa-us-foreign-policy-kingsley-nebechi-illustration-hp

How to Restore U.S. Credibility in Africa

By standing up for democracy and free trade, the United States can outflank China and Russia, its authoritarian rivals on the continent.

containment-soviet-era-modern-threat-china-foreign-policy-ula-sveikauskaite-illustration-hp
containment-soviet-era-modern-threat-china-foreign-policy-ula-sveikauskaite-illustration-hp

The Return of Containment

What the Cold War policy means for our current moment.

50 Years of Media and Foreign Policy

Janine di Giovanni in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in January 2010.
Janine di Giovanni in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in January 2010.

The First Draft of History

Why the decline of foreign reporting makes for worse foreign policy.

foreign-policy-magazine-covers-50-years-hp
foreign-policy-magazine-covers-50-years-hp

Consensus Lost

How FP set out to change the world.

excerpts from FP archives
excerpts from FP archives

FP Looks Back

Archival passages from writers such as Hillary Clinton, Kofi Annan, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and more show where we’ve been—and where we’re heading.

Global Thinkers

coronavirus-vaccine-predictions-2021-foreign-policy-global-thinkers-brian-stauffer-illustration
coronavirus-vaccine-predictions-2021-foreign-policy-global-thinkers-brian-stauffer-illustration
50-years-logo-poll-article
50-years-logo-poll-article

The Next 50 Years of Foreign Policy

A survey of experts offers predictions on the future of U.S. leadership and geopolitical dominance.

Recent Issues

spring-2023-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
spring-2023-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
Lessons-Next-War-Foreign-Policy-magazine-cover-Winter-2023
Lessons-Next-War-Foreign-Policy-magazine-cover-Winter-2023
Fall 2022 Foreign Policy magazine cover. Illustration by Vasava for Foreign Policy
Fall 2022 Foreign Policy magazine cover. Illustration by Vasava for Foreign Policy
A movie-poster style illustration shows a Delorean headed back to the foreign-policy future
A movie-poster style illustration shows a Delorean headed back to the foreign-policy future
china-issue-foreign-policy-magazine-spring-2022-cover
china-issue-foreign-policy-magazine-spring-2022-cover
democracy-is-broken-foreign-policy-cover-winter-2022-2
democracy-is-broken-foreign-policy-cover-winter-2022-2
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Inside the U.S.-China Tech War

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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show more

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)

Is America Making a Bad Bet on India?

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For decades, the U.S. foreign-policy establishment has made the assumption that India could serve as a partner as the United States jostles with China for power in the Indo-Pacific region. B...Show more

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Last weekend, spy chiefs and defense officials from around the world descended on Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s biggest annual security conference. The U.S. delegatio...Show more

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