Foreign Affairs

A man counts votes at the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 2019.

Baz Ratner / REUTERS

The Retreat of African Democracy

The Autocratic Threat Is Growing

Nic Cheeseman and Jeffrey Smith

Paywall Free

What Syria Stands to Lose

A View From Raqqa, Where Normal Was Hard-Won

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga sail in formation with 16 other ships during Keen Sword in the Philippine Sea, November 2018.

How the U.S. Can Step Up in the South China Sea

The Right Way to Push Back Against Beijing

Gregory Poling and Bonnie S. Glaser

The spoils of trade: imported frozen seafood in Vernon, California, September 2018.

The Free-Trade Paradox

The Bad Politics of a Good Idea

Alan S. Blinder

Audio available for this article

Current Issue: January/February 2019

See all

Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

The Age of Uneasy Peace

Chinese Power in a Divided World

Yan Xuetong

Audio available for this article

More, Less, or Different?

Where U.S. Foreign Policy Should—and Shouldn’t—Go From Here

Jake Sullivan

Audio available for this article

America’s Long Goodbye

The Real Crisis of the Trump Era

Eliot A. Cohen

Audio available for this article

The Crisis of Peacekeeping

Why the UN Can’t End Wars

Séverine Autesserre

Audio available for this article

The Latest

A crane unloads containers from a ship at the port city of Massawa, Eritrea, July 2018.

Red Sea Rivalries

The Gulf States Are Playing a Dangerous Game in the Horn of Africa

Zach Vertin

Apprentices at the Ironworkers Local 549 training facility in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 2012.

Paywall Free

The Trouble With the “Working Hypothesis”

What Conservatives Get Wrong About Labor Markets

James K. Galbraith

Paywall Free

Deepfakes and the New Disinformation War

The Coming Age of Post-Truth Geopolitics

Robert Chesney and Danielle Citron

Audio available for this article

Spotlight: Middle East

See all

John Gambrell / ASSOCIATED PRESS John Gambrell / ASSOCIATED PRESS

America’s Middle East Purgatory

The Case for Doing Less

Mara Karlin and Tamara Cofman Wittes

Audio available for this article

Is Major Realignment Taking Place in the Middle East?

Why Turkey Is Pivoting Toward Iran and Russia

Colin P. Clarke and Ariane M. Tabatabai

The Next Arab Uprising

The Collapse of Authoritarianism in the Middle East

Marwan Muasher

Audio available for this article

Why Iran Waits

Staying in the Nuclear Deal Is Its Worst Option, Except for All the Others

Henry Rome

The New Arab Order

Power and Violence in Today's Middle East

Marc Lynch

Audio available for this article

A ballistic rocket launch drill of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army is seen at an unknown location, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang, March 2016.

Paywall Free

The Year of Living Dangerously With Nuclear Weapons

Three Crises Washington Could Face in 2019

Nicholas L. Miller and Vipin Narang

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after their meeting in Ankara, December 2018.

Why Iran Waits

Staying in the Nuclear Deal Is Its Worst Option, Except for All the Others

Henry Rome

Students at an Imam Hatip school in Istanbul, May 2017

Turkey’s Bid for Religious Leadership

How the AKP Uses Islamic Soft Power

Gonul Tol

This Day in History

See all

Jan 18, 1915

Japan Issues 21 Demands to China

As a result of the outbreak of war in 1914, Japan presents China with an ultimatum demanding regional dominance and power over China.

K. K. Kawakami

Courtesy Reuters

Warnings From Versailles

The Lessons of 1919, a Hundred Years On

Margaret MacMillan

A Chinese flag flutters outside St. Ignatius Cathedral following a flag-raising ceremony marking the 69th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China held before the Chinese National Day, in Xujiahui, Shanghai, September 2018.

Paywall Free

How the State Is Co-Opting Religion in China

And What It Means for the Country’s Future

Ian Johnson

Life After Liberation

The Long Shadow of Eastern Europe’s Communist Past

Timothy Garton Ash

Audio available for this article

Book Reviews

See All

More, Less, or Different?

Reviewed by Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan reviews new books by Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer criticizing U.S. foreign policy.

Customers at a Xiaomi product launch in Shenzhen, China, May 2018.

The Real History of Intellectual Piracy

What China Can Learn From America

B. Zorina Khan

Supporters of Wickremesinge hold candles during a vigil demanding democracy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 2018.

Paywall Free

The Future of Democracy in South Asia

Why Citizens Must Stay Vigilant

Paul Staniland

Defender of Democracy? Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., April 2008

The Unhackable Election

What It Takes to Defend Democracy

Michael Chertoff and Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Audio available for this article

Foreign Affairs

The Retreat of African Democracy

What Syria Stands to Lose

How the U.S. Can Step Up in the South China Sea

The Free-Trade Paradox

Current Issue: January/February 2019

The Age of Uneasy Peace

More, Less, or Different?

America’s Long Goodbye

The Crisis of Peacekeeping

The Latest

Red Sea Rivalries

The Trouble With the “Working Hypothesis”

Deepfakes and the New Disinformation War

Spotlight: Middle East

America’s Middle East Purgatory

Is Major Realignment Taking Place in the Middle East?

The Next Arab Uprising

Why Iran Waits

The New Arab Order

The Year of Living Dangerously With Nuclear Weapons

Why Iran Waits

Turkey’s Bid for Religious Leadership

Editor's Pick

Foreign Affairs Reading Lists

If Trump Wants to Get Out of Syria, He Should Strike a Deal With Russia

When Empires End

Withdrawing From Syria Leaves a Vacuum That Iran Will Fill

This Day in History

Japan Issues 21 Demands to China

Warnings From Versailles

How the State Is Co-Opting Religion in China

Life After Liberation

Book Reviews

More, Less, or Different?

Reviewed by Jake Sullivan

The Real History of Intellectual Piracy

The Future of Democracy in South Asia

The Unhackable Election

Foreign Affairs

The Retreat of African Democracy

What Syria Stands to Lose

How the U.S. Can Step Up in the South China Sea

The Free-Trade Paradox

Most Read Articles

What Syria Stands to Lose

How the U.S. Can Step Up in the South China Sea

The Free-Trade Paradox

Deepfakes and the New Disinformation War

Foreign Affairs Weekly Newsletter

Get in-depth analysis delivered right to your inbox.

Current Issue: January/February 2019

The Age of Uneasy Peace

More, Less, or Different?

America’s Long Goodbye

The Crisis of Peacekeeping

The Latest

Red Sea Rivalries

The Trouble With the “Working Hypothesis”

Deepfakes and the New Disinformation War

Spotlight: Middle East

America’s Middle East Purgatory

Is Major Realignment Taking Place in the Middle East?

The Next Arab Uprising

Why Iran Waits

The New Arab Order

The Year of Living Dangerously With Nuclear Weapons

Why Iran Waits

Turkey’s Bid for Religious Leadership

Editor's Pick

Foreign Affairs Reading Lists

If Trump Wants to Get Out of Syria, He Should Strike a Deal With Russia

When Empires End

Withdrawing From Syria Leaves a Vacuum That Iran Will Fill

This Day in History

Japan Issues 21 Demands to China

Warnings From Versailles

How the State Is Co-Opting Religion in China

Life After Liberation

Book Reviews

More, Less, or Different?

Reviewed by Jake Sullivan

The Real History of Intellectual Piracy

The Future of Democracy in South Asia

The Unhackable Election