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A city power worker removes an illegally connected electrical cable in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 9, 2022.
A city power worker removes an illegally connected electrical cable in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 9, 2022.

Can South Africa Keep the Lights On?

Even with the suspension of power cuts, voters remain skeptical ahead of the country's general elections.

Analysis
Nick Hedley
Between two sets of skyscrapers looking upwards is an American flag and clouds in a blue sky.
Between two sets of skyscrapers looking upwards is an American flag and clouds in a blue sky.

Cities Are the Canaries in the Public Health Coal Mine

Preparing for the next pandemic starts in their streets and sewers.

Argument
Ashwin Vasan
A man in a tank top and shorts carries a sack on his shoulder up a bare mine hillside. Other workers are seen dotting the landscape behind him. In the distance are green hills and houses in a rolling landscape.
A man in a tank top and shorts carries a sack on his shoulder up a bare mine hillside. Other workers are seen dotting the landscape behind him. In the distance are green hills and houses in a rolling landscape.

The Problem With ‘Conflict-Free’ Minerals

How traceability schemes have wound up hurting Congo’s people.

Deep Dive
Mélanie Gouby
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Alma el-Chaab near the Lebanon-Israel border on May 22.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Alma el-Chaab near the Lebanon-Israel border on May 22.

Israel and Hezbollah Inch Closer to War

Skirmishes in Israel’s north heighten risk of a new front in the war.

Situation Report
Amy Mackinnon, Jack Detsch, Robbie Gramer

Recent

Asia & the Pacific

Elon Musk arrives to inaugurate a Starlink satellite unit at a community health center in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.
Elon Musk arrives to inaugurate a Starlink satellite unit at a community health center in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

Will Elon Musk Test the South Asian Market?
South Asia Brief
Michael Kugelman

Consulting Firms Have Stumbled Into a Geopolitical Minefield

How a Domestic Violence Trial Ended Kazakhstan’s Political Nihilism

Why a Small Pacific Island Territory Is Upending Nickel Prices

China

An illustration of a blooming plum branch shows a statue of Chairman Mao at left with workers walking across a bridge before the scene turns into one of growth and modernity with city skyline plane and construction cranes.
An illustration of a blooming plum branch shows a statue of Chairman Mao at left with workers walking across a bridge before the scene turns into one of growth and modernity with city skyline plane and construction cranes.

What Produced the China Miracle?
Review
Howard W. French

Taiwan’s New President Pledges Not to Yield to China

Peru Learns to Read the Fine Print in China Deals

China and the U.S. Are Numb to the Real Risk of War

Middle East & Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at a podium onstage at an ANC rally. Zuma wears a shirt in the green-and-yellow party colors, as do many of the people crowded onstage behind him. He also raises one fist in the air as he speaks into the microphone.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at a podium onstage at an ANC rally. Zuma wears a shirt in the green-and-yellow party colors, as do many of the people crowded onstage behind him. He also raises one fist in the air as he speaks into the microphone.

South Africa’s Uncertain Election, Explained
Explainer
Christina Lu

Why Jacob Zuma Still Looms Large in South African Politics

Rwanda’s Undemocratic Election

Why Iran Believes It’s Winning Against Israel

Europe

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to reporters alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to reporters alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Still Has a Lend-Leash Act for Ukraine
Analysis
Keith Johnson

Biden’s Catch-22 in Ukraine

‘We Are Allied, but We Are Not Aligned’

Russia Advances on Kharkiv as Ukraine Struggles to Fight Back

Americas

U.S. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. sits at a podium with a serious look. Brown is a bald Black man wearing a navy blue military dress uniform. A few other people are seen out-of-focus, sitting in the background.
U.S. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. sits at a podium with a serious look. Brown is a bald Black man wearing a navy blue military dress uniform. A few other people are seen out-of-focus, sitting in the background.

The Pentagon Isn’t Buying Enough Ammo
Argument
Stacie Pettyjohn, Hannah Dennis

What Madam President Means for Mexico

The U.S. Should Stop Playing the Victim Over China Trade

The United States Has a Keen Demographic Edge

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American singer Beyoncé performs onstage at an arena in Sweden, surrounded by background dancers. Beyoncé wears large earrings and a short dress and elaborate jacket made out of the same holographic, silvery fabric. Two backup dancers kneel in bridge poses, and Beyoncé sits on top of them with her microphone as she looks out at the audience with a small smile.
American singer Beyoncé performs onstage at an arena in Sweden, surrounded by background dancers. Beyoncé wears large earrings and a short dress and elaborate jacket made out of the same holographic, silvery fabric. Two backup dancers kneel in bridge poses, and Beyoncé sits on top of them with her microphone as she looks out at the audience with a small smile.

How the Beyoncé Bump Affected Sweden
Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
Tesla vehicles stand outside of a Brooklyn showroom and service center in New York City.
Tesla vehicles stand outside of a Brooklyn showroom and service center in New York City.

What’s Ailing Tesla?
Insider
Cameron Abadi, Adam Tooze
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in France as part of a five-day trip to Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in France as part of a five-day trip to Europe.

China Wants to ‘Divide and Conquer’ Europe
Insider
Ravi Agrawal

Weekend Reads

A pencil-drawn portrait of Robert Lighthizer seen in profile, wearing glasses and looking to the right.
A pencil-drawn portrait of Robert Lighthizer seen in profile, wearing glasses and looking to the right.

The Man Who Would Help Trump Upend the Global Economy

As a potential U.S. Treasury secretary, Robert Lighthizer has more than trade policy to revolutionize.

Profile
Edward Alden
A top-down view of a number of Taiwanese dishes on a dark table.
A top-down view of a number of Taiwanese dishes on a dark table.

Taiwan’s Dinner Table Diplomacy
Dispatch
Clarissa Wei
A woman in a futuristic suit lifts her hand above her head as she looks into the distance. Behind her is a robot soldier with a human head and a Western vigilante in cowboy hat and long coat, with a hole where his nose should be.
A woman in a futuristic suit lifts her hand above her head as she looks into the distance. Behind her is a robot soldier with a human head and a Western vigilante in cowboy hat and long coat, with a hole where his nose should be.

The True Horseman of the ‘Fallout’ Apocalypse
Review
Syrus Solo Jin
A photo collage of historic black-and-white images of Soviet leaders: Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev, are toward the front, and a larger cutout of Joseph Stalin looms over them in the background. Behind that is a textured red background with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol of the Soviet Union.
A photo collage of historic black-and-white images of Soviet leaders: Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev, are toward the front, and a larger cutout of Joseph Stalin looms over them in the background. Behind that is a textured red background with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol of the Soviet Union.

Putting the Cold War on the Couch
Review
Casey Michel

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Mexican leftist presidential candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, Claudia Sheinbaum, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Chilchota, Michoacan state, Mexico, on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Enrique Castro / AFP) (Photo by ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Mexican leftist presidential candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party, Claudia Sheinbaum, greets supporters during a campaign rally in Chilchota, Michoacan state, Mexico, on May 2, 2024. (Photo by Enrique Castro / AFP) (Photo by ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images)

What to Expect From Mexico’s Elections

Polls suggest that former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum will succeed the highly popular Andrés Manuel López Obrador as Mexico's president. What are her... READ MORE

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Fareed Zakaria on an Age of Revolutions
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Iran After Raisi
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Reimagining Globalization
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Inside China’s New Diplomatic Push

In the Magazine

Current Issue: Spring 2024 Archives
Spring-2024-print-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
Spring-2024-print-foreign-policy-magazine-cover
A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A photo illustration shows a crowd of people filling the face of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The New Idea of India

Narendra Modi’s reign is producing a less liberal but more assured nation.

Essay
Ravi Agrawal
An illustration shows a tiger chasing a dragon up an economic indicator line against a graph paper background. The dragon is turning to snarl at the tiger.
An illustration shows a tiger chasing a dragon up an economic indicator line against a graph paper background. The dragon is turning to snarl at the tiger.

Is India Really the Next China?

The case for its economic ascent is strong, but government policies still stand in the way.

Analysis
Josh Felman, Arvind Subramanian

Modi’s Messenger to the World
Profile
Rishi Iyengar

Meet India’s Generation Z
Essay
Snigdha Poonam

Becoming Indian
Essay
Amitava Kumar

4 Books to Understand Modern India
Review
Mukul Kesavan

In Case You Missed It

An illustration shows piles of shipping containers and symbols of industry as protectionist islands in a sea.
An illustration shows piles of shipping containers and symbols of industry as protectionist islands in a sea.

America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add Up

Industrial policy and subsidies are nothing new and can be useful. But shutting off from the world will have consequences.

Essay
Adam Posen
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism
Essay
Gordon Brown
A fireball erupts behind a turreted building as smoke fills the sky after an Israeli strike over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
A fireball erupts behind a turreted building as smoke fills the sky after an Israeli strike over Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

10 Conflicts to Watch
Analysis
Comfort Ero, Richard Atwood
A globe with blocks and chunks missing from it sits atop the shoulders of a person looking into a dystopian horizon.
A globe with blocks and chunks missing from it sits atop the shoulders of a person looking into a dystopian horizon.

The Global Credibility Gap
Essay
Jared Cohen, Ian Bremmer
China-military-readiness-war-us-taiwan-Doug-Chayka-illustration
China-military-readiness-war-us-taiwan-Doug-Chayka-illustration

How Primed for War Is China?
Essay
Michael Beckley, Hal Brands
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar
Essay
Jo Inge Bekkevold
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greet each other at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2018.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greet each other at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2018.

6 Swing States Will Decide the Future of Geopolitics
Analysis
Cliff Kupchan

Subscribers’ Picks

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Firouzabadi, then head of the Iranian military, look through binoculars during the test firing of short- and medium-range missiles.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Hassan Firouzabadi, then head of the Iranian military, look through binoculars during the test firing of short- and medium-range missiles.

The Day After Iran Gets the Bomb

Scholars and policymakers are still trying to understand what would happen after Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon.

Argument
Stephen M. Walt
The logo of the CIA is seen in shades of gray on the floor of a lobby at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
The logo of the CIA is seen in shades of gray on the floor of a lobby at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

U.S. Intelligence Is Facing a Crisis of Legitimacy

Bad-faith attacks are putting U.S. security in danger.

Argument
David V. Gioe, Michael S. Goodman, Michael V. Hayden
A uniformed person is seen from behind saluting a large navy ship with sailors on the deck.
A uniformed person is seen from behind saluting a large navy ship with sailors on the deck.

The U.S. Navy Can’t Build Ships

Decades of deindustrialization and downsizing have left America without shipyards to build and maintain a fleet.

Argument
Gil Barndollar, Matthew C. Mai
Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters during her presidential campaign launch event in Mexico City.
Claudia Sheinbaum greets supporters during her presidential campaign launch event in Mexico City.

The Woman Inheriting AMLO’s Revolution

If she wins Mexico’s presidency, Claudia Sheinbaum’s most daunting political challenge will be persona, not policy.

Profile
Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert

Books

A photo collage illustration shows Navy brass pictured with Fat Leonard raising glasses against a backdrop of Navy ships in the Pacific. Overlaid text reads: Wanted by U.S. Marshals next to a round image of Fat Leonard applying a spa facial mask.
A photo collage illustration shows Navy brass pictured with Fat Leonard raising glasses against a backdrop of Navy ships in the Pacific. Overlaid text reads: Wanted by U.S. Marshals next to a round image of Fat Leonard applying a spa facial mask.

‘Fat Leonard’ Was a Crook U.S. Admirals Called Bro

In the Navy, you can do as you please.

Review
James Palmer
This article is adapted from The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power, and People, Paul Seabright, Princeton University Press, 504 pp., $35, May 2024
This article is adapted from The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power, and People, Paul Seabright, Princeton University Press, 504 pp., $35, May 2024

The Divine Marketplace Is Pretty Crowded
Excerpt
Paul Seabright
The book cover for The Jazzmen by Larry Tye.
The book cover for The Jazzmen by Larry Tye.

Duke Ellington, the Jazz Legend Who Became a Diplomat
Excerpt
Larry Tye
Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories, Amitav Ghosh, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 416 pp., $32, February 2024 Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe, Sathnam Sanghera, PublicAffairs, 464 pp., $35, May 2024
Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories, Amitav Ghosh, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 416 pp., $32, February 2024 Empireworld: How British Imperialism Shaped the Globe, Sathnam Sanghera, PublicAffairs, 464 pp., $35, May 2024

The Opioid High of Empire
Review
Nikhil Kumar
This essay is adapted from the book The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society by Joseph E. Stiglitz, W.W. Norton, 384 pp., $29.99, April 2024
This essay is adapted from the book The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society by Joseph E. Stiglitz, W.W. Norton, 384 pp., $29.99, April 2024

Where Global Governance Went Wrong—and How to Fix It
Essay
Joseph E. Stiglitz
The book cover for In the Long Run: The Future as a Political Idea by Jonathan White
The book cover for In the Long Run: The Future as a Political Idea by Jonathan White

Democracy Has Run Out of Future
Review
Ivan Krastev, Leonard Benardo
The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers, Verso, 432 pp., $26.07 (that's the price on the affiliate link), March 2024
The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers, Verso, 432 pp., $26.07 (that's the price on the affiliate link), March 2024

Can Wind and Solar Solve Climate Change?
Review
Ted Nordhaus

Trending

  1. The Problem With ‘Conflict-Free’ Minerals
    Deep Dive
    Mélanie Gouby

  2. Consulting Firms Have Stumbled Into a Geopolitical Minefield
    Argument
    Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman

  3. Democracy Needs an Economic NATO
    Excerpt
    Dmitri Alperovitch

  4. What Produced the China Miracle?
    Review
    Howard W. French

  5. Kenya and the U.S. Need Each Other More Than Ever
    Analysis
    Caroline Gray

  6. Israel and Hezbollah Inch Closer to War
    Situation Report
    Amy Mackinnon, Jack Detsch, Robbie Gramer

  7. Why Iran Believes It’s Winning Against Israel
    Analysis
    Ali Vaez, Hamidreza Azizi

  8. South Africa’s Uncertain Election, Explained
    Explainer
    Christina Lu

  9. The Advocate
    Interview
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  10. Can South Africa Keep the Lights On?
    Analysis
    Nick Hedley

Visual Stories

A woman wearing mittens, a coat, and a winter hat touches a flag with a soldier's face on it to her face. Behind her is a snowy graveyard scene with flowers and Ukrainian flags.
A woman wearing mittens, a coat, and a winter hat touches a flag with a soldier's face on it to her face. Behind her is a snowy graveyard scene with flowers and Ukrainian flags.

The Resilience of Ukraine’s War Widows

Perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have lost their partners in the conflict with Russia. They look to rebuild amid precarity and uncertainty.

Dispatch
Liz Cookman, Paula Bronstein
A man fishes at a port near the Lungmen, a nuclear power plant that has suspended its construction, in New Taipei City.
A man fishes at a port near the Lungmen, a nuclear power plant that has suspended its construction, in New Taipei City.

Taiwan Can’t Shake Its Nuclear Ghosts

The island’s resistance to a dependable—and desperately needed—source of energy has been shaped by a covert history.

Analysis
Jane Darby Menton, Andrew W. Reddie

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