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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 15h

A security guarantee based on snapback of sanctions, financing, and weapons would help deter the Kremlin and “give Ukraine confidence that it will not be abandoned—without inspiring false hope,” write Samuel Charap and @jyshapiro.bsky.social.

A Snapback Solution for Ukraine

How to craft security guarantees that Kyiv—and Moscow—will find credible.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 18h

“Israel is not yet at the point of no return,” writes Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid. “The world looks at Israel and sees a country in crisis. I look at it and see a country holding its breath. It is waiting for a new leadership to lead it down a different path.”

A Defining Choice for Israel

After two years of growing isolation and endless war, an alternative future is possible.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 19h

“The United States bet on India, but that bet has not paid off.” Moeed Yusuf calls on Washington to rethink its myopic support for New Delhi—and build a closer relationship with Pakistan:

Why America Should Bet on Pakistan

A better South Asia policy runs through Islamabad.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 20h

The United States misunderstands China’s core interests and goals, argue David Kang, Jackie Wong, and Zenobia Chan. “Beijing’s aims are far less expansionary, confrontational, or threatening to U.S. interests than most policymakers believe.”

What China Doesn’t Want

Beijing’s core aims are clear—and limited.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 1d

Israel’s future will be determined by its citizens, writes Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid. “If Israelis choose courage over cowardice, openness over isolation, prosperity over religious zealotry, the country’s best days will yet lie ahead.”

A Defining Choice for Israel

After two years of growing isolation and endless war, an alternative future is possible.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 1d

“American policymakers do something they think will work, do it again even though it did not work, say it works when everyone knows it does not, promise it will when all have lost patience and faith,” write Hussein Agha and Robert Malley.

The Lies America Tells Itself About the Middle East

As its influence faded, Washington dissembled and denied reality.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 1d

China’s reluctance to engage with the U.S. military is dangerous, Kurt Campbell argues. The United States must “keep pushing to create robust channels of crisis communications before an emergency occurs.”

The U.S.-China Crisis Waiting to Happen

Beijing’s reluctance to engage with the U.S. military has never been more dangerous.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 1d

In a Q&A with Senior Editor Eve Fairbanks, Ami Ayalon—a former head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency—discusses U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza:

In Gaza, Can There Be Peace Without Trust?

A conversation with Ami Ayalon about Trump’s deal.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 1d

Read Stewart Patrick on the consequences of Trump’s disengagement from the West:

What Happened to “the West”?

As America drifts away from its allies, a less peaceful world awaits.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 3d

From the archive: In a 2012 essay, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama considered whether liberal democracy could survive the decline of the middle class.

The Future of History

Stagnating wages and growing inequality will soon threaten the stability of contemporary liberal democracies and dethrone democratic ideology as it is now understood. What is needed is a new populist ...

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 3d

“Too many U.S. leaders continue to believe that a more exquisite export control regime will halt China’s technological momentum,” write Dan Wang and Arthur Kroeber. “They are sending lawyers into an engineering fight.”

The Real China Model

Beijing’s enduring formula for wealth and power.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 4d

“Ironically, South Africa’s complaints about U.S. foreign policy’s hypocrisy are similar to the grievances the United States has about its approach,” writes Michelle Gavin.

The Costs of South Africa’s Ideological Foreign Policy

Washington and Pretoria were at odds long before Trump.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 4d

Benn Steil considers how the political historian Carl Schmitt, who rose to prominence in the German Weimar Republic of the 1920s, would view the United States’ turn toward authoritarianism:

Reading Schmitt in Beijing

How China’s rise provoked America’s illiberal turn.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 4d

Even if Russia succeeds in maintaining its military presence in Syria, it is unlikely to play a significant role in shaping the country’s future, writes Hanna Notte.

Russia Isn’t Done With Syria

How Moscow has retained influence in the post-Assad era.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 4d

“The global consensus against the starvation weapon took decades to achieve,” writes Alex de Waal. “Now, international apathy risks letting it collapse at the moment it is most needed.”

The Return of the Starvation Weapon

The collapse of global norms fueling the catastrophes in Gaza and Sudan.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 5d

“Bold action is the only way to keep Europe safe and united in the dangerous times that lie ahead.”

Read Dalibor Rohac and Eduardo Castellet Nogués on how European leaders can rebuild the continent’s defenses:

Funding Europe’s Firepower

How the EU can funnel its wealth into its defense.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 5d

In Sudan, the meddling of middle powers has not only exacerbated the conflict, but has “also rendered peacemaking all but impossible,” writes Alan Boswell.

Sudan’s War Is the Shape of Things to Come

Why mediators struggle to end a new kind of conflict.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 5d

On the latest episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” Tyler Jost and Daniel Mattingly discuss Beijing’s coming struggle over who will succeed Xi Jinping. Start listening here:

Xi Jinping’s Successor and the Future of China

A Conversation With Tyler Jost and Daniel Mattingly

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 5d

“In the long term, Trump’s approach to global politics is not likely to strengthen the country,” argues Keren Yarhi-Milo. Over time, Washington “could find itself ever more isolated—and without any clear path to reestablishing its reputation.”

The Price of Unpredictability

Trump’s foreign policy is ruining American credibility.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 6d

“Self-sufficiency is a mirage,” writes @carlbfrey.bsky.social. Instead of relying on fortress economics and protectionist policies to blunt China’s leverage, the United States should pursue “diversified interdependence.”

How America Outcompeted Japan

And why that matters for the U.S. rivalry with China.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 6d

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s all-hands gathering threatened “to leave military leaders with no choice but to become partisan actors or to violate norms of civilian control of the military,” writes Peter Feaver.

The U.S. Military’s Greatest Test

Avoiding a civil-military crisis in the age of Trump.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 6d

If Washington wants to foster regional stability in the Middle East, it must stop ignoring Israeli revisionism—and “anchor U.S. policy in support of a just resolution of the Palestinian question,” argue @galipdalay.bsky.social and Sanam Vakil.

The Middle East That Israel Has Made

Why Washington will rue the costs of Israeli aggression.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 6d

“More and more, people who have loyally served Putin’s system are being persecuted, mainly on the grounds of corruption.”

Read Andrei Kolesnikov on the new wave of purges among Russia’s elites:

Russia’s New Fear Factor

How the war is driving a wave of purges and suicides among the country’s elites.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 7d

“By embracing a strategy that prioritizes real security concerns over wishful diplomacy and proactive intervention over reactive restraint, Israel is making itself stronger, not weaker,” argue Meir ben Shabbat and Asher Fredman.

What Israel Wants

The post–October 7 security strategy driving Israeli actions.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 7d

It is time for the United States to “pivot home,” argue @jennkav.bsky.social and Peter Slezkine. After downsizing the U.S. military commitment to Europe, Washington should “refocus U.S. energy in the Western Hemisphere.”

The Fatal Flaw in the Transatlantic Alliance

Trump must do much more to rebalance America’s relationship with Europe.

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