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Will Russia Ever Be ‘Normal’?
Empires inevitably decline, and Putin’s project will be no exception.
Chinese Literature Is Undergoing a Vibe Shift
Beijing long promoted novels about working-class travails. What happens when authors point fingers at the state?
Emily Wilson Chooses Her Words Carefully
The Homeric scholar’s new book on translation is bitingly smart.
The Houthi Advance Is About More Than Just Iran
The Saudi-Emirati rivalry is driving moves across the region.
In the Magazine
Current Issue: Fall 2026 print
Archives
How to Survive in a World Without Rules
Self-help is becoming more vital in a vicious world. 
The World’s Only Real Hope of Maintaining Order
A proposal for a new international system that is at once centralized and regionalized.
Asia-Pacific
Modi and Xi’s Meeting Caps a Detente
China
China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
Europe
How Do You Dismantle a Propaganda Machine?
Middle East & Africa
What’s Behind Nigeria’s Military Spending Spree
Americas
Trump Has Peaked
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U.S. President Donald Trump is seen standing behind Gen. Dan Caine at the White House. -
Half a dozen colorful towels hang from a clothesline, with a person's legs visible beneath them where he stands behind the display. Some of the towels are green and yellow and show Bolsonaro's face; others are mainly red and show images of Lula. -
The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade conducts classes as students learn to assemble and fly drones at a workshop in Kyiv. -
People watch a news program showing U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, seen in Taipei, Taiwan, on Oct. 30, 2025.
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A person stands facing away from the camera amid heavy debris, dust, and rubble from destroyed buildings. In the background stand skeletal steel structures of collapsed high-rises, surrounded by damaged vehicles, scattered papers, and an American flag. Why 9/11 Baffles Us 25 Years Later
It’s the strategic disaster that keeps on giving.
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Vintage illustration featuring a swirling red ribbon with the text "IT'S FUN TO LIVE IN AMERICA" winding past blue graphic scenes of a convertible car, a family around a radio, and a woman on a landline telephone. -
A close-up view of a hand holding a small pink rosebud between the thumb and index finger against a blurred background. -
A photograph of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, “Carlos” with his partner Magdalena Kopp with their daughter Rosa Kopp between them, circa 1990.
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Subscribers’ Picks
Trump’s Venezuela Oil Deal Is a Farce
There aren’t 65 billion barrels, they won’t be lowering gas prices, and they won’t refill the SPR.
Trump Has Peaked
The U.S. president will remain disruptive on the global stage, but he is losing his coercive powers.
The Free Speech Ideologue Taking on Europe
Sarah Rogers’s combative online persona has earned her a reputation. But the State Department official is more deliberative than she seems.
Welcome to the New Defense-Dominant World
As military power proves less effective, an old IR theory is making a comeback.
COLLECTIONS:
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An illustration of four adjustable wrenches arranged in an "X" shape over a blue compass face. How to Write Better Rules for Global Finance
The importance of a “common good” compass.
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A collage layout featuring multiple book covers arranged against a two-tone background, split horizontally with yellow on top and light beige on the bottom. The central covers are prominent, flanked by partially visible book jackets on both sides. -
Book cover titled "1942 CRUX OF WAR" by Jonathan Parshall featuring a collage-style design with depictions of soldiers, military vehicles, and an airplane. -
This article is adapted from United States of Oligarchy: How America’s Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy by Casey Michel (St. Martin’s Press, 384 pp., $31, August 2026).
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Analects-Cline-book – 1 -
RegimeChange-AmericanScoundrel-books -
Bookcover of Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian, A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey features a busy train station in India on the cover.
Trending
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China, Not Iran, Is Trump’s Real Foreign-Policy Debacle
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The Houthi Advance Is About More Than Just Iran
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What's the Matter With Eastern Germany?
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Trump and Xi Won’t Find Common Ground on AI Safety
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By Nearly Every Metric, the U.S. Is Losing the Iran War
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Yes, We’re in an AI Bubble. Just Look to 1980s Japan.
Visual Stories
U.S. Funding Cuts Fuel Child Recruitment Into Haitian Armed Groups
“Without USAID support, all you have left is the rule of the ganglord.”
What Remains of Rojava
In northeastern Syria, Kurdish leaders continue to fight a rear-guard battle for autonomy.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of paywall-free articles
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A creative illustration against a pale yellow background showing a garden planter containing a dense green hedge. Five human arms emerge from the hedge, with four of the hands holding small flags of China, Russia, the United States, and the European Union, while the fifth hand holds the flag of India. Hedging Is the New Normal
For the foreseeable future, successful statecraft will depend on hedging.
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An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar. -
A disassembled world map with rips and tears. -
A Cameroonian construction worker, employed by a Chinese firm, works at the Kribi Deepwater Port in Cameroon.
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An illustration collage featuring a profile portrait of a man in a suit on the right side. The left side shows a stylized orange silhouette of his head containing the Great Seal of the United States. The background consists of a dark map of the Middle East with various locations labeled, including Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran. The overall color palette uses dark tones with high-contrast red and white accents. -
An illustration shows semiconductor chips structured like a house of cards with a tiny city with government buildings atop it, ready to topple. -
An illustration with a world map background texture and fire cutting through three rings in the map with three human figures inside.
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