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THE TRUMP TRANSITION: Key Appointees and Global Reaction

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People dance and sing as they take part in victory celebrations in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 13.
People dance and sing as they take part in victory celebrations in Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 13.

How Post-Assad Syria Could Unleash a New Regional Order

Turkey can calm Arab nations fearful of an Islamist takeover by inviting Syria’s neighbors and the Gulf states to play a central role in the political transition.

Analysis
Galip Dalay
1-interior-chinatown_hulu-poster-hp
1-interior-chinatown_hulu-poster-hp

‘Interior Chinatown’ Falls Into Its Own Trap

An ambitious show both celebrates and obfuscates the Asian American experience.

Review
Jenny Tinghui Zhang
An illustration shows hands holding chopsticks and a spoon with a soup dumpling in it over a large blow. Inside the bowl is a Taipei cityscape with lanterns and semiconductor chips coming out of it.
An illustration shows hands holding chopsticks and a spoon with a soup dumpling in it over a large blow. Inside the bowl is a Taipei cityscape with lanterns and semiconductor chips coming out of it.

Soup Dumplings as Soft Power

Din Tai Fung has become a potent global symbol of Taiwan, at a time when the island sorely needs it.

Analysis
Rishi Iyengar
A person in a suit with a mustache stands on a street with a church in the distance.
A person in a suit with a mustache stands on a street with a church in the distance.

‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ Finally Gets a Screen Adaptation

That Netflix pulled it off at all is remarkable, but some elements of the classic novel are lost in translation.

Review
Jordan Hoffman

Syria’s Future

People stand atop a tank holding a Syrian flag adn celebrating with their arms raised.
People stand atop a tank holding a Syrian flag adn celebrating with their arms raised.

Assad’s Fall Is the Middle East’s 1989

One of many consequences is the demise of Iran’s self-styled Axis of Resistance.

Analysis
Lina Khatib
A framed picture of Bashar al-Assad is seen with its glass shattered on the ground.
A framed picture of Bashar al-Assad is seen with its glass shattered on the ground.

How the World Got Syria Wrong
Argument
Charles Lister
An anti-government fighter steps on the head of a statue of late Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in the Damascus district of Kafr Sousa on Dec. 9.
An anti-government fighter steps on the head of a statue of late Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in the Damascus district of Kafr Sousa on Dec. 9.

Washington Needs a New Syria Policy Right Now
Analysis
Jonathan Lord
Russia's senior military officer Sergei Rudskoi sits below a map of Syria screened during a briefing at the Russian Defence Ministry headquarters in Moscow on April 14, 2018, following overnight joint strikes by the US, Britain and France in Syria.
Russia's senior military officer Sergei Rudskoi sits below a map of Syria screened during a briefing at the Russian Defence Ministry headquarters in Moscow on April 14, 2018, following overnight joint strikes by the US, Britain and France in Syria.

Syria Is Again a Victim of Its Geography
Argument
Arash Reisinezhad
A child and a man wear oxygen masks in a makeshift clinical setting.
A child and a man wear oxygen masks in a makeshift clinical setting.

Assad Must Face Justice for His Government’s Atrocities
Argument
Annie Sparrow, Kenneth Roth
A woman waves a Syrian opposition flag as she celebrates at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Dec. 8.
A woman waves a Syrian opposition flag as she celebrates at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Dec. 8.

Assad Has Fallen. What’s Next for Syria and the Middle East?
Analysis
Amy Mackinnon, John Haltiwanger
A billboard bearing a picture of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Syria's national flag is seen torn in the northern city of Aleppo on Nov. 30.
A billboard bearing a picture of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Syria's national flag is seen torn in the northern city of Aleppo on Nov. 30.

The Assads Were Fighting the Wrong War
Analysis
Benjamin Byman

Asia & the Pacific

Demonstrators light up their cellphones as they protest against the Georgian government in central Tbilisi on Dec. 12.
Demonstrators light up their cellphones as they protest against the Georgian government in central Tbilisi on Dec. 12.

Georgia’s Pro-Europe Protesters Are Facing Down Police Violence
Analysis
Ani Chkhikvadze

BJP Sends a Message With U.S. ‘Deep State’ Comments

Was a Philippine Mayor a Secret Chinese Spy?

How South Korea’s Aspiring Autocrat Became a D.C. Darling

China

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 22, 2023.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 22, 2023.

China Needs a New Approach in Syria
China Brief
James Palmer

Another Chinese Military Official Under Fire

What Trump’s Tariffs Will Mean for China

Mass Attacks in China Spark Concern, Censorship

Middle East & Africa

France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and first lady Brigitte Macron (L) welcome Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, in Paris, on Nov. 28.
France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and first lady Brigitte Macron (L) welcome Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, in Paris, on Nov. 28.

France’s New African Ally
Africa Brief
Nosmot Gbadamosi

In Post-Assad Middle East, Iran’s Loss Is Turkey’s Gain

Hezbollah Is Trying to Spin Loss as Victory

Biden Goes to Africa

Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (center) speaks during a meeting with Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, in Kyiv on Dec. 9.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (center) speaks during a meeting with Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, in Kyiv on Dec. 9.

What a Victorious Ukraine Can Offer Europe
Argument
Michael Hikari Cecire

Europe Isn’t Helpless in the Face of Severe Floods

Four Scenarios for the Protests in Georgia

Europe Has an Industrial Policy Crisis

Americas

Matt Gaetz looks out of The Strom Thurmond Room where he met with Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 20.
Matt Gaetz looks out of The Strom Thurmond Room where he met with Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 20.

The Last Time Senators Rejected a Cabinet Nomination
Analysis
Julian E. Zelizer

Trump Will Be His Own Trade Czar

What Can Trump Do With United Government?

Mercosur Nears Completion of EU Trade Deal

The Trump Transition

A photo collage illustration shows Donald Trump in profile against red striped background on a beige field. At left is the White House. At right, shipping containers, barricades used in war, and a cloud from a bomb attack in Gaza.
A photo collage illustration shows Donald Trump in profile against red striped background on a beige field. At left is the White House. At right, shipping containers, barricades used in war, and a cloud from a bomb attack in Gaza.

Key Appointees and Priorities

FP’s ongoing updates from staff and contributors.

Tulsi Gabbard in a red suit jacket sits on a small blue couch with her hands clasped on her knee. Behind her are golden circular wall hangings with words in a foreign text on them. A small table with a lamp is on one side, on another an ottoman with a plant atop it.
Tulsi Gabbard in a red suit jacket sits on a small blue couch with her hands clasped on her knee. Behind her are golden circular wall hangings with words in a foreign text on them. A small table with a lamp is on one side, on another an ottoman with a plant atop it.

The Transformation of Tulsi Gabbard
U.S. Army trainees stand at attention in a line in front of a blue backdrop.
U.S. Army trainees stand at attention in a line in front of a blue backdrop.

Trump Picks Vance Advisor for Army Secretary
A close photo of David Perdue with his hand up holding a pen.
A close photo of David Perdue with his hand up holding a pen.

Trump Picks Perdue to Be Next Ambassador to China
An employee works on an aluminum piston ring production line at a factory that produces car parts in the city of Binzhou, in eastern China’s Shandong province, on Oct. 14.
An employee works on an aluminum piston ring production line at a factory that produces car parts in the city of Binzhou, in eastern China’s Shandong province, on Oct. 14.

Trump’s Threat to Revoke China’s Trade Status, Explained
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump walk together at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump walk together at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.

The Pitfalls for Europe of a Trump-Putin Deal on Ukraine
Visitors interact with an immersive light and AI display at the "Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness" exhibition by Australian art studio Eness at the Icon Siam shopping mall in Bangkok on Dec. 2.
Visitors interact with an immersive light and AI display at the "Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness" exhibition by Australian art studio Eness at the Icon Siam shopping mall in Bangkok on Dec. 2.

Trump Must Rebalance America’s AI Strategy

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PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: Wind turbines operate at a wind farm near solar panels on March 06, 2024 near Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Chip Wars in a Trump 2.0 World
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The Road Beyond the Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire
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What’s Wrong With Our Environmental Politics?
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The Case for Trump’s Tariffs

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An employee makes a chip at a JieJie Semiconductor factory in Nantong, China, on March 17, 2021. a factory of Jiejie Semiconductor Company in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on March 17, 2021. - China OUT (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
An employee makes a chip at a JieJie Semiconductor factory in Nantong, China, on March 17, 2021. a factory of Jiejie Semiconductor Company in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on March 17, 2021. - China OUT (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

How Trump’s Return Will Impact the Chip Wars
Insider
Ravi Agrawal
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Élysée Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Élysée Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.

Can Trump Really End the War in Ukraine?
Insider
John Haltiwanger
A man waves a Hezbollah flag as he drives past the rubble of a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs as people returned to the area to check their homes after the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Nov. 27.
A man waves a Hezbollah flag as he drives past the rubble of a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs as people returned to the area to check their homes after the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Nov. 27.

Can the Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire Hold?
Insider
Ravi Agrawal

In the Magazine

Current Issue: Fall 2024 Archives
The cover of the Fall 2024 print issue of Foreign Policy magazine.
letters-president-america-election-nicolas-ortega-illustration-3-2
letters-president-america-election-nicolas-ortega-illustration-3-2

Letters to the Next President

No matter who wins the White House, these nine thinkers from around the world would like a word.

Analysis
Catherine Ashton, Jason Bordoff, Arancha González, Martin Kimani, Mark Malloch-Brown, Joseph S. Nye Jr., Danny Quah, Nirupama Rao, Joseph E. Stiglitz

Is 2024 Really the Most Important Election in History?

Democracy—and the global system—might not be so easily dismantled.

Essay
Michael Hirsh

The Top International Relations Schools of 2024, Ranked
Infographic
Irene Entringer García Blanes, Susan Peterson, Michael J. Tierney

Revisiting Chinese Empire
Review
Bethany Allen

FP Columnists

Weekend Reads

Three children in winter coats sit on a merry
Three children in winter coats sit on a merry

The Battle for Ukraine Is a War of Demography

Russia's crisis of depopulation is at the heart of Vladimir Putin’s paranoid military strategy.

Essay
Ivan Krastev, Stephen Holmes
Viktor Orban, wearing a suit with an overcoat draped over his shoulders, stands in front of the wall of a black and white gridded structure.
Viktor Orban, wearing a suit with an overcoat draped over his shoulders, stands in front of the wall of a black and white gridded structure.

Hungary’s Descent Into Dictatorship
Review
Paul Hockenos
Book covers for 10 new fiction releases in December
Book covers for 10 new fiction releases in December

The Novels We’re Reading in December
Books
Chloe Hadavas, Allison Meakem
A crowd of people hold signs that read "Down With U.S. Imperialism."
A crowd of people hold signs that read "Down With U.S. Imperialism."

How the Cold War Forged India’s Intelligence Setup
Review
Sushant Singh

In Case You Missed It

A selection of paywall-free articles

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
Chinese soldiers in Belarus for military training.
Chinese soldiers in Belarus for military training.

Asian Powers Set Their Strategic Sights on Europe
Analysis
C. Raja Mohan
An illustration shows Russian President Vladimir Putin on a television set with spinning lines behind him for a story about Russia's TV propaganda.
An illustration shows Russian President Vladimir Putin on a television set with spinning lines behind him for a story about Russia's TV propaganda.

A Day Inside Putin’s Surreal Television Empire
Analysis
Anastasia Edel
An illustration shows half faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin for a story about a ChiRussia alliance.
An illustration shows half faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin for a story about a ChiRussia alliance.

The China-Russia Axis Takes Shape
Analysis
Bonny Lin
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

Russian conscripts in uniform holding their winter hat in their hands stand in attention in a line.
Russian conscripts in uniform holding their winter hat in their hands stand in attention in a line.

Putin Is Throwing Human Waves at Ukraine but Can’t Do It Forever

The Russian meat grinder strategy is terribly effective, terribly wasteful, and boundlessly cruel.

Analysis
Alexey Kovalev
Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018.
Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018.

The Real Reason for Saudi Arabia’s Pivot to Iran

Mohammed bin Salman’s changed tone on Tehran isn’t as confusing as it seems.

Argument
Steven A. Cook
Kim and Putin meet in North Korea
Kim and Putin meet in North Korea

China and North Korea Throw U.S. War Plans Out the Window

The intervention of Asian powers in Europe nullifies decades of U.S. strategic planning.

Analysis
Raphael S. Cohen
An anti-government fighter tears down a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Nov. 30.
An anti-government fighter tears down a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Nov. 30.

What the Fall of Aleppo Means for Russia

A lightning advance by rebels will force Moscow to recalibrate its Syria strategy.

Analysis
Hamidreza Azizi, Nicole Grajewski

Books

A group of young children all wearing the same red shirt and khaki pants take part in a ceremony.
A group of young children all wearing the same red shirt and khaki pants take part in a ceremony.

The Only Way to Achieve Lasting Peace in Ukraine

History shows that security arrangements alone will not be enough.

Excerpt
Eugene Finkel
The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic, Alan Moore and Steve Moore with various artists, Top Shelf Productions, $49.99, 352 pp, October 2024.
The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic, Alan Moore and Steve Moore with various artists, Top Shelf Productions, $49.99, 352 pp, October 2024.

Alan Moore Wants You to Invent Your Own God
Review
James Palmer
caption tk here
caption tk here

Noam Chomsky Has Been Proved Right
Review
Stephen M. Walt
Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us, Gary Marcus, The MIT Press, 240 pp., $18.95, September 2024; The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley, Marietje Schaake, Princeton University Press, 336 pp., $27.95, September 2024.
Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works for Us, Gary Marcus, The MIT Press, 240 pp., $18.95, September 2024; The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley, Marietje Schaake, Princeton University Press, 336 pp., $27.95, September 2024.

How Technology Ruined Democracy
Review
Rishi Iyengar
A grid of 10 small books and two larger books, all being released in November.
A grid of 10 small books and two larger books, all being released in November.

The Novels We’re Reading in November
Books
Chloe Hadavas, Allison Meakem
The cover of Kevin Rudd's "On Xi Jinping," with an illustrated image of Xi.
The cover of Kevin Rudd's "On Xi Jinping," with an illustrated image of Xi.

What Will a Post-Xi China Look Like?
Excerpt
Kevin Rudd
The book cover for Paper Soldiers by Saleha Mohsin
The book cover for Paper Soldiers by Saleha Mohsin

How the Dollar Became a Double-Edged Sword
Review
Carey K. Mott

Trending

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    Latin America Brief
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  3. ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ Finally Gets a Screen Adaptation
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  4. Mexico’s Grassroots Pro-Choice Insurgency
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  5. Why Are Cuba and the U.S. Still Mired in the Cold War?
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  6. How Post-Assad Syria Could Unleash a New Regional Order
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  7. Georgia’s Pro-Europe Protesters Are Facing Down Police Violence
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  8. How South Korea’s Aspiring Autocrat Became a D.C. Darling
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  9. Noam Chomsky Has Been Proved Right
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  10. BJP Sends a Message With U.S. ‘Deep State’ Comments
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Visual Stories

US-Election-trump-graphics-voter-turnout-1500x100-HP-override
US-Election-trump-graphics-voter-turnout-1500x100-HP-override

6 Charts That Explain the 2024 U.S. Election

From the perpetual campaign cycle to turnout, we examined how the Nov. 5 vote compared with those in other countries this year.

Infographic
Claire Schnatterbeck, Anusha Rathi
Four men, three with prosthetic legs, wear bike helmets and t-shirts as they stand in a parking lot, gathered around a bicycle held up by the man second from the right. The sky above is a dim, dark blue; it seems to be either dawn or dusk.
Four men, three with prosthetic legs, wear bike helmets and t-shirts as they stand in a parking lot, gathered around a bicycle held up by the man second from the right. The sky above is a dim, dark blue; it seems to be either dawn or dusk.

Meet the Para-Cyclists Riding for Gaza

The Sunbirds’ story began with tragedy but has evolved into one of resilience.

Dispatch
Jonathan Rashad

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