Author: ForeignPolicy.com

Tensions with Iran almost scuttled a major international training exercise in the Sahel.

Italy and South Korea both reported a surge in virus cases over the weekend.

Experts can’t stop restrictions, but they can mitigate them.

The country has sealed its borders — but an outbreak would be a chance for the United States to do good.

Intelligence services do their job by staying out of politics. Donald Trump’s new intelligence chief could end all that.

Cambodia’s autocrat is putting his own people at risk to court his Chinese backers.

His ascension to the highest intelligence post in the United States heightens fears that the Trump administration is politicizing intelligence.

Pompeo’s plan to make peace with the resurgent Taliban is a sad reminder of all that went wrong in Afghanistan—and how it could have been otherwise.

Vladislav Surkov, who stage-managed Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, is replaced.

Economic models often fail to account for hidden assumptions. Ignoring the importance of trust and belonging in society may be hurting New Delhi more than policymakers understand.

In a few words, Bong Joon-ho conjured up a whole tale of economic insecurity.

Many Indians lack the documents needed to prove citizenship—and Muslims are in the firing line.

The pact pledging “intra-Afghan” talks is to be signed Feb. 29, but questions remain over whether the deal will last.

The U.K.’s new points system will keep low-skilled non-English speakers out, pleasing pro-Brexit voters but devastating entire sectors—from agriculture to health care.

The Davos-inspired era of unrestrained globalization is over, and companies should start putting the national interests of their home countries ahead of profits.

Recent crises and growing disillusionment could keep Iranians from turning up at the polls today, benefiting conservative candidates.

Front-runner Keir Starmer is seeking to get past Jeremy Corbyn and return the party to the early glory days of Tony Blair, but whoever the winner is will have to reckon with the party’s hard turn leftward.

Entrepreneurship can help reintegrate former militants—and may be useful for other types of criminals, too.

Virus quarantine measures have left hundreds of millions of people trapped indoors.

EU funds for Libyan militias forced thousands of migrants into dangerous Libyan detention centers. Now, after being evacuated, some of them are stuck as far away as Rwanda—with no idea if they will ever be resettled.

Musical chairs in the Iraqi parliament can no longer solve the country’s problems.

The U.S. ambassador to Germany will mix his policy duties with a supposedly apolitical senior intelligence post.

Republican foreign-policy experts weigh in on the most eventful debate of the 2020 primary.

Former Pentagon official and campaign veteran Doug Wilson is helping the U.S. presidential candidate stand out from the pack on foreign policy.

An overly strident campaign by Britain’s Labour party to protect transgender people is alienating potential allies across the country.

Thousands of Turkish reinforcements are arriving in northwest Syria as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns of a possible military operation.

The Democratic challenger’s business ties to America’s biggest rivals raise questions about how tough he’d be with them as president.

The popular tourist destination has had no coronavirus cases. Is that good luck—or bad testing?

Documents show sale of crucial equipment from U.S. biotech firm.

China reports that new virus cases are declining, but the data may be tied to party politics.

How Swat Valley went from basket case to on the mend.

John Rood, the U.S. Defense Department’s policy chief, has been blamed for an exodus of civilians from the Pentagon.

The EU’s draft digital strategy plan has prompted visits to Brussels from Silicon Valley executives.

Tehran’s goals are pragmatic—and may be in line with Washington’s.

The country’s protest movement knows what it’s against—but it never figured out how to achieve what it’s for.

Can planting 10 million trees shore up the country’s borders and save its environment?

Next week, the leaders of the world’s two largest democracies will try to highlight their areas of agreement, but the trendlines show growing cracks.

Supply chain disruptions are upsetting markets globally, but especially in Asia.

To justify its breakup of Ukraine, the Kremlin seeks to embarrass the U.K. and other major NATO allies. But the Scottish National Party wants nothing to do with Putin.

The process and results of the Iowa caucuses would be roundly denounced and challenged in the courts in most developing countries. So why are they allowed to stand in the United States?

Trump’s peace plan killed any hope of a negotiated settlement. Rather than empty rhetoric, Palestinian leaders owe their people a new approach—even if it means disbanding the PA.

The Chinese legislature is likely to delay its annual congress amid the coronavirus outbreak.

By haggling over tiny trade issues, experts worry the Trump administration could weaken efforts to woo India as a strategic partner.

The U.S.-Taliban truce raises some hope, but not while the Afghan government remains a stranger to the talks.

Conspiracy theories are all over state media, following past patterns of disinformation.

With a seven-day reduction in violence agreed, the United States and the Taliban are paving the way to an end to the war in Afghanistan.

Dire American warnings about the threat from Beijing fall on deaf ears at the Munich Security Conference.

The end of conscription has left the army critically undermanned.

As the deadly coronavirus began to spread, Beijing wasted the most critical resource to fight it: trust.

It may be too late to contain the new coronavirus. But we can safeguard the world against the next one.