Leaving Afghanistan
What happens to the country and its people after the forever war ends?
The Battle for Khartoum Exposes Waning U.S. Influence
If any outside power could help Sudan chart a path to democracy, it should have been the United States.
Fossil Fuel’s Downfall Could Be America’s Too
How U.S. polluters might drag the country’s economy down with them.
How to End Israel’s Digital Occupation
Silicon Valley executives should recognize Palestinian statehood in line with U.N. norms.
Iran’s New Asia-Focused Foreign Policy Is a Fantasy
The country lacks both the wherewithal and resources to recalibrate its standing in Asia.
Shadow Government
A front-row seat to the Republicans’ debate over foreign policy, including their critique of the Biden administration.
Float, Move, and Fight
How the U.S. Navy lost the shipbuilding race.
Sea Power Makes Great Powers
History reveals a country’s rise and decline are directly related to the heft of its navy. So why is the United States intent on downsizing?
The Ever Given Crew Are Still Stuck at Sea
Here’s why and what their story means for other seafarers.
Indira Gandhi’s Lesson for Modi
A new account of India’s state of emergency in the 1970s takes on fresh relevance amid its ongoing erosion of democracy.
Long Reads
The Doomed Voyage of Pepsi’s Soviet Navy
A three-decade dream of communist markets ended in the scrapyard.
Nature Is Becoming a Person
How to make sense of the new global trend that grants legal rights to animals, plants, and rivers.
A Squabble About History Almost Killed Xi Jinping’s Father
Fights about the party’s past are serious business in Beijing.
Farmers Have Become Martyrs in India
A grim death toll accompanies long-running protests.
Evolving Criminal Networks
How to Run a Criminal Network in a Pandemic
Drug dealers and human traffickers are upgrading their marketing and delivery services.
Goodbye, Government. Hello, Mafia.
From insurgent groups to charities, a range of nongovernmental organizations are stepping in to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Mafia, Poverty, and the Pandemic
In southern Italy, an already shaky economy is left struggling by the coronavirus—leaving a vacuum for organized crime.
Lockdowns Have Been Hard on Organized Crime, Too
And a rise in cyber-ransoms is the result. To stop the cycle, businesses should stop paying up.
visual stories
The Month in World Photos
An escalating civil war in Ethiopia, a migrant crisis at the Belarusian-Polish border, and a scattering of red crabs in Australia.
The Gap Between Talk and Action on Climate Is on Full Display in Glasgow
Environmental disasters are rapidly engulfing the world. Can bureaucracy meet their pace?
