Tabla de contenidos para Spring 2024 en Foreign Policy

Snigdha Poonam is an independent journalist and the author of Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing the World. She divides her time between India and the United Kingdom. Suha Musa is a Sudanese American researcher based in New York who focuses on the Middle East. Sheri Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University, and the author of Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day. Arvind Subramanian is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economic advisor to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Valerie Plame is a former covert CIA operations officer and the author of Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Kevin Ochieng Okoth is…

There is a story told among Kremlin watchers: Shortly after Western countries first imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned his economic advisors. His question was simple: How was Russia doing in terms of food self-sufficiency? Not very well, came the reply. The country was dependent on imports to feed its citizens. Putin went pale and ordered that something be done, fearing that sanctions could curb Moscow’s access to food staples. Fast-forward to Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Putin no longer had to worry about food. In only eight years, Russia had become almost self-sufficient, producing meat, fish, and even decent-quality cheese. Fast-forward to Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Putin no longer had…

On Feb. 8, Brazil’s federal police launched a high-profile raid against former President Jair Bolsonaro and more than 10 of his allies, including Brazil’s former navy chief, national security advisor, and ministers of defense and justice. Authorities accused the group of plotting a potential coup after Bolsonaro’s failed 2022 reelection bid. Court documents suggest that Bolsonaro personally edited a decree that would have overturned election results and imprisoned a Supreme Court justice; a general loyal to the president confirmed that he would provide troops to carry out the coup. Bolsonaro also allegedly pressured his cabinet to forcefully share disinformation about supposed weaknesses in Brazil’s electoral system. The former president was asked to hand over his passport to authorities and may face decades in jail. The recent revelations suggest that Brazilian…

“The alumni community here is bigger, stronger, and more engaged than any alumni community I've worked with before. It’s the alumni recognizing they need to help build up the next generation of leaders.”-Nathan Slusher, Career Center Executive Director, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University Career planning and development is a primary focus for Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS). Top student interests include diplomacy, intelligence and security, international business, international development, and political risk. These interests also align with employment trends that the School of Foreign Service has observed among its master’s degree graduates. The two sectors that employed the largest share of SFS graduates between 2019 and 2023 were the private sector (37 percent average) and public sector (36 percent average), according to SFS Career Center Executive Director…

“Students who come to SAIS aspire to tackle global issues and solve problems, and they're discovering numerous approaches to shaping their careers and addressing the world’s challenges.”-Julie Nussdorfer, Associate Director of Global Careers, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Amid the ever-changing terrain of international affairs careers, Julie Nussdorfer, associate director of global careers at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), has observed several transformative trends. Notably, there’s a growing demand for data analytics skills, coupled with ongoing discourse on the role of artificial intelligence-its risks and benefits-among employers. Simultaneously, the global push for sustainability and decarbonization continues to propel SAIS students toward social-impact careers in the technology, environment, and energy spaces. Nussdorfer underscores a trend in students' recognition of the changing nature of career…

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WHETHER OR NOT YOU BELIEVE THE UNITED STATES is in relative decline, one thing is clear—the rest of the world is already acting as if that’s the case. Yes, the White House still controls the world’s most powerful military and presides over its biggest economy, but a growing number of so-called middle powers are looking to see how they can take advantage of an evolving global order. Exhibit A could be India. New Delhi is increasingly assertive on the world stage, building defense and technological ties with Washington even as it dramatically increases its supply of sanctioned Russian oil. No one is even trying to stop it; everyone seems to want the world’s fastest-growing major economy on its side. Ahead of India’s elections this year—so big they will be spread…

As war rages between Israel and Hamas, it is hard to imagine an enduring end to the conflict. For decades, though, a growing movement of Palestinian and Israeli women has both envisioned and demanded peace. Three days before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, thousands of women from two peacebuilding groups gathered at Jerusalem’s Tolerance Monument and began a march to the Dead Sea. Israelis from Women Wage Peace carried blue flags, and Palestinians from Women of the Sun flew yellow ones. Women from both sides pulled up chairs as a symbol of a good-faith resumption of negotiations to reach a political solution. Women Wage Peace formed in response to Operation Protective Edge, as Israel called its 2014 invasion of Gaza in the wake of then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s…

Ongoing warfare in Sudan, with more than 14,600 people killed and 10.7 million displaced, has steadily broken down the country’s political, social, and medical services. Reports suggest that more than 25 million of the country’s 46 million people need assistance; cholera cases had risen to over 10,700 by late February; and between 70 and 80 percent of hospitals in affected states have been left nonfunctional. As violence and displacement counts rise, humanitarian aid efforts haven’t kept up. Instead, initiatives to negotiate between the warring powers—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo—have been the priority for the international community, neglecting the suffering that ordinary Sudanese citizens have endured for close to a year. While talks…

IT ALL BEGAN IN BEIJING. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when he visited in 2011 to pitch his state as a destination for Chinese investment. As India’s ambassador to China at the time, S. Jaishankar was tasked with helping to facilitate meetings with Chinese Communist Party leaders and officials, companies, and even Indian students there. The Beijing meeting was the starting point of a close and mutually respectful partnership between Modi and Jaishankar—one that is reshaping not only India’s geopolitics but increasingly the world’s. Jaishankar himself has recounted that first meeting on multiple occasions, including in the preface of his new book, Why Bharat Matters. Of that defining moment with Modi in the Chinese capital, Jaishankar writes, “My cumulative impression was one of strong nationalism, great purposefulness…

“Whether a student is interested in the environment, development, national security, or any other global arena, they have the opportunity to take classes across the campus.”-Elizabeth Gill, Assistant Dean for Career Development, Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University The most popular courses for today’s global affairs students match developments making headlines: artificial intelligence and disinformation (fake news), authoritarianism and the weakening of democracy, and the environment. Master’s degree students at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs who want to study these hot topics have the advantage of a curriculum that allows them to design individualized courses of study. "The real heart of our program is the flexibility with the curriculum," says Elizabeth Gill, assistant dean for career development. Of the 16 credits required for the Jackson School’s two-year…

In 2003, senior White House officials outed me as a covert CIA officer. They leaked my identity after my then-husband, U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson, wrote an op-ed stating that the Bush administration had lied about the threat posed by Iraq ahead of its decision to invade the country. I have spent a lot of time in the decades since processing the trauma of that experience. It endangered my assets, ended my covert career, and unsettled my family. Even events that happened much later took me back to that time, such as then-President Donald Trump’s 2018 pardon of Scooter Libby, former Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, who was convicted of perjury and lying to the FBI during its investigation into the leak. In those years, I was called a…

Prabowo Subianto secured a thumping victory in Indonesia’s presidential election following a hard-fought three-way campaign. Polls going into the Feb. 14 contest suggested his likely victory, but many analysts had predicted a second-round runoff. Instead, the defense minister soared past his opponents on the first try, delivering an unexpected landslide with a projected 58 percent of the votes. Prabowo’s triumph had many causes. But its scale points to a wider trend, namely the surprising popularity of political leaders in many of Asia’s emerging-market democracies. Heads of government in rich Western nations are almost universally reviled—and in many parliamentary systems, their dwindling parties often find it increasingly difficult even to cobble together ruling coalitions. In Indonesia, by contrast, Prabowo will now replace the even more popular President Joko Widodo, commonly known…

With Ukraine’s counteroffensive stalled and the U.S. Congress deadlocked over crucial military aid, some analysts have begun raising the specter of a turning point in the war that could lead to a Ukrainian defeat. While the situation on the ground is still far from dire, it could rapidly deteriorate in the absence of a significant infusion of U.S. military support for Ukraine. The consequences of a Ukrainian defeat need to be fully understood. The likely geopolitical consequences are easy to anticipate. The defeat of a Western-backed country would embolden Russia and other revisionist states to change other borders by force. A Russian victory would frighten Russia’s European neighbors, possibly leading to a collapse of European collective security as some countries choose appeasement and others massively rearm. China, too, would conclude…

From the middle of April until early June, staggered over the course of several weeks, the world’s biggest election will take place. More than 960 million Indians—out of a population of 1.4 billion—are eligible to vote in parliamentary elections that polls strongly suggest will return Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power for a third consecutive term. Modi is probably the world’s most popular leader. According to a recent Morning Consult poll, 78 percent of Indians approve of his leadership. (The next three highest-ranked leaders, from Mexico, Argentina, and Switzerland, generate approval ratings of 63, 62, and 56 percent, respectively.) It is not hard to see why Modi is admired. He is a charismatic leader, a masterful orator in Hindi, and widely perceived as hard-working…

India changes more in five years than many countries would in a quarter century. This is partly because it is still relatively young: The country gained independence just 76 years ago, and nearly half of its population is under the age of 25. As one would expect, then, much has happened in the five years since 2019, when Indian voters issued an overwhelming mandate to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in power. Shortly after reelection, the Modi government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir its special autonomous status, fulfilling a long-held promise to its Hindu base. The next year, COVID-19 arrived, and the country became one of the most tragic sites of the pandemic. In 2021,…

“SIPA’s interdisciplinary curriculum and emphasis on practical skills development prepare graduates for diverse career paths in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, both domestically and internationally.”-Grace Han, Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Diversity is at the heart of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), both in its student body and graduate program learning pathways. Students hail from nearly 100 countries, with more than 50 languages spoken on campus. SIPA’s interdisciplinary, flexible curriculum includes rigorous academic study and contextual learning experiences. The combination of these elements helps foster a deeper understanding of today’s pressing global issues, from geopolitical stability to preserving democratic governance to technological innovation and its impact on people. Students can pursue a Master of International…

“Our students are not only keenly aware that they're inheriting a world beset with challenges, they are also eager to do something about it.”-Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business, The Fletcher School, Tufts University On many minds at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, no matter what the master’s or PhD program, "are three big issues that cross international boundaries: data, money, and greenhouse gases," says Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at The Fletcher School. "Those issues are very much the topic of conversation in practically every class." They also help explain graduates' career choices. "We are seeing an increasing footprint in the private sector," Chakravorti says, echoing employment statistics, which show, over the past few years, a boost in the percentage of "Fletcherites" entering the private sector and…

The name Frantz Fanon has become inseparable from the history of decolonization. It is almost impossible to speak of anti-colonial violence or the failings of postcolonial elites without referring to the figure who inspired generations of activists to revolt against colonialism. Since the publication of his seminal work, The Wretched of the Earth, in 1961, Fanon has been idealized by generations of activists in the global south and beyond. For them, the Black Martinican and Frenchman who devoted himself to Algerian independence is the fearless and uncompromising prophet of revolution. The subtitle of Adam Shatz’s new biography, The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon, suggests that his life was not so simple. Shatz, the U.S. editor for the London Review of Books, is an expert guide through the…