Tabla de contenidos para Spring 2025 en Foreign Policy

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There are strange things going on at the bottom of the sea. In late January, the two fiberoptic cables connecting Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, which lie just 10 nautical miles off China’s coast, to the outside world were severed yet again. The same thing happened in February 2023, when two Chinese merchant vessels cut the two cables, which run from the islands to the rest of Taiwan. The cut set the islands back to a pre-internet age. This time, it’s less clear what caused the cables to be severed—and this time, the islands were ready. Thanks to microwave and satellite backup systems, the 12,000 or so residents were mostly unaffected by the cable cuts. Other countries can learn from Matsu’s experience. The cut, announced by Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs on…

Multialignment has been Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lodestar as he moved India and its foreign policy out of the dead end of nonalignment over the last decade. In Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in February, Modi got to see—firsthand and in real time—how Trump was developing a multialignment of his own. Trump’s efforts to loosen U.S. commitments to Europe, reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and publicly woo Chinese President Xi Jinping mark an epochal break with the idea of a rulesbased international order backed by U.S. power and a collective West. With his vision of America First, Trump is now looking for bilateral deals with other powers to secure U.S. interests. If Trump succeeds in this, multialignment could well become the norm among the…

RECENT SCENARIOS Fighting ‘Smart’ Pandemics Focused on the intersection of AI and biosecurity, this simulation was produced in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) as an official side-event at the 2024 Munich Security Conference. Maneuvering Towards Space Sustainability At the 2023 Paris Peace Forum, FP Analytics partnered with Amazon and the Net Zero Space Initiative to produce a simulation that brought together expert participants from across government, industry, and civil society. Climate and Food Security in the Asia Pacific This simulation, produced in 2022 in partnership with World Vision, challenged participants to tackle the range of factors that are eroding livelihoods, increasing ecosystem vulnerability, and contributing to regional conflict and migration. Scan this code to learn more about how FP Analytics applies its rigorous research capabilities to…

Late in 1774, Lord Robert Clive was found dead in his London townhouse. Rumors flew that conscience had finally compelled the rapacious conqueror to take his own life. Having just arrived in Pennsylvania from England, Thomas Paine recalled how the riches Clive wrested through “murder and rapine” and “famine and wretchedness” in India had enveloped him in the “sunshine of sovereign favor” at home, allowing him to enter into further “schemes of war … and intrigue” to amass an “unbounded fortune.” In the end, however, “guilt and melancholy” had proved “poisons of quick despatch.” Clive was a reckless fortune-hunter in the British East India Company (EIC), the chartered monopoly company trading in the Indian Ocean region—heavily armed, to compel trade on its terms. When the British and French went to…

Recent sweeping shifts in US domestic and international strategies, coupled with the disruption of long-established norms, have created significant uncertainty in all sectors across the globe. Consequently, job security has become a top concern, driving individuals to seek opportunities to build resilience in their careers. Investing in one’s education and diversity of skills through graduate school is a key way to develop professional adaptability in an unpredictable job market. Graduate school provides the tools that enable professionals to pivot within or across sectors effectively, including a multidisciplinary education, development of transferable skills, and access to global networking opportunities. This foundation prepares individuals not only to adapt, but to lead, as demonstrated by the diverse and impactful programs highlighted in this guide. In this special FP Guide, leaders at top universities…

In mid-February, as global conflicts were dominating the headlines, 30 Munk School students were learning in real time. A cohort from the Master of Global Affairs program traveled to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, where they talked to European Union (EU) policymakers about the war in Ukraine and the US threat to withdraw from NATO. Meanwhile, a group of Master of Public Policy students was in London with the Munk School Urban Policy Lab to see how that city’s government operates. Combining academic and practical training is part of the Munk School’s modus operandi. "Students tackle important issues in international relations alongside others examining strategies that a government-relations official in the private sector might use," says Michael Donnelly, director of professional master’s programs. "The big picture drives…

The two-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs prepares students for successful policy careers through the intentional blend of disciplines and small, collaborative cohorts. The program offers a Core curriculum, on top of which students have a high level of flexibility to develop their own academic path according to their specific global policy interests. The Core focuses on economics, history, political science, and quantitative analysis. Collectively, the Core courses aim to instill "discipline-specific paradigms and skills, as well as to help students appreciate the overlap across the fields," explains Jennifer Gandhi, deputy dean of the Jackson School. "Each of these disciplines offers different sets of tools and frameworks through which one can see and understand the world." In the "History and Global…

What does it take to tackle the world’s most complex challenges? At The Fletcher School at Tufts University, the answer lies in breaking down silos. "We treat global affairs as a truly inter-disciplinary field," says Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at Fletcher. "Technology, business, law, and geopolitics are colliding. To lead effectively, you need to see the full picture." Fletcher’s approach goes beyond traditional international affairs education. As the oldest graduate-only school of international affairs in the US, it stands apart by integrating law, business, and diplomacy within its programs - not just through joint degrees, but as a fundamental part of the curriculum. This unique structure prepares students to navigate the interconnected forces shaping global decision-making. And learning at Fletcher isn't confined to the classroom. Students don't just…

In 2017, two men were arrested at a hotel in Kapiri Mposhi, a small town north of Zambia’s capital of Lusaka, after a staff member said she saw them through a window having sex. The state charged the men with crimes against “the order of nature” under Section 155 of Zambia’s penal code. Two years later, they were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The case sparked a diplomatic spat. When Daniel Foote, the U.S. ambassador to Zambia at the time, expressed outrage at the sentencing, he was harshly rebuked by many Zambians, including then-President Edgar Lungu, and eventually recalled to Washington. “We know that there could be people who are homo-sexual in Zambia. But we don’t want to promote it, because we frown upon it,” Lungu said in late…

On Feb. 23, when Germany’s election results were announced at the packed headquarters of the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Berlin, the hall erupted into wild rejoicing. The party’s leadership, among it frontperson Alice Weidel, and hundreds of supporters waving German flags immediately recognized the party’s 21 percent tally as a conspicuous victory—exactly twice its 2021 result—even though the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the vote, by nearly 8 more percentage points, and with this the mandate to form a government. Despite the fact that Germany’s other parties refuse to govern with it, the AfD—an extremist xenophobic party with ties to neo-Nazis—has definitively broken out of the margins and is positioned squarely at the center of German politics. It is now Germany’s second-strongest party; the largest opposition party…

The second Trump administration has confirmed suspicions that it might squander the tolerance and goodwill that Washington had long received from the world’s major democracies. The number of seemingly malevolent actions have quickly added up: Vice President J.D. Vance’s confrontational speech at the Munich Security Conference; President Donald Trump’s assignment of blame to Ukraine for starting the war with Russia; U.S. officials’ preemptive offer to Russia of almost everything it wants before negotiations on Ukraine are even underway. The reaction of mainstream European observers was neatly summed up by Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times: The “Trump administration’s political ambitions for Europe mean that, for now, America is also an adversary.” Is this view correct? A skeptic might recall that there have been serious rifts in the trans-Atlantic partnership on…

On Dec. 26, 2024, Mao Zedong’s birthday, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) unveiled a new stealth aircraft. Reportedly designated J-36, the aircraft combines stealth capabilities with a large payload capacity, enabling both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions over extended ranges at supersonic speeds. These features make it a formidable challenge for modern air defense systems. China’s sixth-generation fighter jet has sparked renewed concerns about Beijing’s advances in the ongoing arms race. It comes at a time when the United States has scaled back investments in next-generation air dominance under its latest defense budget. For U.S. military planners, this development significantly complicates operational scenarios, particularly in the Taiwan Strait, where China’s enhanced offensive counterair and interdiction capabilities would necessitate a rapid deployment of additional intelligence and defensive assets. Such a capability shift…

When great changes are afoot, we look for a user manual. There will be new patterns of living and new expectations for the future. The rapidly developing corruption landscape in the United States will be no exception. U.S. President Donald Trump’s election last November and the accelerated institutional and personnel changes since his inauguration have forced Americans into new political territory. In particular, anti-corruption institutions and norms are unraveling. Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to prioritize cases related to criminal cartels and closed down Task Force KleptoCapture and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative; Trump himself ordered a pause in new investigations or enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for six months. While those developments focus on U.S. businesses engaging in corruption overseas rather than at…

In April 2024, Elon Musk was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and announce a multibillion-dollar Tesla factory investment. Instead, he canceled at the last minute and flew to China. Musk’s switch earned him a barrage of aggrieved Indian headlines. But even before his emergence as a force in Donald Trump’s second administration, the incident also served to underline Musk’s unusual role as a prized ambassador to the emerging industrial giants of Asia.Musk embodies much of what India wants from its ties with the United States: the prospect of major investment, valuable technology transfer, and now a direct back channel to the White House. But viewed in a different way, India, with its system of close connections between billionaire industrialists and political power brokers, offers a means…

Much like other fields, international affairs has its stars. So, while Bruce Hoffman may not be a household name, in national-security circles he’s a luminary. Author of Inside Terrorism, Hoffman is a former chief officer at the RAND Corporation and congressionally appointed member of a post-9/11 evaluation team. "He’s a great scholar who applies his knowledge worldwide," says Daniel Byman, a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS) and director of its Security Studies Program (SSP), where Hoffman teaches. This academic-practitioner combination is, Byman adds, a hallmark of SFS and one reason it was ranked No. 1 for its master’s degree programs in Foreign Policy magazine in 2024. The annual rankings are based on a survey of 1,500 international relations faculty, policymakers, and think tank staff. "Being located…

Building on Indiana University’s 200-year history of global engagement, the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies offers a unique fusion of international policy programs with unrivaled depth and breadth in world languages and area studies. Students can pursue dozens of degree pathways in master's, PhD, and certificate programs. Policy-focused degrees at the Hamilton Lugar School prepare students for careers in government agencies, multilateral organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. The one-year Master of International Students can also pursue an International Studies MA or an MS for a focus on quantitative analysis, as well as dual degrees in public affairs, public health, business, information science, library science, and law. "These students are united by an interest in tackling complex global issues and using rigorous analysis to inform sound…

With campuses in Washington, DC, Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) offers a globally focused academic experience while connecting students with diverse employer networks and opportunities. Recognizing shifting recruitment trends, SAIS ensures students engage directly with employers through career treks to global hubs like Geneva, New York City, London, San Francisco, Rome, and, more recently, expanding markets like Singapore. "With fewer employers coming to college campuses for recruiting, we are taking students to them," explains Michael McKenzie, assistant dean for global careers. Student-led career clubs - focused on consulting, technology, finance, energy, conflict management, environment, global security, and intelligence - play a key role in shaping career treks, employer outreach, and programming, while offering students hands-on leadership opportunities. SAIS students are empowered…

We stand at the cusp of a reordering moment in international relations as significant as 1989, 1945, or 1919—a generational event. As with these previous episodes, the end of the liberal international order that coalesced in the 1990s is a moment fraught in equal measure with hope and fear, as old certainties both bad and good evaporate. Such pivotal moments are ones in which charismatic opportunists rather than competent operators shine. At each of those previous inflection points, the old order had been going bankrupt slowly, before collapsing all at once. Though it wasn’t always clear to contemporaries, in retrospect we can see that the new order that would succeed in each case had long been in the works. In 1919, for example, the outlawing of war and the establishment…

For years, Russia has been Europe’s greatest enemy, trying everything short of war to divide the continent, bring down democratic governments, and support Kremlin-friendly leaders. Using money, disinformation campaigns, and election meddling, Russia has backed and boosted illiberal, nationalist, pro-Russian, anti-European Union, and authoritarian forces for years. Now, the world’s most powerful leaderxs — U.S. President Donald Trump—and the world’s richest man—Elon Musk—are aligning the world’s greatest superpower with Europe’s greatest enemy by actively supporting the same farright movements, attacking the same democratic governments, and flooding the European information space with the same kind of disinformation, often including Kremlin talking points virtually word for word. It is unfathomable enough that Washington, Silicon Valley, and Moscow are now partnering to make Europe safe for the toxic mix of autocracy and oligarchy…

Over the last two years, international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization as well as various human rights advocacy groups have called attention to a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Sudan. The numbers are staggering: Nearly 25 million people face acute food insecurity, some 11 million have been displaced internally, and over 600,000 are experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger. The crisis can mostly be traced to the ongoing civil war between Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Launched in early 2023, the civil war has created significant obstacles to the entry and distribution of international aid. Aid shipments face arbitrary and indefinite delays at SAF-controlled ports. When aid…

Elon Musk is the richest person in the world—one of the richest in history. But Musk’s power is no longer just tied to the financial wealth derived from Tesla, X, or SpaceX. Musk, by virtue of his close relationship with President Donald Trump, has been given a sweeping mandate to influence policy across the entire U.S. government through the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His life as an entrepreneur sheds important light on his work as a political actor. Musk has often claimed that physics is at the center of his worldview: He talks about the search for natural first principles as a motivation for his actions in business and life more generally. And “first principles thinking” has become something of a mantra in Musk world. It evokes…

As Donald Trump took the presidential oath for a second time, he was surrounded by some of the world’s richest men. But even a famously materialistic president couldn’t outdo the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when it comes to collecting billionaire support. In March 2018, more than 100 billionaires gathered in Beijing to serve in the Chinese government. Pony Ma, the CEO of web giant Tencent and then China’s richest man, sat alongside Evergrande chairman Hui Ka Yan and 40-plus other members of the ultra-rich in the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament. Ma’s wealth, at $47 billion, put him just ahead of Hui, worth $41 billion, as China’s richest man. Another 59 billionaires joined the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the party’s highest advisory body. The net worth of…

In the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government’s Master of International Security program, the mechanism for giving students a competitive edge to address critical global challenges is "deeply experiential and molded around real-world applications," according to Professor Ellen Laipson, the program’s director. This hands-on learning model is made possible by the newness of the Schar School’s International Security program and the fresh perspectives of its faculty. "Students here get the foundational education you find in other institutions, but our program is young - less than 10 years - and so are many of our faculty," Laipson says. "The consequence is that we're nimble and responsive to shifting priorities for employers." In practice, this effort to match curriculum and in-classroom learning to career needs has led to reconfiguring…

As global challenges intensify and economic interconnectedness deepens, Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University stands at the forefront of preparing students for the complexities of international business and trade. For three consecutive years, Thunderbird has been recognized by Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education analyst, as No. 1 in the world for international trade. Lena Booth, deputy dean of Thunderbird Academic Enterprise and finance professor, credits three critical factors that keep Thunderbird at the cutting edge of international trade education: the school’s continuous refinement of a globally focused curriculum, a faculty composed of industry experts with extensive experience in global business and trade, and a vast network of global centers and alumni that offer students high-impact internships and consulting, mentorship, and career opportunities, as well as direct…

My family didn’t have cable when I was growing up. What we did have was a DVD player into which my parents fed offerings from the local Blockbuster. Our fare consisted mostly of kung fu movies: the Once Upon a Time in China series, Iron Monkey, Twin Warriors, Drunken Master. The stars of these movies—Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, and Jackie Chan—were household heroes, embodying characters who were deadly but fiercely principled. And they looked like me. As a teenager, my world felt small for the four walls of my room, the doldrums of homework, the rigor of piano lessons—but huge, too, for the potential of a world beyond all this. Martial arts movies offered a peek into that world. Every night, I would hoist my leg atop my…

1. On Jan. 6, schoolchildren began receiving free meals under a new program in which country? a. Myanmar b. Singapore c. Thailand d. Indonesia 2. South Korean authorities detained impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Jan. 15. Roughly how many police officers were mobilized for the operation? a. 80 b. 700 c. 3,000 d. 6,000 3. Which organization did President Donald Trump withdraw the United States from after his Jan. 20 inauguration? a. World Health Organization b. World Trade Organization c. Organization of American States d. International Olympic Committee 4. On Jan. 27, rebel groups announced that they had gained control of which city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? a. Goma b. Kinshasa c. Lubumbashi d. Mbuji-Mayi 5. Marco Rubio on Feb. 1 began his first international trip as…