The Trump administration’s inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial represents one of the White House’s most aggressive moves to secure new supply chains independent of China.

The U.S.-India trade deal announced on Monday by Trump delivers a major boost to a floundering relationship.

The Philippines is aiming to conclude negotiations on a South China Sea code of conduct between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China this year.

Prioritizing GDP-based targets doesn’t necessarily strengthen military capabilities.

In courting Trump, Latin American leaders could undermine the region’s long-term strategic interests and endanger their own political survival.

Once sacrosanct, the enormous U.S. aid package to Israel is now in doubt, writes David E. Rosenberg.

Trump wants an American sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere, but he is unwilling to grant similar dominions to Putin and Xi, columnist Matthew Kroenig writes.

Europeans are grappling with not only major security and defense challenges, but also fundamental questions about their understanding of peace.

World Brief: Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy threaten trilateral peace talks, a new report details significant democratic backsliding globally, and Israeli strikes in Gaza kill dozens of people. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/r...

Trying to preserve NATO’s old formula of U.S. dominance and European submission is an increasingly bad bet, writes columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social.

The Putin regime uses Russian sporting glory as propaganda to validate its rule.

FP’s @beijingpalmer.bsky.social offers a primer on how the ancient philosophy became a potent force in modern-day China.

Malaysia has demonstrated that it is possible not only to enter but also to remain in Trump’s good graces, even as it opposes some of his actions, writes Derek Grossman.

Canada is now witnessing a U.S. government openly menacing not only Canadian sovereignty but even Canadian nationhood itself, argues Casey Michel.

Countries with a critical niche may be best primed to endure great-power competition, argue Ramon Pacheco Pardo and Robyn Klingler-Vidra.

Reducing the U.S.-Africa trade relationship is counterproductive to the Trump administration’s core priorities around economic prosperity and geopolitical power, argues Landry Signé.

The long-term impact of protests often depends on translating street pressure into institutional action.

It is time for the U.S. and Europe to translate transatlantic energy cooperation from shared intent into tangible outcomes, writes Stavros Papastavrou.

Money doesn’t trump what the Kremlin sees as its core security interests.

Join FP Live this week for a special one-on-one discussion with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about European defense, foreign policy, immigration, and transatlantic relations. Live on Feb. 5 at 10:00AM ET: foreignpolicy.com/live/greece-...

The 2026 Winter Olympics have managed to disappoint almost everyone without enraging anyone, writes Bobby Ghosh.

Trump said Modi had agreed to “BUY AMERICAN” by investing more than $500 billion in U.S. industries such as agriculture, technology, and energy, although there are currently no further details on the timeline for such a deal, FP’s @iyengarish.bsky.social writes.

World Brief: India and the United States strike a trade deal, Gaza’s Rafah border crossing reopens, and right-wing candidate Laura Fernández wins Costa Rica’s presidential election. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/02/u...

Not even Milei has severed ties with China, which produces untold heartburn in Washington. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/02/t...

Ideological kinship and realpolitik are bringing Israel and Europe’s far right together. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/02/i...

Economics columnist Adam Tooze explores Xi Jinping’s military modernization campaign and Beijing’s yearslong purge of the top ranks of the People’s Liberation Army. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/30/c...

For both the Turkish and Syrian governments, a recent victory against the Syrian Democratic Forces will prove empty without steps to address Kurdish political aspirations, argues Henri J. Barkey. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/28/r...

Bush’s use of the Insurrection Act does not support Trump’s expansive interpretation of this authority. In fact, it illustrates the opposite, writes columnist Julian E. Zelizer. foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/02/i...

By lasting longer than World War II, the invasion of Ukraine has shattered the Kremlin’s most sacred myth, writes Alexey Kovalev.

Countering the Islamic State’s globally dispersed network must involve sustained kinetic strikes, security cooperation with local forces, and the disruption of illicit supply chains and communication channels, write Clara Broekaert and Colin P. Clarke.

A move toward nuclearization in the Nordic region would further destabilize security in Europe while being unlikely to yield any actual bombs, writes Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom.

“Reluctant Conquest” is a timely read for those seeking to understand Trump’s sudden fixation with Greenland and why the Arctic is no longer a U.S. afterthought, writes Gloria Dickie.

Surging demand—and prices—for the mineral stand to benefit exporters in Latin America.

How a runaway uranium convoy encapsulates the collapse of global rules.

Trump’s shifting justifications for U.S. military presence in Latin America have rattled leaders across the region.

New Delhi’s new defense agreement with the EU is in keeping with India’s preference for—and oft-stated commitment to—the forging of a multipolar world, writes Sumit Ganguly.

The document offers yet another window into the Trump administration’s unorthodox approach to defense and the ways in which it’s determined to divorce the U.S. from long-standing policies and norms, John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar write.

Trump’s pick did not rattle markets, but the Fed’s future and independence remains uncertain, Keith Johnson writes.

As Nordic countries rethink their security, seeking nuclear weapons would bring more problems than solutions, argues Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom.

The Saudi-Emirati split goes beyond Yemen, Rob Geist Pinfold writes. Behind recent headlines lies a deeper divide between two rival visions of the regional order.

The events of a busy six weeks in international relations all raise an important question for U.S. policymakers, Steven Cook writes.

Canada and other ‘middle powers’ must cultivate alternatives while managing a transition from their position of reliance on the United States, writes Emma Ashford.

Latin America is facing an unsettling new reality undergirded by rising fears that no country is considered off-limits to U.S. President Donald Trump, writes John Haltiwanger.

Current trendlines point to more U.S. military engagement in the region, not less.

The trade pact may be getting all the attention, but the pair also inked a landmark defense agreement this week.

The current inter-Gulf discord was a long time coming—and is unlikely to abate anytime soon, Rob Geist Pinfold writes.

The neglect of climate change bleeds into other areas of the strategy as well, Josh Busby and Greg Pollock write.

Germany and Poland can be the continent’s future—but can’t manage their politics today.

Marco Rubio spent nearly three hours on Wednesday parrying questions from Senate Democrats on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

As the Trump administration has inked $11 billion in health agreements with more than 15 African countries in recent weeks, it is facing increased pushback on the continent, especially in Nigeria and Kenya.