Broad daylight
How common is the corruption of public officials in the U.S.? Ben Freeman on what America’s “authoritarian friends” from the Persian Gulf are doing in Washington, D.C.
Coming home to roost
How much is Iran driving the conflict in the Middle East? Alex Vatanka on the Islamic Republic’s relationship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—and the tension between its ideology of revolution and instinct for self-preservation.
Note: Friends like these
Friends like these. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, don’t usually issue
Legion of doom
Why is collaboration intensifying among the world’s most powerful autocracies? Lucan Way on what unites and divides China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
Note: Night in Tunisia
Night in Tunisia. President Kais Saied was re-elected to a second five-year term in Tunisia on October 6. But the
Note: ‘Foreign Agents’
5 W Main: Foreign Agents. Elected in 2021 promising to fight crime, Eric Adams became this September the first-ever mayor
The Chinese armada
Why are so many military confrontations happening in the South China Sea? Isaac B. Kardon on Beijing’s offshore strategy for a new international order.
Perfectly indiscriminate
What is the extent of Russian war crimes in Ukraine? Chimène Keitner on the brutal logic of Moscow’s continuing violations of international law.
Nothing is easy
Just how secure is the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan? Benjamin Hopkins on foreign subsidies, the drug trade, and civil war.
The fall
What’s happening to the Arab Spring’s last democracy? Michele Dunne on the upheaval in Tunisia.
