There’s a lot to be optimistic about these days. And then there’s the Middle East.
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 There’s a lot to be optimistic about today. In almost every part of the world, economies are growing and war, poverty and disease are receding. But then there is the Middle East. Syria remains a collapsed country; more than 5 million of its people have already fled. Yemen … Continue reading
Trump: For the love of Putin
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, July 13, 2017 The latest revelations about Russia and President Trump’s campaign are useful because they might help unravel the mystery that has always been at the center of this story. Why has Trump had such a rosy attitude toward Russia and President Vladimir Putin? It is such an unusual position … Continue reading
Why would Trump help Putin achieve his goals?
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 Put his campaign rhetoric, tweets and appointments all together, and we’re getting a sense of U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump. The president-elect has consistently signaled that he wants to be accommodating toward Russia and get tough on China. But that sees the world almost backward. China is, … Continue reading
What Trump’s international admirers are celebrating
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, November 17, 2016 Much of the world has been shocked and dismayed by Donald Trump’s electoral success, but there are those who are delighted. “This was a victory for the forces which oppose globalization, are fighting illegal migration and are in favor of clean ethnic states,” declared a spokesperson for Golden … Continue reading
The consequences of the oil bust
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, August 20, 2015 While we have been watching the Islamic State and discussing Iran, something much bigger is happening in the world. We are witnessing a historic fall in the price of oil, down more than 50 percent in less than a year. When a similar drop happened in the 1980s, the Soviet Union … Continue reading
How to ensure that Russia will stick to the Ukrainian cease-fire deal
By Fareed Zakaria Thursday, February 12, 2015 The deal announced Thursday to end the fighting in Ukraine will face the same obstacle the previous such agreement has faced: how to ensure that Russia will abide by it. Frustrated by Russia’s continued support for Ukrainian separatists, Western statesmen have begun discussing military assistance for the Ukrainian … Continue reading
The rise of Putinism
By Fareed Zakaria When the Cold War ended, Hungary occupied a special place in the story of the revolutions of 1989. It was the first country in the Soviet orbit to abandon communism and embrace liberal democracy. Today it is again a trendsetter, becoming the first European country to denounce and distance itself from liberal … Continue reading
The perils of leaning forward
By Fareed Zakaria/The Washington Post The controversy over Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has largely obscured what should have been an important initiative by the Obama administration. The president’s trip to Poland was one more step in what is going to be the central task of U.S. foreign policy over the next decade: deterring a great … Continue reading
China’s cyberespionage presents a 21st-century challenge
By Fareed Zakaria/The Washington Post Vladimir Putin might be a 19th-century statesman, using old-fashioned muscle to get his way, but it has become clear that Chinese President Xi Jinping goes one step further, comfortably embracing both 19th- and 21st-century tactics. Start with the 19th-century aspect: the huge Sino-Russian natural gas deal signed this week that … Continue reading
The tension between global norms and national interests
By Fareed Zakaria/The Washington Post Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has unified Western democracies, at least in their robust condemnation of the action. But farther afield, one sees a variety of responses that foreshadow the great emerging tension in 21st-century international life: between global norms and national interests. Consider the response of India, the world’s most … Continue reading
Fareed Zakaria 