U.S. Foreign Policy

American soldier reads a newspaper in the shade under a U.S. Marine tank in Beirut, Lebanon. / Library of Congress

Beirut 1958: America’s origin story in the Middle East

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor arrives to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso - RC1225F461D0

Quid pro quos, bureaucrats, and duty

Monday, October 28, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on the conflict in Syria as Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House National Security Advisor Robert OBrien stand by in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC1CA1D434F0

Implications of the new order in Syria

Daniel L. Byman

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Demonstrators carry national flags during an anti-government protest in Tripoli, Lebanon October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim - RC1D594342A0

No going back: How America and the Middle East can turn the page to a productive future

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

US President Bill Clinton applauds as Jordan s King Hussein reaches out and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L) at the end of the Israeli - Jordanian peace treaty signing ceremony - PBEAHUNIEEZ

25 years on, remembering the path to peace for Jordan and Israel

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

A convoy of U.S. vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1AB61E8440

In 6 charts, see what Americans really think about US policy toward Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan

Shibley Telhami

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

On October 1, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings will host Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen, authors of the new book “Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism,” to discuss these themes and present findings from their research on how democratic systems work — and how they fail. Following opening remarks by Brookings Vice President and Director Bruce Jones, Washington Columnist for The Boston Globe Indira Lakshmanan will moderate a conversation with the authors. Questions from the audience will follow the discussion.The rise of populism in the West and the rise of China in the East have stirred a debate about the role of democracy in the international system. The impact of globalization and digital capitalism is forcing worldwide attention to the starker divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” challenging how we think about the social contract. At a time when democracy is being tested internally and its role in the global order questioned, we must assess its current trajectory across regions and discuss the core challenges facing democracies in the West. Can civic participation and direct democracy be integrated into the system without empowering populism? How can governing systems in the West compete against China’s innovations and global ambitions? Can different systems of government co-exist in this age of globalization and integration, or are we facing a clash of systems?

Highlights: Experts discuss how to renovate democracy in a new technological and geopolitical era

Samantha Diaz and Emilie Kimball

Monday, October 21, 2019

Turkish army tank is being unloaded on a road near the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov - RC1C41D0BF40

The US no longer matters in Syria

Friday, October 18, 2019

FILE PHOTO: Kim Myong Gil, minister at North Korea's mission to the United Nations, leaves bound for North Korea with other North Korean officials after the second Economy and Energy Cooperation Working Group Meeting in South Korean territory at the truce village in Panmunjom, north of Seoul August 8, 2007. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS/File photo - RC175A8017C0

Why North Korea walked away from negotiations in Sweden

Friday, October 18, 2019

People walk past the State Department Building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1975B72C30

Hal Sonnenfeldt and Henry Kissinger—A natural pair

Ambassador Winston Lord

Friday, October 18, 2019