Why the Middle East Never Bought Obama’s Politics of Hope

Egyptian Revolutionaries Were Hardly Surprised When America Fumbled the Arab Spring

On the night of Barack Obama’s election in 2008, I stood outside a dormitory at the University of Texas at Austin, debating two Egyptian bloggers about Obama’s win.

About two months ago, I was watching another U.S. election season when I learned that one of those bloggers had been sentenced to two years in prison in Egypt. Ahmed Naje was convicted of offending “public morals” and “spreading licentiousness” after an excerpt from his graphic novel was published in a local newspaper. The novel, which includes sexually explicit content, had already …

Is China Pulling the Plug on Overseas Investment?

Why Beijing Got Cold Feet and Sank a Major Deal to Buy a U.S. Hotel Giant

Every time China appears ready to take (or retake) its rightful place in the global economy, a reminder comes along that this isn’t just another country willing to abide by …

Why Be Afraid of Russia?

Washington and Moscow Have Competing Interests. But They Can Be Overcome.

Russia’s recent actions in Syria have raised new questions about the country’s foreign-policy goals and their meaning for the U.S. Doubts remain about the annexation of Crimea and how it …

Will Mexico Conquer or Conk Out?

Shannon K. O’Neil Sees America’s Southern Neighbor At a Crossroads

Council on Foreign Relations Latin America analyst Shannon K. O’Neil, author of Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead, was amazed by the enthusiasm she felt …