John Feffer

John Feffer is the author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands (a Dispatch Books original); its final volume, Songlands, was published in 2021. He is  the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. He is a TomDispatch regular.

Trump Rally

Donald Trump’s Apocalypse Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Donald Trump’s Apocalypse Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Whatever happens in November, the forecast is more stormy weather ahead.

Oct 13, 2016 / John Feffer

Veterans for Trump

The Myth of Trump’s Alternative Worldview The Myth of Trump’s Alternative Worldview

His foreign policy isn’t an alternative to US empire. It’s a cruder rendition of it.

Aug 10, 2016 / John Feffer

Trump Speaks on Orlando Shooting

Donald Trump Isn’t the Presidential Candidate We Should Be Worried About Donald Trump Isn’t the Presidential Candidate We Should Be Worried About

The real danger is the smarter, more capable neo-fascist politician who will inevitably rise in his wake.

Jun 27, 2016 / John Feffer

The Global Epidemic of Child Warriors

The Global Epidemic of Child Warriors The Global Epidemic of Child Warriors

From the Taliban to suicide bombers in the Middle East and Africa, young people are enacting the savageries of their elders.

Apr 18, 2016 / John Feffer

Burma: Democracy with an Asterisk?

Burma: Democracy with an Asterisk? Burma: Democracy with an Asterisk?

Burma’s Constitution awards a quarter of its Parliament to the military. But that’s not Aung San Suu Kyi’s biggest problem by a long shot.

Nov 11, 2015 / John Feffer

China drought

Splinterlands: The View From 2050 Splinterlands: The View From 2050

A dystopian fictional tour of the world that awaits us.

Nov 10, 2015 / John Feffer

Star Trek

What Can ‘Star Trek’ Teach Us About American Exceptionalism? What Can ‘Star Trek’ Teach Us About American Exceptionalism?

The quintessentially American urge “to boldly go,” regardless of consequence, has gotten humanity into a heap of trouble.

Sep 17, 2015 / John Feffer

Did Market Leninism Win the Cold War?

Did Market Leninism Win the Cold War? Did Market Leninism Win the Cold War?

The states of the future will marry the least savory aspects of collectivism and capitalism.

May 26, 2015 / John Feffer

The Islamic State’s Atrocities—and Ours

The Islamic State’s Atrocities—and Ours The Islamic State’s Atrocities—and Ours

It’s tempting to call ISIS “medieval” murderers. But from mass murder to drone strikes, atrocity is very much a part of our modern experience.

Mar 5, 2015 / John Feffer and Foreign Policy In Focus

The European Union May Be on the Verge of Collapse

The European Union May Be on the Verge of Collapse The European Union May Be on the Verge of Collapse

The complex federal project of the EU has proven fragile in the absence of a strong external threat.

Jan 27, 2015 / John Feffer

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