World Leaders

Shredding while Gazans burn: Secretary of State Antony Blinken performs “Rockin’ in the Free World” in Kyiv on May 14, 2024.

Antony Blinken’s Legacy Is Buried Under the Rubble of Gaza Antony Blinken’s Legacy Is Buried Under the Rubble of Gaza

Despite valedictory speeches, the secretary of state will be remembered not for his successes—or his guitar playing—but for the humanitarian catastrophe he aided and abetted.

Jan 13, 2025 / Jonathan Guyer

Let’s call the whole thing off: Justin Trudeau shaking hands with Donald Trump at a NATO summit in London to mark the alliance's 70th anniversary in December 2019.

Justin Trudeau’s Fecklessness Made Him an Easy Target for MAGA Manifest Destiny Justin Trudeau’s Fecklessness Made Him an Easy Target for MAGA Manifest Destiny

The United States probably won’t annex Canada. But Trump’s imperial dreams are already destabilizing the world.

Jan 10, 2025 / Jeet Heer

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, United states President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Meacham Begin, celebrate after signing the Camp David Peace Accords in 1978.

Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret Jimmy Carter’s Biographer on the Late President’s Biggest Regret

Carter summoned Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to Camp David to make peace, not apartheid, in the Middle East. But the Israeli president broke his promise to freeze settlements.

Jan 9, 2025 / Kai Bird

Members of the Syrian community hold flags of Syria and Germany as they rally on December 8, 2024, in Berlin.

The Syrian Diaspora in Germany After Assad The Syrian Diaspora in Germany After Assad

Some refugees may return to Syria because they want to live there again. But many won’t—for the same reasons many refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe didn’t after World War II.

Jan 8, 2025 / Linda Mannheim

Syrians celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad regime and the New Year’s Eve in the capital, Damascus, on December 31, 2024.

Damascus Diary: A New Year in a New Syria Damascus Diary: A New Year in a New Syria

Syrians begin to learn to live without Assad.

Jan 6, 2025 / Nicolas Niarchos

Minerals displayed at the showroom of a battery recycling plant in Wuhan, China, in 2023.

Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals

China’s latest export restriction lays bare the complex geopolitics behind President Trump’s proposed tariffs—and the green energy transition.

Jan 2, 2025 / Nicolas Niarchos

A view of Europe from space.

The Old World Order Is Dying. What New World Order Is Struggling to Be Born? The Old World Order Is Dying. What New World Order Is Struggling to Be Born?

Some of the world’s largest, oldest empires are collapsing before our eyes, with no clear sign of what will happen next.

Jan 2, 2025 / Alfred McCoy

No Holiday Spirit in Gaza

No Holiday Spirit in Gaza No Holiday Spirit in Gaza

Jesus was from Palestine.

Dec 25, 2024 / OppArt / Andrea Arroyo

Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy

Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy Joe Biden’s Bodyguard of Liars Betrayed American Democracy

Gerontocracy, pro-establishment politics and deception by Democratic Party insiders all helped elect Donald Trump.

Dec 20, 2024 / Jeet Heer

An effigy of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a protest outside the National Assembly in Seoul following the second martial law impeachment vote on December 14, 2024.

South Korea's Autumn of the Patriarchy South Korea's Autumn of the Patriarchy

President Yoon Suk-yeol is the first of his country's leaders eager to be a stooge of both Washington and Tokyo. His impeachment is testimony to the strength of Korean democracy.

Dec 19, 2024 / Bruce Cumings

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