Foreign Affairs

India's online biometric ID database offers a model for treating digital infra­structure as a public good and data as something that citizens deserve access to.   

In an world increasingly driven by the ability of private companies and governments to collect vast amounts of personal data online, the European Union's ambitious new data rules enshrine data privacy as a fundamental right rather than a luxury.

Since taking office, President Trump has made a series of unilateral decisions with enormous consequences for U.S. foreign policy. But Trump hasn't single-handedly destroyed the checks and balances that are supposed to constrain executive power in foreign policy: his actions are merely exposing that they have been wearing away for decades.

The United States long promoted its vision of an open and free Internet on the global stage. But today, as authoritarian governments and private actors increasingly weaponize the web, U.S. leadership is largely absent. It’s time for Washington to overcome its belief that the Internet can fix itself and instead work to maintain the Internet as a tool for strengthening democracy.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador's promise to shake up the status quo propelled him to success in Mexico's presidential election. But whether AMLO's leadership will bring about inclusive, forward-looking reforms or a turn backward to dominant-party rule and increased presidential power remains unclear. 

The 2015 Iran nuclear deal stands as a model for combining the threat of sanctions and continued isolation with the hard work of negotiating, even between countries whose relationships are shaped by conflict and distrust. The Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the agreement has turned Iran into a nearly impossible problem for future U.S. governments. 

China is set to remake cyberspace in its own image. That will make the Internet less open and allow Beijing to reap vast economic, diplomatic, and security benefits that once flowed to Washington.

The true story of 2008 forces a question about the future of financial globalization: How will a multipolar world that has moved beyond the transatlantic structures of the last century cope with the next crisis?

Sixty days since the Singapore summit, North Korea continues to expand its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals and has played its diplomatic hand brilliantly. 

The rise of right-wing populism in the West is primarily a story of culture and identity, in particular the fear among white voters across the West that their cultures and identities are under threat. Both the left and the right, however, have colluded in propping up the falsehood that populism is mostly about disparities of wealth and power.

Trump officials can secure large reductions in Iran’s oil exports. But doing so requires the administration to navigate both complex global oil markets and a multilevel diplomatic game.

The postwar international order is not a myth, nor was its creation an accident.

Tunisia has seen several major human rights victories in recent years, mostly thanks to the efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs). But a recent law passed by the parliament threatens the freedom of CSOs and could be a setback for Tunisia's fragile democracy. 

International cooperation was crucial to beating the last outbreak of Ebola. It will be equally crucial for the next one.

Although Japan is taking steps to fill labor shortages and de-ethnicize its migrant labor schemes, it is too soon to tell whether these signal a true liberalization of immigration policy rather than a tinkering with an illiberal status quo.

This election, like virtually every previous election in Pakistan, will have few consequences for Pakistan’s behavior at home or abroad.

Following the success of the notionally pro-indepence party in the 2016 election in Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a campaign to pressure Taiwan to accept the inevitability of unification with China. But polls show that amongst the population of Taiwan, support for unification with China is decreasing over time. As Taiwan continues to resists Beijing's efforts, an escalation in tensions between the two governments is likely on its way. 

If Washington wants to counter Iranian influence in Yemen, it needs to end its support for the Saudi-led coalition and throw its weight behind peace talks.

Australia has finally passed tough new laws against foreign political meddling.