Foreign Policy

Respecting drug companies’ intellectual property rights during a pandemic doesn’t make medical, or economic, sense.

The world in 2021 will be haunted by the legacies of 2020: an ongoing pandemic, an economic crisis, Donald Trump’s divisive presidency—and new threats emanating from wars and climate change.

After decades of uneasy ties, China can no longer deny that India is a real threat.

With much of the world in lockdown again, here are some of this year’s highlights to help you pass the time.

The United States was already fighting with China for influence at global organizations, but the pandemic made everything worse.

From Afghanistan to Mexico, and from Belarus to Cambodia, here’s the best photojournalism from a year that felt like a decade.

The coziness between Washington and Big Tech is over.

The British novelist didn’t just write about the world of intelligence. He changed it forever.

The continent thought it had the coronavirus beat—and had its guard down when it mattered most.

Turkey took its expansionist vision to new heights in 2020—but with a battered economy, growing opposition, and now U.S. sanctions, it’s not clear how long that can continue.

In the Christmas movie universe, Europeans are royals, the military is a burden, and home is where the heart is.

From a showdown with Iran to Trump’s loyalty tests, some of 2020’s major stories will have ripple effects for the Biden administration.

A decade after Arabs started a regional revolution, it’s the neighboring continent that will never be the same.

Rust Belts exist around the world, and integrating them into the larger trans-Atlantic community is key to political stability.

Insisting that Iran must abandon its missile program could fall into the hardliners’ trap and make a new agreement impossible.

The shifting ground in the Middle East is creating new options for breaking the stalemate.

Though Israel remains opposed to Palestinian independence, 2020 marked the year of its acceptance in the region.

Foreign Policy’s five best reads on the dramatic shift in energy policy in 2020.

It could make 2021 the year Americans rediscover science.

The discovery of U.S. spy networks in China fueled a decadelong global war over data between Beijing and Washington.