In Box

The FP Quiz

Are you a globalization junkie? Then test your knowledge of global trends, economics, and politics with 8 questions about how the world works.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

No Heads Are Better Than Two

Russia's double-headed eagle is not just a national emblem. It's a symbol of the national schizophrenia.

BY NINA L. KHRUSHCHEVA | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

The Islamists Are Not Coming

Religious parties in the Muslim world are hardly the juggernauts they've been made out to be.

BY CHARLES KURZMAN, IJLAL NAQVI | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

How High the Moon?

Eclipses move markets. Really.

BY MORDCHAI SHUALY | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Epiphanies: Ashraf Ghani

Afghanistan's first postwar finance minister has now set his sights on reforming the country from the ground up, calling out his former boss, President Hamid Karzai, for corruption and failure. Here, the poetry-loving Pashtun speaks with FP about his troubled homeland's past and future.

INTERVIEW BY DAVID KENNER | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

The New Blood Diamonds

Diamonds from African countries have been funding guerrilla wars for decades. But they're not the only precious gems with blood on their hands. Here are four more prized resources that are fraught with conflict.

BY JORDANA TIMERMAN | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

The Elephant in the Room

The biggest pain in Asia isn't the country you'd think.

BY BARBARA CROSSETTE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

The FP Quiz

Are you a globalization junkie? Then test your knowledge of global trends, economics, and politics with 8 questions about how the world works.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Take Me Back to Constantinople

How Byzantium, not Rome, can help preserve Pax Americana.

BY EDWARD LUTTWAK | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

New Order

How "the multipolar world" came to be.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Hot Potato

The little tuber that gave us modernity. 

BY JOSHUA KEATING | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Iran's Dirty Workers

The Islamic Republic's president and supreme leader may be household names, but many of those in charge of the state's atrocities remain largely unknown outside the country. Here are five of the worst.

BY JOSHUA KEATING | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Epiphanies: Akbar Ganji

A former tenant of Tehran's infamous Evin prison and award-winning investigative journalist offers his advice to those who carry on the fight.

BY AKBAR GANJI | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

My Secret Plan to Overthrow the Mullahs

TK

BY LARRY FRANKLIN | OCTOBER 19, 2009

Epiphanies: Wei Jingsheng

An unlikely dissident, imprisoned for almost two decades for his 1978 democratic tract "The Fifth Modernization," looks forward to China's democratic future.

INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

Playing With a Full Deck

Lessons about nuclear deterrence from the poker table.

BY JAMES MCMANUS | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

How Big Is Your Rocket?

There's a new global space race on, as countries spend billions to join the nine that have successfully launched rockets into orbit. Here's a look at four of the contenders.

BY JAMES DOWNIE | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

The Final Expense

Burying a family member might also bury you.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

Traffic Alert

Driving while poor could kill you.

BY ANNIE LOWREY | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

Brother Against Brother

Research proves it: Familiarity breeds contempt.

BY JOSHUA KEATING | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

France Without Illusions

The French president vowed to take on dictators everywhere. Has he now given up on human rights entirely?

BY NATALIE NOUGAYRÈDE | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

The FP Quiz

Are you a globalization junkie? Then test your knowledge of global trends, economics, and politics with 8 questions about how the world works.

SEPT. / OCT. 2009

A Diplomatic Mystery

Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley delves into a misunderstanding over NATO expansion that brought decades of grief.

BY BILL BRADLEY | SEPT. / OCT. 2009

A Bright Shining Slogan

How "hearts and minds" came to be.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPT. / OCT. 2009