United Nations

White Whale

Why the black helicopter crowd goes crazy over the Law of the Sea Treaty.

BY DAVID WEIGEL | MAY 25, 2012

Enough Talking, Kofi

It’s time for the world to stop hiding behind Kofi Annan's skirts. We gave diplomacy a chance in Syria; now we must accept that diplomacy has failed.

BY JAMES TRAUB | MAY 25, 2012

In the Crosshairs

Why controlling the international arms trade can help to build stable societies.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | MAY 22, 2012

Why Libya Matters

If the international community doesn't help Libya build a democratic society now, it'll have no one but itself to blame for the consequences of failure.

BY GIULIO TERZI | MAY 22, 2012

The Goldilocks Arsenal

How many nukes is the "just right" amount?

BY J. PETER SCOBLIC | MAY 17, 2012

Meet the GUTS

The West isn't declining. Here are four world powers enjoying an astonishing renaissance.

BY BRUCE JONES AND THOMAS WRIGHT | MAY 17, 2012

Lost at Sea

Can the Obama administration succeed where its predecessors failed on the Law of the Sea treaty?

BY JAMES KRASKA | MAY 16, 2012

Lebanon's Little Syria

Bashar al-Assad's enemies and allies are battling it out in the flashpoint city of Tripoli.

BY EMILE HOKAYEM | MAY 15, 2012

The Silence in Sudan

Why did the United Nations stop reporting atrocities in Darfur?

BY COLUM LYNCH | MAY 7, 2012

The Accidental Peacemaker

China now finds itself on the side of peace in a brewing border conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. But is it really committed to stopping its old buddy, Bashir?

BY JAMES TRAUB | MAY 4, 2012

The New Math of Geopolitics: Does It All Add Up to G-Zero?

A conversation between Ian Bremmer and David Rothkopf.

INTERVIEW BY DAVID ROTHKOPF | APRIL 30, 2012

Congratulations and Condolences

The conviction of Charles Taylor is welcome news. But don’t be fooled: The international criminal justice system is in deep trouble.

BY CHRISTOPHER STEPHEN | APRIL 30, 2012

Predators for Peace

Drones have revolutionized war. Why not let them deliver aid?

BY JACK C. CHOW | APRIL 27, 2012

Tarred and Feathered

Vice President Joe Biden's confident speech today painted Mitt Romney as both George W. Bush and Michael Dukakis when it comes to foreign policy.

BY MICHAEL A. COHEN | APRIL 26, 2012

Ostriches and Automatic Weapons

My surreal afternoon with Charles Taylor. 

BY JOHN NORRIS | APRIL 26, 2012

The New, New World Order

Do Americans still hate the United Nations?

BY SCOTT CLEMENT | APRIL 26, 2012

Away From the Handouts

The argument for a new approach to development aid.

BY PETER PASSELL | APRIL 26, 2012

Saving Somalia

Turkey may just be able to fix this war-torn east African nation -- if it doesn't fall into the same traps of would-be saviors who came before it.

BY LAURA HEATON | APRIL 24, 2012

What Sex Means for World Peace

The evidence is clear: The best predictor of a state's stability is how its women are treated.

BY VALERIE M. HUDSON | APRIL 24, 2012

Smart Sanctions: A Short History

How a blunt diplomatic tool morphed into the precision-guided measures we know today.

BY URI FRIEDMAN | MAY/JUNE 2012

Mogadishu's Moment

The city is making great strides, but 20 years of violence can't be erased in a day.

APRIL 5, 2012

Odious Obligations

Russia and China may feel fine with making bad moral decisions when it comes to Syria, but even they don’t like to make bad economic decisions. Can preemptive sanctions turn up the heat on Assad?

BY CHARLES KENNY | MARCH 19, 2012

The Road to Hell Is Paved with Viral Videos

For all its goodwill, Invisible Children's Kony 2012 film is dangerous propaganda, pure and simple. It's not a call to make a notorious celebrity out of Joseph Kony -- it's a call to war.

BY DAVID RIEFF | MARCH 14, 2012

The Parchin Trap

Don't count on the IAEA uncovering a smoking gun at Iran's military complex.

BY MARK FITZPATRICK | MARCH 13, 2012

The Iceman Leadeth

The cool diplomacy of Barack Obama.

BY DAVID ROTHKOPF | MARCH 12, 2012

The Islamic World's Quiet Revolution

Forget politics. Muslim countries are poised to experience a new wave of change -- but this time it's all about demographics.

BY NICHOLAS EBERSTADT | MARCH 9, 2012

Will the Good BRICS Please Stand Up?

You can call them respectable democracies, but India, Brazil, and South Africa will be judged by how they act abroad. And on the Syria question, it's been shameful.

BY JAMES TRAUB | MARCH 9, 2012

In the Name of the Lord

While controversy rages around the #StopKony campaign, a look at the progression of the Lord's Resistance Army from a Ugandan rebel force to a regional terror group.

MARCH 8, 2012

Home Away From Homs

Syrians fleeing the violence have been left stranded in the no-man's land of refugee camps.

MARCH 7, 2012

Let North Korea Keep Its Nukes

It's the only solution that has any hope of success.

BY ANDREI LANKOV | MARCH 7, 2012