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Lindsey Graham remembered for a vision of American foreign policy that’s fading in Washington
Graham was a rare bridge between President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the traditional Washington consensus prioritizing alliances with Europe and Israel, one falling out of favor with many in both political parties.
Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics
Marco Rubio celebrated a major foreign policy win, while Session (the first of several?) is set to begin.
Israel support becomes political fault line in both parties
Support for Israel has long been considered a cornerstone of American foreign policy.
Takeaways: Supreme Court stands up to Donald Trump on emergency tariffs
The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs on Friday, a significant decision that could redirect the course of the administration’s economic and foreign policy agenda.
How I Got My Career in Foreign Policy: Matthias Matthijs | Council on Foreign Relations
Matthias Matthijs’s career has spanned academia and think tanks. He sat down with CFR to discuss the benefits of observing European politics from afar, the importance of remaining open-minded in your career, and conducting dissertation research in London’s House of Lords tea room.
How foreign policy values and issues cut across the political typology groups
The 2026 Pew Research Center political typology reveals a rich portrait of how Americans view the nation’s place in the world, the strength and use of its power, its relationships with other nations and many current foreign policy hotspots. While some foreign policy dynamics in the typology track traditional ideological and partisan divides, that is […]
Trump vies for Bush’s crown for worst foreign policy decision in history
The US president upended half a century of US foreign policy in an eight-minute video with another act of Middle Eastern regime change
Trump pivots to foreign policy amid political, legal battles at home
After dishing out more domestic discord this month, President Donald Trump this week will pivot hard to foreign affairs, putting his controversial artificial intelligence and Iran policies in the spotlight as the Senate looks to pass a college sports bill he has backed. The president heads to New York City on Monday for meetings with […]
Joe Klein: At 80, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Politics—and Life
I am 80 years old, this year of our 250th anniversary, and I find myself a cliché. My life has been a common political journey, from left to center. I recently took the Pew Research Center’s “political typology” test and found that I was a “pragmatic and polite conservative,” which seemed a rather abstruse basket: A politically mixed (though Republican-tilting) group, they lean conservative on economics and the role of government, while tilting more liberal on issues related to race and foreign policy. They prize civility and cooperation in politics. Well, that sounds pretty mushy—and I find it hard to square with the strong opinions I have on many issues. I’ve voted for Democrats in federal elections, but I grow more Republican the closer I get to local politics. Democrats, I’ve found, simply aren’t very good at running things, especially school systems, where they are in the thrall of the teachers unions. My friends joke about my obsession with the unions. They know all my lines. If industrial unions are organized against the power of capital, who are the public employees organized against? But enough of that. I’ve ranted that rant too often, and my political journey has been more complicated than that one issue. It has been empirical, based on actual experience—on a lifetime of reporting and a lot of reading. An early example: I was a journalist with the underground press in Boston at the turn of the 1970s and considered myself a member of the antiwar and civil rights movements. The first big issue I covered was busing to achieve school integration. Yes, the white bigots were disgusting. But I couldn’t find any black parents who favored the plan to bus their children to schools outside their neighborhoods either. Black activists and politicians—and white liberals—were gung ho, but not actual parents of black kids in school. Busing was a form of social engineering imposed from on high, by a judge—W. Arthur Garrity—who lived in a wealthy liberal suburb. Wealthy liberal suburbs were not affected by his plan, of course. I began to see that there were limits to what government could do, especially when it came to changing a society’s culture.
Turkey’s Deepening Somalia Partnership Has Political Limits
Somalia May Rely on Turkish Security Assistance but It Will Not Rubberstamp Turkish Foreign Policy
The unfinished foreign policy business Graham leaves behind
The South Carolina senator, who died Saturday, has built a legacy advocating for a muscular foreign policy.
How I Got My Career in Foreign Policy: Andrea R. Flores
Andrea Flores has spent more than fifteen years working on immigration policy, including at DHS, the White House, and the ACLU. She spoke with CFR about how her 360-degree perspective has shaped her understanding of the issue and the challenges of advancing immigration reform.
Sen. Lindsey Graham's career marked by reversals, including on Trump
Sen. Lindsey Graham's career in Washington was shaped by his hardline foreign policy beliefs and shifting views of President Donald Trump.
Supreme Court rules that Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs are illegal
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe, a striking loss for the White House on an issue that has been central to the president’s foreign policy and economic agenda.
Key Moments from the Wiener-Chan Debate
The two Democrats campaigning to represent District 11 in Congress debated AI safety, housing affordability and foreign policy.
Iran MOU signals ‘major shift’ from military to economic, political objectives for Trump: Retired general
Ret. Gen. Jack Keane on Sunday said the US-Iran memorandum of understanding signals a “major shift” in the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy ideals in the Middle East. “It’s a…
‘He’s irreplaceable’: How Lindsey Graham made an indelible mark on foreign policy and Trump
Republicans have confronted the reality that there will be no replacing Graham when it comes to foreign policy or as a conduit to Trump.
The problem with Trump’s foreign policy by empty threat
Monday should be a very scary day for the small Middle Eastern country of Oman after a threat from President Donald Trump. But he’s done this before.
Ditch Nato and dump Trump: Zack Polanski’s foreign policy
Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk to the Green party leader Zack Polanski on Donald Trump, Greenland and rejoining the European Union
'You'll find out': Trump hints at Greenland takeover, touts his 2025 accomplishments
Trump covered a range of issues during a nearly two-hour press briefing, including immigration, foreign policy and Los Angeles' fire recovery, as he lamented not getting enough credit for his job.
What it will take to turn things around
Mitt Romney offers critique on nation’s divisiveness, foreign policy, value of hard, thankless work of governing.
How Republicans criticize Trump without criticizing him: From the Politics Desk
Plus, some cracks in GOP support for Trump's foreign policy agenda.
Social media erupts after Harris introduces 'mob boss' accent to attack Trump: 'Total cringe'
Kamala Harris impersonated Donald Trump as a mob boss while criticizing his foreign policy at a National Action Network event, sparking online backlash.
A Nazi-curious party just won big in Germany. The White House approves.
How a very dangerous state election in Germany helps reveal Trump’s real foreign policy.
Lindsey Graham Dies: How the Republican Senator Became a TV Star
The late South Carolina Republican often popped up on news shows commenting on foreign policy — and in late-night comedy shows as the subject of liberal comedic fascination
Analyst explains why China’s pursuit of Taiwan is ‘all politics’
Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Steve Yates evaluates the strategic picture of China’s foreign policy on ‘Fox Report.’
Top U.S. Catholic cardinals urge Trump administration to use moral compass in foreign policy
In a joint statement, Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington and Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., warned that without a moral vision, the current debate over Washington's foreign policy was mired in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests.”
Trump says Pope Leo is ‘terrible for foreign policy’
US President Donald Trump strongly criticized Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social on Sunday evening, claiming he is “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
What smart people are saying about Trump's ceasefire deal with Iran
Economists, foreign policy experts, and politicians weigh in on Donald Trump's last-minute ceasefire deal with Iran.
The State Department’s secret playbook for using sports to advance Trump’s agenda
American diplomats are hoping the World Cup and Olympics can restore their influence shaping U.S. foreign policy.
How Sergio Gor Is Transforming the Role of U.S. Ambassador in the Trump Era
From his post in New Delhi, Mr. Gor has become a force in U.S. foreign policy, chasing business deals and stunning diplomats by reversing a long-planned embassy building project.
Lee Hamilton, towering figure in national politics with deep ties to IU, dies at 94
Lee Hamilton, a 17-term congressman serving southern Indiana, whose foreign policy expertise, reverence for democracy, and bipartisan ideals made him a towering and highly respected figure in national politics, died Wednesday. He was 94.
Trump’s global agenda flies into domestic headwinds
Even as US President Donald Trump calls for international support for the war in Iran, within the US there are dissenting voices, as not everyone is convinced that war is the answer. What is clear is that domestic factors will increasingly limit Trump’s foreign policy and diplomatic engagement. Academic Derek Grossman discusses the issue.
Trump’s foreign policy is to try to get America paid
Analysis: President Donald Trump ran for office promising to put America First. He has governed with an eye toward getting America paid.
Hyperreal Politics: When the Simulation Becomes Too Absurd to Satirize
The foreign policy playing out today in the West is so preposterously self-destructive it would be rejected as implausible fiction
Trump swings hard at Oman and South Korea, but his foreign policy misses are piling up
As Donald Trump’s critics see it, he’s striking out badly on foreign policy.
Democratic contenders look to boost political profiles in Munich
Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot explores the American foreign policy voices at the Munich Security Conference on ‘Special Report.’
Trump wades into stark GOP divisions: 5 takeaways as 2026 gets rolling
The first week of January was a busy one in Congress, where the GOP confronted a newly slim margin and divisions over health care and foreign policy.
Special Report: Looking back on the political legacy of Sen. Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had held his Senate seat since 2003 and was seen as a war hawk and significant voice on defense and foreign policy, has died at the age of 71 from a “sudden illness.” NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin and Meet the Press Moderator Kristen Welker report on Graham’s rise in Congress, his relationship with President Donald Trump, and his views on the wars in Iran and between Russia and Ukraine.
The return of power politics to the market: theory and practice of the geoeconomic zeitenwende
Descriptions, explanations, and recommendations regarding foreign policy as well as foreign trade policy increasingly refer to the concept of geoeconomics. In fact, the use of economic and technological measures in foreign policy practice is becoming more frequent and intensive, especially in those countries that have the necessary resources of power at their disposal, such as […]
Is Trumpism dead?
Right-wing populists say that Trump has embraced George W. Bush’s foreign policy. They’re half right.
Czech PM Babis criticises Senate leader's Taiwan trip for damaging China business ties
The Czech government will not make a government plane available for the Senate chief's planned trip to Taiwan and wants a more pragmatic foreign policy that does not damage business ties with China, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.
Lindsey Graham draws tributes for his support of Ukraine, trans-Atlantic ties
Graham was a high-profile figure in global foreign policy before and during the Trump era.
Trump administration offers rare muted response on new sanctions against Israel
(CNN) — President Donald Trump and his top foreign policy aide, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have not condemned the United Kingdom, France, Canada and others for their planned sanctions
The Supreme Court just blew up Trump’s foreign policy
How will Trump get countries to do what he wants without tariffs?
How Trump's 'Don-roe Doctrine' is different than Bush-era GOP foreign policy : The NPR Politics Podcast
The Republican Party’s approach to world affairs has shifted from attempting to spread democratic values during the George W. Bush administration to “America First” in President Trump’s first term and now to something else entirely. We discuss what to make of Trump’s foreign policy agenda. This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Trump’s Foreign Policy: Resurrecting Empire
President Trump’s approach is a revival of the mission of empire — acquiring the territories and resources of sovereign peoples.
Trump’s push for US control of Greenland is mostly about his ‘ego’: Global politics expert
Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer assesses President Donald Trump’s foreign policy moves on ‘Barron’s Roundtable.’
Pipeline Proceedings and Papal Politics: Foreign Policy's Weekly International News Quiz
Test yourself on the week of April 18: Taiwan’s president faces travel troubles, U.N. secretary-general candidates assemble in New York, and Pope Leo concludes his…
Rep. Young Kim Introduces Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act to Strengthen U.S. Leadership, Support American Jobs, and Help Families Globally
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-40) introduced the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act to deploy proven, American-made interventions that reduce maternal and child mortality around the globe while supporting U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Each year, nearly 260,000 women die from preventable pregnancy-related complications. Evidence-based solutions like Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS) prenatal vitamins,
Rubio leads US delegation to MSC on 'wrecking-ball politics'
The Munich Security Conference comes at "a moment of profound uncertainty," its chairman says, much of it driven by US President Donald Trump's foreign policy.
Lindsey Graham’s journey from a pool hall to the heights of political power
A former military lawyer who reached the rank of colonel in the Air Force, the wisecracking Graham was known for his Southern drawl, political flexibility and reliably hawkish stance on foreign policy.
Trump’s foreign policy sounds rather king-like
Two months ago, President Donald Trump and his allies ridiculed Trump’s opponents for their massive “No Kings” rallies. They cast it as melodramatic to compare Trump’s actions and aims to a king.
Lindsey Graham’s journey from a pool hall to the heights of political power
The high-energy Republican lawmaker was known for his Southern drawl, political flexibility and reliably hawkish stance on foreign policy. He first won election to Congress in 1994.
Marwan Kabalan, Qatar’s Foreign Policy: Geography, Politics and Strategy since 1971.
Qatar has undergone a period of deep introspection over the past few months. On July 12, 2026, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani—the visionary former leader who helped transform modern Qatar into a regional and global powerhouse during his 18-year reign—passed away at the age of 74. Sheikh Hamad’s death came just six weeks after that of his lifelong friend […]
King Charles' speech ‘unified’ both sides of the ‘political aisle:’ Former Margaret Thatcher aide
Former foreign policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher Nile Gardiner reacts to King Charles III's address to Congress on ‘The Story.’
A new Gallup poll shows how Americans’ sympathies have shifted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The numbers reflect how support for Israel has become deeply contentious in the US, with profound implications for American politics and foreign policy.
House passes bill to provide more Ukraine aid and impose new sanctions on Russia
The 226-195 vote is a sign of impatience with President Donald Trump's approach to the war and represents the House's second major foreign policy break with Trump this week.
Baker Institute fall calendar brings global leaders, foreign policy scholars and science innovators to Houston
The Baker Institute’s fall 2026 calendar will bring prominent policymakers, scientists, business leaders and scholars to Houston this fall for a series of public conversations on energy and grid resilience, artificial intelligence and health, global affairs, demographics, science policy and the future of Texas.
The domestic politics of Trump's foreign policy: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Vice President JD Vance goes to Minneapolis.
Peacemaker Pakistan Adds Twist to India-US Relationship
India’s economy and foreign policy are about to be tested in the days ahead.
Trump is bullying NATO again. But Americans like the alliance
For the second time in the still-quite-young 2026 calendar year, President Donald Trump is threatening to blow up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Americans decidedly like, over a foreign policy adventure they decidedly do not.
Trump envoy faces 'sweeping' investigation over business ties, diplomatic role
Democratic U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin launched what he described as a "sweeping" investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, over a potential conflict of interest, according to an April 17 press release. The inquiry focuses on Kushner's dual role as a diplomatic intermediary and head of a private equity firm, raising questions about whether his financial ties could influence U.S. foreign policy decisions. Kushner has played a central role in Trum
Victoria Coates discusses US foreign policy on Iran, Taiwan
Heritage Foundation VP of National Security Victoria Coates and panelist Mike Lee discuss the latest U.S. foreign policy updates, focusing on indirect peace talks with Iran, military funding for Taiwan and ongoing economic pressure on Cuba.
What role is China playing in global geopolitical transformations?
Chinese foreign policy is shaped by a paradox: it wants to project power and yet it seeks to avoid conflict.
Lindsey Graham dead at 71, leaving a legacy as a Trump booster, foreign policy hawk and powerful chairman
Graham served in Congress for more than three decades, during which he evolved from a critic of President Donald Trump to one of his most zealous supporters.
Senate GOP shields Trump from limits to his war powers in Venezuela after president’s pressure campaign
Senate Republicans blocked an effort to curb the Trump administration’s military action in Venezuela, a victory for the president who was incensed that some Republicans tried to tie his hands on a key foreign policy.
JD Vance appeals to MAGA youth on Iran war after suffering setbacks abroad
Vice President JD Vance appealed to disheartened MAGA youth in Georgia after stumbling on two recent foreign policy assignments.
Rubio says US does not know whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act
The Trump administration does not know the whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans it unlawfully deported last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that attempting to offer them due process would impact US foreign policy interests in the country.
How Trump’s capture of Maduro can be traced to Marco Rubio’s boyhood front porch
Miami’s exile politics forged Marco Rubio’s worldview. Now they’re shaping Trump’s foreign policy.
Trump, Putin, Ukraine and an Oil Deal: 5 Takeaways
A proposal to bolster relations with the Kremlin through the purchase of Russian energy assets is striking even for an administration that regularly mixes personal business interests with foreign policy.
KT McFarland on Trump's foreign policy strategy, China and Iran
Former Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland analyzes Trump's foreign policy, including the Greenland security agreement, tensions with Iran and the upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Live updates: Senate to vote on reining in Trump's Iran war powers
Get live updates and the latest news as Senate votes on reining in Trump's Iran war powers and Vance rebukes Pope Leo over his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy.
Türkiye’s Foreign Policy Success Is Reshaping Politics at Home
The most significant political consequence of Türkiye’s handling of the 2026 Iran war may not be what it achieved abroad, but how it continues to reshape politics at home. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged from the crisis with enhanced regional standing after Ankara helped facilitate de-escalation efforts while maintaining relations across competing camps. At a time when the Middle East… Continue reading Türkiye’s Foreign Policy Success Is Reshaping Politics at Home
AOC's foreign policy play: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Trump faces growing GOP blowback on a range of issues.
A Democratic warning sign in Michigan: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Trump’s latest foreign policy moves.
As global crises multiply, scores of US diplomats say they have been forced out
Amid ongoing foreign policy crises around the globe and as the Trump administration struggles to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, the State Department last week finalized the firings of nearly 250 foreign service officers in a brief, impersonal email.
Trump attacks Pope Leo, taking credit for his election as bishop of Rome
President Trump wrote that Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, was “weak” and “terrible” on crime and foreign policy. Leo has criticized the Iran war.
Times/Siena Poll: 43% of Voters Dissatisfied With Both Parties
Persistent frustration over the economy and foreign policy have left many Americans feeling politically homeless, and young voters are particularly frustrated.
Crockett, Talarico take on affordability, ICE and Trump during Texas primary debate
The Democratic U.S. Senate candidates weighed in on everything from foreign policy and the recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela to healthcare costs and whether they'd support raising taxes on billionaires.
Trump threatens to take Greenland ‘the hard way’
The president continued to advance an imperialist vision of American foreign policy, where the U.S. can dominate neighboring countries “whether they like it or not.”
The Strange New Politics of AI. Plus. . .
It’s Thursday, September 17. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Douglas Murray asks, why do we allow terrorists to die of old age? The American nonprofits backing Hamas. A conversation with Dara Horn and Coleman Hughes. And much more. But first: inside the unlikely coalition warning that AI may kill us all. Last week, an AI researcher named Jacob Coxon made headlines around the world after saying that he had resigned from Anthropic because he believes AI might cause human extinction—and his co-workers do, too. Unlike the rest of us, potentially, the story just won’t die. The Pro-Human Assembly, a conference held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., about the existential dangers of artificial intelligence, couldn’t have come at a better time—or with a more eclectic coalition. The Archbishop of San Francisco was there. So was Steve Bannon, screaming about the Chinese. Bernie Sanders did a quasi-dramatic reading of messages posted to an online forum by rogue AI agents. Ashley Judd paraphrased a graphic Andrea Dworkin quote for reasons that remain a mystery to me still. It was odd. People in the AI industry have talked openly about the possibility of this technology causing human extinction for years, but it hits differently in the wake of the Hugging Face incident. If you don’t know what that is, all the more reason to read my dispatch today. As the doomers see it, the best-case scenario is a future in which humans are basically kept as pets: well cared for, but with zero autonomy. The worst-case scenario, obviously, is the everyone dies thing. What should be done? I heard lots of ideas but no easy answers. There are currently zero federal regulations on AI, which is sort of strange even to think about. After all, we regulate microwaves, and the people running the microwave industry have never once refused to rule out the possibility that their products will end all human life on Earth. What I saw in D.C. left me even more convinced that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes nothing should be done. You know, except for President Trump. — River Page River Page • Tech and Business [ The AI Doomers Have a Plan to Save Us. I Went to Find Out What It Is. ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-ai-doomers-have-plan-save-bernie-sanders-bannon) Read story How Robert Kraft Made Macklemore a Martyr—and How to Better Fight Antisemitism On Monday, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and a group of other NFL owners banned Macklemore from performing at their stadiums after the rapper delivered a “Free Palestine” speech while opening for Ed Sheeran. Kraft cited the rapper’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.” Once multiple venues refused to host shows with Macklemore on the lineup, the tour’s promoter officially dropped him. Today, Josh Kaplan says that the move was counterproductive, arguing that though well-intentioned, Kraft’s decision turned an irrelevant footnote into a martyr. “You cannot cancel people into liking you,” Josh writes. Read his column on what a better response to Macklemore would have looked like. Read [ Robert Kraft Made Macklemore a Martyr ](https://www.thefp.com/p/robert-kraft-made-macklemore-martyr-antisemitism-palestine) This raises the question: What actually works against antisemitism? On the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman, recorded in front of a live audience in New York, Dara Horn joins Coleman Hughes to talk about her new book The Final Solution to the Jewish Question. She argues that antisemitism is a script that has repeated itself across countries and ideologies, and that most people don’t understand that well enough to fight it. Don’t miss their conversation. Watch [ The Lie at the Center of Antisemitism, with Dara Horn ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-lie-at-the-center-of-antisemitism-coleman-hughes-dana-horn) Listen now Douglas Murray • U.S. Politics [ Douglas Murray: The 9/11 Failure That Still Haunts America ](https://www.thefp.com/p/douglas-murray-911-failure-justice-terrorist-guantanamo-bay) Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the men who planned them have still not faced trial. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and most of the accused have been locked up in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. Judges have retired, and plea deals have collapsed. Today, Douglas Murray examines how this happened and argues that a justice system that allows terrorists to die of old age in an interminable pretrial process is one that has failed. Read his latest column on what that failure says about our unpreparedness for the era we are now living in. Read story The Editors • U.S. Politics [ When Nonprofits Support Terrorists ](https://www.thefp.com/p/when-nonprofits-support-terrorists) A newly declassified CIA brief from 1998 found that Osama bin Laden used nonprofit shell organizations—including U.S.-based Islamic groups—to fund his terror plots. Today, a similar story is unfolding as multiple organizations on American soil present themselves as nonprofits, taking advantage of tax-exempt status while seeking to advance the ideological mission of terrorist groups like Hamas. Read our editorial on the latest evidence of this dangerous trend—and why there’s no excuse for making the same mistake the CIA revealed 28 years ago. Read story Simon Sebag Montefiore and Bari Weiss Live in New York For decades, the Middle East has shaped American foreign policy and loomed large in the public consciousness. Few understand its influence on our politics better than Simon Sebag Montefiore, who argues that America’s quagmires in the Middle East stem from a deep misunderstanding of the region—on both the left and the right. Join him October 1 as he sits down with Bari Weiss live in New York City to kick off his U.S. book tour for The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. Get Tickets Now MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS [ Sydney Sweeney’s Naked Truth ](https://www.thefp.com/p/sydney-sweeneys-naked-truth-caitlin-flanagan) Caitlin Flanagan Read story [ I Thought Ukraine Was Losing. Then I Was Almost Hit by a Russian Drone. ](https://www.thefp.com/p/elliot-ackerman-ukraine-drone-gas-station-train) Elliot Ackerman Read story [ The Dangerous Ideology Behind the AI Warnings ](https://www.thefp.com/p/dangerous-ideology-effective-altruism-artificial-intelligence) Shyam Sankar Read story [ Amanda Knox: Patrick Clancy Can’t Win ](https://www.thefp.com/p/amanda-knox-patrick-clancy-grief-internet-crime) Amanda Knox Read story THE NEWS The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, its first hike since 2023, signaling that another increase could follow as the central bank tries to bring inflation under control. President Donald Trump fired back by demanding that rates be cut sharply, though he stopped short of criticizing Fed Chair Kevin Warsh by name. The Houthis fired drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, including a major oil port on the Red Sea, and Saudi jets struck back with air strikes across Yemen in an escalating front of the Middle East war. (For more on the Houthis, read Zineb Riboua’s column from earlier this week.) A sweeping Russia and Iran sanctions bill passed the House in a 262–159 vote and is now heading to Trump for his signature. Named after the late senator Lindsey Graham, the legislation would hit countries that purchase large volumes of Russian oil and gas with tariffs of up to 100 percent, and is aimed at cutting off revenue that funds Russia’s war in Ukraine. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada the European Union’s first-ever “associate member,” drawing a standing ovation from European lawmakers. The proposal, framed as a response to a world grown more hostile, faces an uncertain path as EU member states would have to approve it, and one diplomat said that “nobody really knows what it means.” The House voted unanimously to send billionaire Leon Black a criminal contempt referral after he defied a congressional subpoena to testify and hand over documents related to his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Black chose to fight the subpoena in court rather than comply. Charlie Kirk’s family filed a wrongful death notice Wednesday against Utah Valley University, alleging that a series of security failures left him exposed to a rooftop sniper. The notice is a required legal step before the family can sue. Merriam-Webster added 1,400 words and definitions to its dictionary, including looksmaxxing, vibe coding, and cuffing season. The publisher said the new entries offer “a window into the world today.” The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article.
South Carolina runoff to test Trump’s political influence
Darline Graham has differentiated herself from her brother, who was known for his outspoken stances on foreign policy.
Graham reportedly refused medical help before scheduled TV appearance
Sen. Lindsey Graham reportedly insisted on delaying medical help to appear on "Meet the Press," saying he still needed to finish his foreign policy goals.
Trump's persistent foreign policy challenge: From the Politics Desk
Plus, a pro-Israel super PAC's play in New Jersey's special election backfires.
Lee H. Hamilton, a Foreign Policy Power in Congress, Dies at 94
A moderate Democrat from Indiana for 34 years, he led the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees and helped investigate the Iran-contra scandal and the Sept. 11 attacks.
Trump knew he would take a political hit for acting on Iran: Veteran
U.S. Army special forces veteran Jim Hanson gives expert analysis on the state of U.S.-Iran conflict while applauding President Donald Trump’s foreign policy efforts on ‘Hannity.’
Can Marco Rubio convince Trump that a free Cuba is America First?
As Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has been a primary driver of President Trump’s foreign policy. But Cuba is his most personal challenge yet. And as he plots another potential run for the presidency in 2028, it’s the one whose success or failure could most closely define him.
Health experts in touch with Russia since last Friday: US official
Fox News senior foreign policy correspondent Gillian Turner reports on Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressing Russia for information about a suspected plague death and the U.S. response on ‘Special Report.’
‘I hate Americans’: Malaysian politician’s anti-US rant draws backlash
Former PM Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mukhriz defended his anti-US rant, claiming ordinary citizens share blame for Washington’s foreign policy.
U.S. Cuts Health Aid and Ties It to Funding Pledges by African Governments
The Trump administration has signed $11 billion in agreements with African nations, in deals tied to foreign policy goals.
State of the Union offers Trump a chance to make the case for his foreign policy approach
President Donald Trump's State of the Union address is expected to tilt heavily on domestic issues, but it's also a chance for the Republican to make the case for his foreign policy efforts to Americans who are increasingly demonstrating uneasiness about his priorities.
House passes Ukraine aid, Russia sanctions as GOP bucks Trump on foreign policy
Eighteen Republicans sided with Democrats to authorize billions in aid to Ukraine.
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash
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