Foreign Policy

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del periódico incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006.

Nota informativa: Foreign Policy es una revista bimestral estadounidense sobre política internacional y temas globales. Fue fundada en 1970. Tiene implementado un «muro de pago» por lo que es necesario suscribirse para tener acceso a todos sus contenidos. Más información en su página de suscripción.

Children play near tents at a camp in southern Gedaref, Sudan, on March 20. AFP via Getty Images

MundoÁfrica,

This week marks exactly one year since Sudan descended into war.

Over the last year, the world’s most influential organizations, leaders, and publications have characterized Sudan’s ongoing war as catastrophic and beyond a point of no return. On paper, these terms seem reasonable in describing the dire circumstances on the ground. More than 15,000 people have been killed in war-related violence, over 8 million people have been displaced, and widespread hunger is increasing.

Though this language is attention-grabbing—and quotable—it has restricted the international community’s response to the conflict. This style of language—which effectively dismisses many conflict zones as lost causes—is a constant in humanitarian crises.…  Seguir leyendo »

An employee of the public health care makes noise with a cooking pot as she takes part in a protest rally during a warning strike in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 13, 2023. THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP via Getty Images

EuropaUnión Europea

The German word mitmachen has no exact English translation because the concept sits uncomfortably in the Anglo-Saxon mindset. It’s a verb that means “to get involved” or “do your bit”, and it depends on a sense of communitarianism, something deemed to be lacking in more individualistic societies.

The so-called economic miracle that defined postwar Germany was based in the concept of mutual responsibility. The army of family-run small- and medium-sized businesses, the fabled Mittelstand, was usually based in small- and medium-sized towns. The chief executive would sponsor the local soccer club or youth orchestra, helping out with community events on a Saturday morning.…  Seguir leyendo »

Foreign ministers and senior officials from NATO states pose for an official press photo at NATO headquarters during the first day of the alliance’s foreign affairs ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on April 3. Omar Havana/Getty Images

InternacionalOTAN

On this day in 1949, 12 European and North American ministers gathered in Washington, D.C., to commit their nations to one another’s defense. With the scars of the Second World War still raw and new threats looming, they pledged to safeguard the freedom of their peoples.

As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization turns 75, and as the foreign ministers of a founding nation and the newest member, we believe that NATO is as relevant to North Americans and Europeans as it was in 1949—and that it is stronger than ever.

This year, two-thirds of NATO allies are expected to spend at least 2 percent of their GDPs on defense.…  Seguir leyendo »

Police officers extinguish a fire during a protest against the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on March 16, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Amir Levy/Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo

When U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of the staunchest pro-Israel lawmakers in the United States and the highest-ranking Jewish official in Washington, effectively called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ouster on the Senate floor in mid-March, it was a watershed moment for anyone following Israel’s role in U.S. politics.

Israel has been so sacrosanct in America for so long that the idea that a hawkish Democrat like Schumer would call for regime change in Israel is extraordinary. But the Senate leader’s stance is fairly mainstream among Israelis. There’s consensus—even within his own party—that elections should be held early.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Congolese army tank heads towards the front line near Kibumba in the area surrounding the North Kivu city of Goma on May 25, 2022 during clashes between the Congolese army and M23 rebels. Arlette Bashizi/AFP via Getty Images

MundoÁfrica, ,

In the summer of 2022, I crossed from Rwanda into the besieged Congolese city of Goma. The slick Rwandan border police and their Chinese-made black polymer carbines stood in stark contrast to the weary Congolese soldiers’ ancient Kalashnikovs. “We can’t invade Rwanda or Uganda”, a hardened Congolese provincial politician admitted to me. He slid his fingers across his neck, adding, “But we can’t negotiate with a knife to our throat”.

Since that conversation, Rwandan troops and their local March 23 Movement (M23) proxy forces have completely encircled Goma. While the Rwandan government simultaneously denies supporting M23 while justifying its intervention as necessary for Rwandan security, the direct involvement of Rwanda has been extensively documented by the United Nations and acknowledged with alarm by the U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

Italian Marines participate in the Nordic Response 24 military exercise at sea near Sorstraumen, a Norwegian territory located above the Arctic Circle, on March 10. Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images

EuropaInternacionalOTAN,

Even as its members take part in Steadfast Defender 2024, NATO’s largest military exercise since the Cold War, it is clear that the alliance remains ill-prepared against Russia’s military capabilities in the Arctic. The exercise, which runs between January and May, involves more than 90,000 troops across the Atlantic and up to the Arctic and suggests that NATO has a strong and capable defense presence in the region.

However, a closer look at the capabilities of the Arctic states—which are all NATO members except Russia—reveals otherwise. Finland and Sweden’s recent membership in NATO has been heralded as a turning point in deterrence against Russia in the north.…  Seguir leyendo »

People walk past the damaged headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City on Feb. 15. AFP via Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo,

Last month, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that the agency had reached a “breaking point”. After Israel accused 12 agency personnel of involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, 18 states announced in January that they would suspend funding to UNRWA, including its two top donors: the United States and Germany. On Saturday, the U.S. Congress barred funding to the agency through March 2025.

Although Lazzarini has dismissed 10 of the employees (the other two are dead), and the U.N. promptly launched an investigation into the allegation, most donor states have refused to resume funding until the investigation is finished.…  Seguir leyendo »

President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III at a news conference in 1991. Dirck Halstead/Getty Images

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo,

On March 25, the United States took the highly unusual step of abstaining in a vote at the U.N. Security Council that called for a cease-fire in Gaza after six months of a relentless Israeli military campaign. However, immediately and controversially, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. made sure to deem the resolution “nonbinding”. Other Biden administration officials have also taken pains to “talk down” the significance of the vote.

The curious imbalance in the U.S.-Israel relationship has come into focus in recent weeks as the Biden administration slowly sharpens its criticism of Israel—and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains defiant.…  Seguir leyendo »

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a Ukrainian soldier stand at a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 8, 2022. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

EuropaUnión EuropeaDefensa y Seguridad

Ever since it was first proposed in the 1950s, the idea of a European army has not gone anywhere, but it keeps rearing its ineffectual head. Now, as Europe faces the urgent need to boost its defenses against a neo-imperialist Russia seeking to reshape the continent’s post-Cold War order through war, the idea of a joint military is once again swirling around European capitals. With the European Union’s recently released defense industrial strategy and plan to appoint a European commissioner for defense, one might conclude that the idea of an EU military and defense policy could finally take off. But as in the past, this is a dead end.…  Seguir leyendo »

A field with solar panels in front of the RWE Weisweiler power plant in Eschweiler, Germany on March 21. Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía

On Feb. 6, the European Council and European Parliament made a significant agreement in the fight against climate change. The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) establishes a benchmark for the European Union to manufacture 40 percent of expected demand in clean technologies by 2030. As well as onshore and offshore wind, hydro, and geothermal, this figure would include solar. In parallel, the EU’s Solar Energy Strategy aims to scale up generating capacity in solar from 263 gigawatts (GW) today to almost 600 GW by 2030—an increase of more than 140 percent that will make solar the largest source of electricity production in the EU.…  Seguir leyendo »

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during the third Summit for Democracy in Seoul on March 18. Evelyn Hockstein/AFP via Getty Images

MundoAsia

As democracy faces a growing assault around the world, South Korea is emerging as a country that is uniquely positioned to help lead a global democratic renewal. When Seoul held the 1988 Summer Olympics, it helped introduce South Korea to the world as a modern nation. Hosting the third Summit for Democracy this week reflects South Korea’s new ambition to support the expansion of freedom around the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific and in the global south.

South Korea’s transformation from devastation after the Korean War to economic powerhouse has inspired many developing countries. Successive Korean administrations have focused on economic development at home while maintaining an alliance with the United States and managing relations with regional powers to keep the peace on the Korean peninsula.…  Seguir leyendo »

Cillian Murphy stars in Oppenheimer. Universal Pictures

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia,

In a key scene of Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the weapons laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, addresses a crowd of foot-stamping scientists, engineers, and staff. The father of the atomic bomb exudes an uncharacteristic ferocity: “The world will remember this day. It’s too soon to determine what the result of the bombing are, but I’ll bet the Japanese didn’t like it. I’m so proud, so proud of what you have accomplished. I just wish we’d had it in time to use against the Germans”.

Filmgoers know what comes next—the blinding flash, the deafening roar, the carbonized corpse—victory turned to ashes in the cheering mouths of those who forged an artificial sun.…  Seguir leyendo »

Members of Ukraine’s 72nd Brigade anti-air unit use binoculars to search for Russian drones near Marinka, Ukraine, on Feb. 23. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Europa, , ,

The U.S. Congress has delayed supplemental assistance to Ukraine for seven months, and the lack of urgency is resulting in dire new realities on the battlefield. With Ukrainian forces fortifying the front line ahead of a new Russian offensive expected in the spring or early summer, a failure to swiftly resupply Ukraine’s troops with ammunition could result in Russia’s greatest gains since the early days of the full-scale invasion.

Policymakers in Washington have mostly accepted that Congress won’t pass a bill that includes new aid to Ukraine until April at best, once another budget deadline is addressed. This timeline is entirely the choice of U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

A view of a damaged house in Kibbutz Be’eri near the border with Gaza on Oct. 20, 2023. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

MundoOriente Próximo

The path to Palestinian statehood has been crushed beneath an avalanche of bombs, bullets, smoke, and fire. “After Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a prepared statement in January.

What little hard-earned trust there was between Israelis and Palestinians has been shattered both by the slaughter of civilians by Hamas in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023—the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—and the subsequent war between Hamas and Israel.…  Seguir leyendo »

Police officers deploy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 9. Clarens Siffroy/AFP via Getty Images

MundoAmérica

For the past four and a half years, Haiti’s internal security has steadily deteriorated. In 2019, the United Nations concluded 15 years of peacekeeping operations in the country, which had been initiated to address growing instability in the wake of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s 2004 ouster. Under the U.N. mission, an estimated 10,000 international nongovernmental organizations channeled foreign aid into Haiti to help support its social services. But the U.N.’s departure forced many aid groups to withdraw, spiraling the country into social unrest once again.

The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse was the most visible harbinger—and catalyst—of impending state collapse. That foreign mercenaries managed to kill the president, as both Haitian officials and U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) addresses supporters during a rally on May 27, 2023.

Europa,

The upcoming local elections in Turkey on March 31 offer Turkey’s progressives—the social democratic main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party—the opportunity to challenge the hegemony of the ruling conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP). A win would also bolster the chances of Istanbul’s incumbent CHP mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, to succeed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when his term expires in 2028, provided that they display a unity of purpose.

The outcome of the March 31 election in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, will—as has been the case before—be decisive in shaping the course of Turkish politics.…  Seguir leyendo »

Princess Catherine, BBC Dad, and the New Picture Perfect

Europa,

A family snap of the Princess of Wales with her three children has dominated headlines and group chats since its release on U.K. Mother’s Day last weekend. Princess Catherine, whom the palace says is recovering from abdominal surgery in January, is known chiefly for never putting a foot wrong in nearly two decades of intense public scrutiny—first as girlfriend of Prince William, then as a wife and mother to future kings, and an advocate for uncontroversial but important causes such as early childhood development.

Yet even for a woman defined by her seeming perfection—Hillary Mantel once wrote the former duchess appeared to have been designed by a committee and built by craftsmen—the Mother’s Day photo of Catherine and her family was judged a little too perfect.…  Seguir leyendo »

A protester sits on a monument in central Kyiv during the Maidan uprising on Feb. 20, 2014. Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images

Europa

During a recent off-the-record think tank discussion on Ukraine, a respected journalist raised the issue of the damaging effects that Ukraine’s ongoing corruption issues have had on U.S. congressional Republican support for the country as it resists Russia’s invasion. The journalist’s comment, of course, was not the first about what has become a bugbear for Ukraine’s friends and enemies alike. Indeed, corruption in Ukraine’s economy, and more recently within its military structures, is a problem that needs to be addressed forcefully and forthrightly by Ukraine’s leaders.

But context and nuance about Ukrainian corruption are also crucial. After all, support for Ukraine’s heroic resistance to Russia’s brutal invasion is a strategic and moral imperative.…  Seguir leyendo »

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stands during a press conference with Ukrainian President in Kiev on July 10, 2017. via Getty Images) SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP

InternacionalOTAN

As the tides of battle have shifted against Ukraine, amid doubts about whether the U.S. Congress will approve a new round of aid, influential experts such as former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder are repeating their earlier calls to bring Ukraine into NATO sooner rather than later. This step is marketed both as a way to convince Russia that its military campaign cannot keep Ukraine out of the alliance and as needing to provide adequate security for Ukraine when the war finally ends.

Reasonable people can and will disagree about the wisdom of this recommendation, because the contending positions rest on predictions about an uncertain future.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Muslim imam, a Christian priest and two Jewish rabbis join a prayer calling for rain on November 11, 2010 in the West Bank village of Walajeh near Bethlehem. HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo

Something strange is going on with Israel, writes Elie Barnavi, a former Israeli ambassador to France and a prominent historian and writer, in his autobiography  Confessions d’un bon à rien: In less than a century his country “has gone through the entire sequence of European wars, but in reverse order”.

Barnavi’s book (which has not been translated into English) was published in 2022. He could not have known at the time that a furious war between Israel and Hamas would erupt in late 2023. Even so, his analysis of Israel getting involved in Europeans wars “but in reverse order” is perfectly applicable to the war now raging in Gaza.…  Seguir leyendo »