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Russian President Vladimir Putin has been described as the most “powerful” and “influential” man in the world, but do these assessments accurately capture reality? Putin is undoubtedly the most powerful man in Russia, but how much control does he actually have over the country’s bureaucracy? And is there actually a grand strategic vision underpinning his foreign adventurism in Venezuela, Syria and Ukraine? In this week’s podcast interview, WPR’s associate editor, Elliot Waldman, discusses these questions with Mark Galeotti, an honorary professor at University College London’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the author of “It’s Time to Talk […]

The Trump administration twice approved the transfer of nuclear technical expertise to Saudi Arabia after last year’s murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to new revelations this week. The disclosures have fueled frustrations in Congress over the administration’s apparent eagerness to aid Riyadh and its nuclear ambitions, including repeatedly ignoring and blindsiding lawmakers. The new details only add to questions about the White House’s motivations and the implications of a nuclear Saudi Arabia for the Middle East and U.S. national security. In a statement released Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia disclosed the timing of the two “Part […]

After my first book came out in 2004, I received a surprise phone call from an assistant to former United States Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, asking if I would meet with him to talk about Africa. Sitting together in his executive’s office at Citibank’s headquarters in Manhattan, he averred that if Al Gore were to win that year’s presidential election, he could return to a leading position in government, and he wanted to know if there was one initiative Washington could take to engage with Africa, what would I suggest? This was a tall order, not least because I had […]

Editor’s note: The following article is one of 30 that we’ve selected from our archives to celebrate World Politics Review’s 15th anniversary. You can find the full collection here. PUCALLPA, Peru—Delfin Tutucima Rios’ journey as a healer began about two decades ago, when he himself fell ill. He was 30 years old at the time, working as a teacher in this city on the Ucayali River in eastern Peru, when he was afflicted by a malady that doctors could not diagnose. His liver swelled, and his arms and legs became bloated. Doctors later told him he had cancer. Eventually he was […]

President Donald Trump has repeatedly shown that when it comes to foreign policy, he prefers bullying over supporting widely held norms. He has embraced dictators while trashing American allies and alliances. He ignores or undermines international institutions that the United States helped to create. And on the trade front, he has slapped tariffs on close allies and partners while invoking vague claims about national security. The latest move came last week, when Trump again threatened trade sanctions against Mexico, a major trading partner, over a humanitarian crisis at the southern border that he helped create. The families escaping violence and […]

When the last of the ballots had finally been counted in the recent European Parliament elections, it became abundantly clear that one of the biggest losers was Britain’s Labour Party, and its Brexit strategy most of all. The party finished in third place, behind both Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and the ardently pro-Remain Liberal Democrats, with a mere 14.1 percent of the total vote. If the results are anything to go by, then Labour’s attempts to appeal to both Leavers and Remainers by being as ambiguous as possible about Brexit have actually had the opposite effect and alienated both sides […]

PRAGUE—An estimated 50,000 protesters rallied in Prague’s iconic Wenceslas Square in mid-May—the center of 1989’s Velvet Revolution and the earlier anti-communist revolt in 1968—amid rising fears that the Czech Republic could follow neighboring Hungary and Poland in sliding toward authoritarian rule. The mass protest marked a fourth week of growing demonstrations, kicked off by the surprise announcement on April 18 that an ally of billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis would take over as the justice minister, just a day after Czech police had recommended that Babis be prosecuted for fraud. The protesters worry that the previous justice minister, Jan Knezinek, […]

France is stepping up its naval activities in the Asia-Pacific. Last month, the French navy conducted joint exercises with the United States, Australian and Indian navies, just weeks after a separate naval drill with India that involved two aircraft carriers. In April, the French frigate Vendemiaire made a rare passage through the strategically important Taiwan Strait. Some observers fear that these maneuvers could heighten tensions with Beijing, but so far, both France and China have worked to prevent that from happening, says Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. In an email interview […]

It wasn't so long ago that there was a legitimate push to expand the United Nations Security Council. So why have the calls for UNSC reform disappeared? Among the mysteries of contemporary world politics is the lack of high-level debate over reforming the United Nations Security Council. U.N. membership has expanded dramatically since 1945, from 51 to 193 nations, and the global economy has experienced tectonic shifts, especially in the past 30 years. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the seven largest Western economies—three of which have permanent seats on the council—accounted for 51 percent of global economic output. […]