The year’s best stories

Nearly a year into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, we are still struggling to figure out how to write about him—and his foreign policy. Whether by posting artificial intelligence-generated videos of imagined war crimes in Gaza or sharing grainy black-and-white videos of alleged war crimes in the Caribbean, Trump continues to defy our expectations in increasingly expected ways.

Criticizing the catastrophic consequences of Trump’s foreign policies feels both necessary and increasingly futile. Yet contrarian takes praising the overlooked wisdom of Trump’s actions have consistently proved naive, if not downright pernicious. Meanwhile, experts continue to pen thoughtful, nuanced articles articulating the thoughtful, nuanced policies that Trump could implement if he were serious about achieving his stated geopolitical goals. So far, their impact remains difficult to discern.

Nearly a year into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, we are still struggling to figure out how to write about him—and his foreign policy. Whether by posting artificial intelligence-generated videos of imagined war crimes in Gaza or sharing grainy black-and-white videos of alleged war crimes in the Caribbean, Trump continues to defy our expectations in increasingly expected ways.

Criticizing the catastrophic consequences of Trump’s foreign policies feels both necessary and increasingly futile. Yet contrarian takes praising the overlooked wisdom of Trump’s actions have consistently proved naive, if not downright pernicious. Meanwhile, experts continue to pen thoughtful, nuanced articles articulating the thoughtful, nuanced policies that Trump could implement if he were serious about achieving his stated geopolitical goals. So far, their impact remains difficult to discern.

In this fraught landscape, Foreign Policy’s authors have risen to the occasion. Over the past year, they have documented the damage done by Trump’s foreign policies, delved into his motives, and stepped back—both geographically and chronologically—to consider what his presidency means for the globe.

Here are five of our best reads on Washington and the world under Trump.

By Stephen M. Walt, Sept. 10

Trump has undermined the United States’ strength and standing in the world by embracing dictators,

© Foreign Policy