Ph. China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on May 14, 2026. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images Xianda Huang, University of California, Los Angeles Diplomacy often masquerades as theater. And nearly nine years after his first state visit to China, Donald Trump returned to Beijing with
Ph. One of scores of murals Diego Rivera painted in the interwar period that sits above the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico City, Mexico. Apolline Guillerot-Malick/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Tony Wood, University of Colorado Boulder In Latin America, as in other parts of the world, the second Trump administration has adopted
Theresa Reinold, EDHEC Business School One of the most striking aspects of the war with Iran is the extent to which it has highlighted the irrelevance of international organisations and multilateral approaches to resolving global conflicts. If we take war as an indicator of the viability of the rules-based international order established after
Jennifer Parker, The University of Western Australia; UNSW Sydney Wednesday’s ceasefire announcement by President Donald Trump, linked to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, prompted immediate optimism shipping would quickly resume. It didn’t. The following morning, traffic remained minimal. A handful of vessels, largely linked to Iran, made the transit. But most of
Ph. Iranians hold national flags in Tehran’s Revolution Square on April 8, 2026, after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images Donald Heflin, Tufts University President Donald Trump on April 7, 2026, announced a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, after more than a
Ph. China and Russia view the U.S. grand strategy as increasingly out of focus. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson Jeffrey Taliaferro, Tufts University “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the
Ph. Boat strikes can harm or kill whales and are one concern about the oil industry’s environmental impact. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Dan Salas, University of Illinois Chicago There’s a well-worn debate in U.S. politics that goes something like this: Would you rather have abundant and affordable energy or a clean, healthy
Ph. On Feb. 7, 2026, Iranian newspapers featured headlines on the resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, following their suspension after Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran in June 2025. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images Debak Das, University of Denver Operation Epic Fury – the latest round of military
Ph. A view of the liquefied natural gas production at the Ras Laffan facility in Qatar. Stringer/picture alliance via Getty Images Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University The U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran took a dangerous turn on March 18, 2026, with tit-for-tat strikes on critical energy infrastructure that amount to the most serious
Ph. The AN/FPS-132 early warning radar can scan a range of 3,000 miles (4,828 km). U.S. Air Force Aaron Brynildson, University of Mississippi The global price of oil continues to skyrocket as Iran’s missiles and drones hit vital infrastructure in Arab Gulf states. Billion-dollar American radar systems have also been targeted and destroyed