This SDG will examine issues in United States foreign policy by using the primary source of Foreign Affairs magazine. Foreign Affairs is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs and is considered one of the United States' most influential foreign-policy magazines. Participants in the SDG must subscribe to the magazine ($29 for 1 year of unlimited digital access) and choose a week with a preselected topic including articles and may then substitute other readings on topic from the periodical or offer material from other sources. The issues are many. Is America to become isolationist or expansionist? How will peace in Ukraine be achieved? What will the new policy be towards Russia and Europe? What now for Gaza, Syria and Iran? What do we make of the talk of buying Greenland, taking back the Panama Canal and making Canada the fifty-first state? What is the way forward on China and Taiwan? We will address these questions and many others. JOIN US!
1. Will Trump Change the World?
Stress Test: Can a Troubled Order Survive a Disruptive Leader?, Margaret MacMillan, January/February 2025 Published on January 7, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/stress-test-trump-margaret-macmillan.
Trump’s Antiliberal Order: How America First Undercuts America’s Advantage, Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon, January/February 2025 Published on January 7, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/trumps-antiliberal-order-cooley-nexon.
The Age of Tariffs, Trump Is Launching a Turbulent New Era for the Global Economy, Eswar Prasad, April 3, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/age-tariffs-trump-global-economy.
Who’s Afraid of America First? What Asia Can Teach the World About Adapting to Trump, Bilahari Kausikan, January/February 2025 Published on January 7, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/whos-afraid-america-first-bilahari-kausikan-trump.
2. Ukraine
Ukraine Without America How Kyiv Can Persist in the Face of a Hostile Washington, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, March 4, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/ukraine-without-america.
How Not to End the War in Ukraine Past Failures Make Clear That an Imposed Peace Won’t Last, Tetiana Kyselova and Yuna Potomkina, March 1, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/how-not-end-war-ukraine.
The Right U.S. Strategy for Russia-Ukraine Negotiations How American Pressure Can Bring the War to an Acceptable End, Thomas Wright, February 24, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/ukraine-war-strategy-negotiations-thomas-wright.
3. Russia.
Putin’s Point of No Return How an Unchecked Russia Will Challenge the West, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Michael Kofman, January/February 2025 Published on December 18, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/putins-point-no-return.
The Five Futures of Russia And How America Can Prepare for Whatever Comes Next, Stephen Kotkin, May/June 2024 Published on April 18, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/five-futures-russia-stephen-kotkin.
Putin’s Age of Chaos The Dangers of Russian Disorder, Tatiana Stanovaya, September/October 2023 Published on August 8, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/vladimir-putin-age-chaos.
4. Europe.
NATO Without America How Europe Can Run an Alliance Designed for U.S. Control, Ivo H. Daalder, March 28, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/nato-without-america.
The Once and Future Transatlantic Alliance A More Active and Independent Europe Can Bring America Back to the Table, Michael E. O’Hanlon and Paul B. Stares, March 18, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/once-and-future-transatlantic-alliance.
Can American Abandonment Help Europe? The Continent Has a Chance to Address Its Own Weaknesses, Arancha González Laya, Camille Grand, Katarzyna Pisarska, Nathalie Tocci, and Guntram Wolff, January 6, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/can-american-abandonment-help-europe.
5. Middle East
War Unbound Gaza, Ukraine, and the Breakdown of International Law, Oona A. Hathaway, May/June 2024 Published on April 23, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/war-unbound-gaza-hathaway.
Israel’s Forever War The Long History of Managing—Rather Than Solving—the Conflict, Tom Segev May/June 2024 Published on April 23, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/israels-forever-war-gaza-tom-segev.
How Hamas Ends A Strategy for Letting the Group Defeat Itself, Audrey Kurth Cronin, July/August 2024 Published on June 3, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/how-hamas-ends-gaza.
6. Middle East.
The Fatal Flaw of the New Middle East Gaza, Syria, and the Region’s Next Crisis, Maha Yahya, March/April 2025 Published on February 17, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/fatal-flaw-new-middle-east-gaza-yahya.
Iran’s Order of Chaos How the Islamic Republic Is Remaking the Middle East, Suzanne Maloney May/June 2024 Published on April 8, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/irans-order-chaos-suzanne-maloney.
A More Normal Iran? How Masoud Pezeshkian Could Deliver Change, Vali Nasr and Narges Bajoghli, July 29, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/more-normal-iran-masoud-pezeshkian.
7. Latin America
The Price of Neglecting Latin America Guns, Drugs, and Migration Have Destabilized the Region—and Fed Dysfunction in Washington, Will Freeman, December 5, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/south-america/price-neglecting-latin-america.
Latin America Is About to Become a Priority for U.S. Foreign Policy, Trump Will Disrupt Three Decades of “Benign Neglect," Brian Winter, December 10, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/latin-america-about-become-priority-us-foreign-policy.
The United States’ Missed Opportunity in Latin America Economic Security Begins Closer to Home, Shannon K. O’Neil, March/April 2024 Published on February 20, 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/united-states-missed-opportunity-latin-america.
8. China.
The Real China Trump Card The Hawk’s Case Against Decoupling, Stephen G. Brooks and Ben A. Vagle, March/April 2025 Published on February 20, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/real-china-trump-card-brooks-vagle.
The Taiwan Fixation American Strategy Shouldn’t Hinge on an Unwinnable War, Jennifer Kavanagh and Stephen Wertheim, March/April 2025 Published on February 25, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/taiwan-fixation-kavanagh-wertheim.
How to Win the New Cold War To Compete With China, Trump Should Learn From Reagan, Niall Ferguson, January/February 2025 Published on January 7, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/win-new-cold-war-china-trump-niall-ferguson.
9. China.
Xi’s Age of Stagnation The Great Walling-Off of China, Ian Johnson, September/October 2023 Published on August 22, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/xi-jinping-age-stagnation.
The End of China’s Economic Miracle How Beijing’s Struggles Could Be an Opportunity for Washington, Adam S. Posen, September/October 2023 Published on August 2, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/end-china-economic-miracle-beijing-washington.
China’s Road to Ruin The Real Toll of Beijing’s Belt and Road, Michael Bennon and Francis Fukuyama September/October 2023 Published on August 22, 2023. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/belt-road-initiative-xi-imf.
10. Summing Up and Looking Forward.
The World Trump Wants American Power in the New Age of Nationalism, Michael Kimmage, March/April 2025 Published on February 25, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/world-trump-wants-michael-kimmage.
The Renegade Order How Trump Wields American Power, Hal Brands, March/April 2025 Published on February 25, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/renegade-order-trump-hal-brands.
The Path to American Authoritarianism What Comes After Democratic Breakdown, Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, March/April 2025 Published on February 11, 2025. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/path-american-authoritarianism-trump.
Foreign Affairs, Council on Foreign Affairs, New York.