How America Gets Stuck in Its Allies’ Fights; Why a Weaker Russia Keeps Fighting; America’s Superintelligence Dilemma
Foreign Affairs This Week

August 7, 2026 | View in Browser | Sponsored by Political Tours

 

This week’s highlights:

- The New Forever Wars by Dafna H. Rand

- Why a Weaker Russia Keeps Fighting by Alexander Gabuev, Alexandra Prokopenko, and Tatiana Stanovaya

- America’s Superintelligence Dilemma by Hal Brands

- Why We Should Fight by Kori Schake

- Podcast: Jen Easterly discusses cyberwarfare in the age of AI

- The Looming Nuclear Crisis in the Gulf by Yoel Guzansky

- China’s Quiet Quest to Dominate Latin America by Natalia Cote-Muñoz

 

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Firing toward Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, June 2026

The New Forever Wars

How America Gets Stuck in Its Allies’ Fights

By Dafna H. Rand

 
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Moscow, July 2026

Why a Weaker Russia Keeps Fighting

Putin Sees Little Need to Negotiate

By Alexander Gabuev, Alexandra Prokopenko, and Tatiana Stanovaya

 
A keyboard and robotic hand illustration, June 2026

America’s Superintelligence Dilemma

How to Avoid an AI Catastrophe

By Hal Brands

 

Why We Should Fight

And Where Trump Went Wrong

By Kori Schake

Advertisement: International Monetary Fund

 

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Join a Political Tour in 2026

Sixteen years ago, former New York Times reporter Nicholas Wood founded Political Tours, the world’s only travel company dedicated to foreign affairs. Since then, our small-group, reporter-led tours have covered the major issues of our time. Upcoming tours include Taiwan, Mexico, South Africa, and the French Presidential Elections. Join us and witness history in the making. 

 

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