September 18, 2026 | View in Browser | Sponsored by Circle

This week’s highlights:

- Iran’s Second Front by April Longley Alley and Allison Minor

- Trump and Xi Can’t Stop the U.S.-China Spiral by Orville Schell

- Putin Will Not Yield by Michael Kimmage and Maria Lipman

- China’s Purges Are Working as Designed by Andrew Mertha

- Podcast: Lawrence Freedman discusses the new age of war

- Cuba’s Point of No Return by Will Freeman

- The New Chinese Way of Cyberwar by Anne Neuberger

A Foreign Affairs subscription is less than $3.50/month.

Subscribe Now →

Houthi fighters in Sanaa, Yemen, September 2026

Iran’s Second Front

The Houthis’ Bold Advance Has Transformed the Middle East’s Wars

By April Longley Alley and Allison Minor

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, May 2026

Trump and Xi Can’t Stop the U.S.-China Spiral

The Delusions of Summitry and the Limits of Personalist Diplomacy

By Orville Schell

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow, September 2026

Putin Will Not Yield

Pressure and Pain Won’t Sap Russia’s Resolve in Ukraine

By Michael Kimmage and Maria Lipman

A billboard of Chinese leader Xi Jinping behind People’s Liberation Army soldiers, Beijing, August 2015

China’s Purges Are Working as Designed

A Unique Discipline System Has Helped the Party Endure

By Andrew Mertha

Advertisement: Circle

USDC Built by Circle

Learn More

The world’s leading asset manager, the world’s largest payment network, and the world’s largest prediction market all use the world’s largest regulated stablecoin.

New Podcast Episode

How to Understand the New Ag