John Feffer is director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.

He is the author, most recently, of Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams (Zed Books). He is also the author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands (Dispatch Books) and its soon-to-be-released sequel Frostlands. He is the author of several other books, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, USAToday, Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, and many other publications.

He has been an Open Society fellow, a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University, a Herbert W. Scoville fellow, a writing fellow at Provisions Library in Washington, DC, and a writer in residence at Blue Mountain Center and the Wurlitzer Foundation.

He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal. He has worked as an international affairs representative in Eastern Europe and East Asia for the American Friends Service Committee. He has studied in England and Russia, lived in Poland and Japan, and traveled widely throughout Europe and Asia.

John has been widely interviewed in print, on radio, and TV.

Learn more about him on his website.

Latest

“You Can Dance, But Only If You Join the Revolution”

From the comfortable alt-rock of PJ Harvey to the hypnotic antagonism of Anohni, new protest music offers a relief from the official rhythms of war and peace.

Sadiq Khan and the End of Islamophobia

The victory of Sadiq Khan has “normalized” Muslims in UK politics in much the same way that JFK normalized Catholics in American politics. But American Muslims are still waiting for their JFK moment.

Can Korean Millennials Transform the Country’s Political System?

The next generation of Koreans could take part in a national revival of South Korea and put the ghosts of the 20th century to rest.

Making China Great Again

If the U.S. and China think they can grow at each other’s expense, they’re snookering themselves.

Big Oil Isn’t Going Down Without a Fight

As the Paris climate deal nears implementation, the possibilities for corporate subterfuge are endless. But the real problem may be our own lifestyles.

The $1.7 Trillion Status Expenditure

The logic of military spending leads countries to effectively destroy their own property and burn down their own villages.

Iraq’s Artifacts Have Become Refugees, Too

Here is one artist’s attempt to reconstruct what the Iraq War destroyed.

How a Child is Made into a Suicide Bomber

These children’s participation in ongoing atrocities represents an utter failure on the part of states and the international community to provide a minimum amount of stability and economic prosperity in precarious regions of the world.

Should South Korea Get the Bomb?

Donald Trump and a majority of South Koreans believe that South Korea should have a nuclear weapon. Are they right?

The Future of Europe Depends on This Vote in the Netherlands

Does the European idea still inspire the Union’s better angels, or is it a spent force?

Donald Trump is Foreign Policy’s Useful Idiot

He’s right that “world’s policeman” is not a viable role for the U.S. to play. Eventually, someone with a bigger brain and a smaller ego will pick up this message, run with it, and win big at the polls.

Cuba: Hope and Change?

Cuba stands at a historic crossroads: playground for the rich or isolated Communist backwater. Can it find a third path?

It’s Time to Bring Turkey into the European Union

For better or worse, the refugee crisis underscores that Turkey is part of Europe. Pretending otherwise could have disastrous consequences.

Are We Incapable of Ending Wars?

In a world awash with weak states, powerful weapons, and crumbling institutions, conflicts can easily continue for generations — and perhaps never end.

The Mad Hatters of Poland’s Tea Party Movement

By embracing a neoliberal, pro-austerity agenda, Poland’s mainstream left opened the way for a government of Polish Ted Cruzes.

Darkness at High Noon in Korea

South Korea severed its last important economic link with the North, as governments on both sides of the DMZ extinguish what little remained of the “sunshine era” of engagement.

The Art of Dissidence and Diplomacy

Foreign policy is too important to leave to the “professionals.” Through art and culture, we can all work to make the world a better place.

Wrestling with Iran

Wrestling is the new ping pong when it comes to U.S.-Iranian relations.

East Asia Is Invisible

East Asia is invisible to the average American — for better and worse.

The Candidate Our Foreign Policy Deserves

Our foreign policy is aggressive, parochial, and hard-hearted. Unless voters finally demand differently, our next president will be the same.

Project Director and Associate Fellow

Epicenter, Foreign Policy in Focus

    Asia/Pacific, Military/Peace, NATO, North Korea, Northeast Asia, South Korea

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