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

The Most Important Election of Your Life isn’t This Year

Donald Trump’s campaign has highlighted a division between “America A” and “America B,” but a much more ominous political force could emerge in 2020.

Does the Brexit Vote Mark the End of Internationalism?

Far-right nationalists and neoliberal capitalists will survive the demise of institutions like the EU. What about the rest of us?

How Should We Name the Attack in Orlando?

It’s tempting to use a harsh epithet like “terrorism” to describe the actions in Orlando, but it may ultimately be counterproductive. “Mass hate crime” may be more accurate.

A Failed State in Latin America?

There’s still hope for the “pink tide” that swept aside Latin America’s right-wing dictators. But in Venezuela, Chavismo is on its last legs.

Donald Trump: Joker’s Wild

Donald Trump should lose in November. But when you add a joker to the game, it throws off the odds.

Obama’s Nuclear Weapons Policy is His Greatest Achievement and Gravest Disappointment

Obama’s mixed record on nukes leaves us wondering if we’re in any less danger of a nuclear war than we were during the Cold War.

The Coming Drone Blowback

The U.S. conducts drone strikes worldwide with relative impunity. But when the first strike hits the United States, the real blowback will begin.

“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.

Project Director and Associate Fellow

Epicenter, Foreign Policy in Focus

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

    GCTV with Bill Miller

    Global Connections Television (GCTV) | April 2, 2024

    Russia’s War in Ukraine

    KPFA | March 4, 2024

    UpFront: Russia’s War in Ukraine

    KPFA | January 29, 2024

    Talkies

    KPFA | January 19, 2024

    Tensions High Over Russia’s War in Ukraine

    The Greenfield (MA) Recorder, The Tulsa (OK) World | October 23, 2023

    UpFront

    KPFA | October 2, 2023

    More...