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

Return to Adversity

The author returns to East-Central Europe amidst concerns that its governments are showing signs of greater authoritarianism.

Dumb and Dumber: Obama’s “Smart Power” Foreign Policy

Barack Obama is a smart guy. So why has he spent the last four years executing such a dumb foreign policy?

Korea and the U.S. Elections

When it comes to foreign policy, significant transformation is as unlikely in Washington as it is in Pyongyang.

Playing the Pundit

Many entertainment figures, like George Clooney, have entered the world of punditry. But what happens when a pundit goes the other way?

North Korea and Disneyland

The new North Korean leader likes Disney. But that’s not necessarily a sign that he’s leaning westward.

South Korea: Stuck in the 20th Century?

South Korea is cutting-edge in so many ways, except its foreign policy.

The 250

What can the experiences of 250 people tell us about the logic of political transformation?

The Limits of Information in North Korea

North Koreans now know more about the outside world than ever before. So, why haven’t they changed their regime?

Assad and His Droogs

How far should the state go to improve the world?

Big Meetings

I’d much rather that representatives of the world’s nations gather on a regular basis to bore themselves to death in a conference rather than beat themselves to death in a war. Make resolutions, not war is the bumper sticker of the future.

Frenemies

When it comes to Vietnam and China, the frenemy of our frenemy is an even closer frenemy.

E-War

Washington has gone on the offensive in yet another realm: cyberspace.

Spying on the North

The United States and its South Korean ally have been trying to acquire human intelligence about North Korea for decades.

The Price of Democracy

We spend world-class sums on our elections. Why don’t we get world-class results?

Scram!

As it graduates from college, Generation Y has a chance to become the Global Generation.

The Pentagon’s Obesity Problem

Instead of dieting together, the Pentagon is trying to keep our NATO allies fat and unhappy.

America the Serial Killer

America was baptized in blood and has been steeped in blood ever since. Our drone attacks are only the latest episode of serial killing.

Waiting for Copernicus

Maybe the end of the Washington consensus is finally upon us.

Okinawa: Small Step Forward?

The U.S. military footprint on Okinawa is shrinking, but the impasse over bases remains.

NATO vs. Rogues?

Come November, someone’s going to have to tell the next president the hard news: the emperor has no alliance.

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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