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 Real Meaning of Squid Game

South Korea has been a big winner in the game of globalization. But it has come at a price.

Can We Avoid a War With China?

The cold war in the Taiwan Strait threatens to turn hot.

The Embarrassment of Riches

The wealthy rob governments of at least $200 billion a year in lost tax revenues. It’s time to force them to pay up.

The UN Crisis

This problem of rogue actors has long bedeviled the United Nations. But the rise of right-wing populists who insist on their sovereign right to do whatever they please poses an additional challenge to the international community.

Bush Was a Disaster – Only Trump Looks Worse by Comparison

More than 140 historians ranked past American presidents. If not for Trump, Bush’s ranking would have nosedived.

Working for a Real Mad Man

The military stood up to Donald Trump. Who will now stand up to the military?

The Handcuffing of Joe Biden

Trump didn’t just tie his successor’s hands. He handcuffed them to the throttle of a runaway train.

Did 9/11 Change Everything?

The 9/11 attacks were a surprise. The response wasn’t.

Saving Democracy by Destroying It

America desperately needs a dose of its own medicine of democracy promotion.

Does the Future Belong to the Taliban?

Afghanistan is not the only place at risk of takeover by extremists.

The Climate Crisis and Korea

The two Koreas cannot by themselves stop the climate crisis, but they can establish a model that the rest of the world can follow.

The Delta Variant of Global Stupidity

Why is the far right jumping on the anti-vaccination bandwagon?

The Global Right Wing’s Bizarre Obsession with Pedophilia

Child molestation is a very real problem. But the far right is far more interested in demonizing women, homosexuals, and the transgender community.

Avoiding the Robot Apocalypse

We’d better control machines before they control us.

The Politics of American Protest, With a North Korean Twist

The right wing has attacked Gwen Berry for her Olympic trial protest. A North Korean defector has joined that chorus.

Biden’s Conventional Foreign Policy

America is back—to the same old, same old.

Iran’s Hardliners: We’re Back, Too

The victory of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran’s recent presidential elections may contain some surprising good news for the Biden administration.

Building the World Back Better?

Instead of consigning China to the doghouse, why not create one big Green reconstruction team?

Bracing for a Surge of Trumpism in the Twilight of the Pandemic

More infectious strains of Trumpism are emerging for which we haven’t yet developed a vaccine.

The Pitfalls of U.S.-South Korean Economic Cooperation

Seoul and Washington should be working together to bring China on board for the kind of economic transformation that the planet so desperately needs.

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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