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 Limits of Public Diplomacy

In their responses to Nancy Snow’s provocative thesis, R.S. Zaharna and John Robert Kelley focus on America’s credibility deficit and the limits of civic diplomacy.

Anti-Americanism and the Rise of Civic Diplomacy

America’s public diplomacy is handicapped by arrogance, impatience, and a reluctance to listen. In Anti-Americanism and the Rise of Civic Diplomacy, Nancy Snow asks whether Washington can change its image abroad.

Using India to Keep China at Bay

The U.S.-India nuclear deal does nothing to contain the spread of nuclear technology. But, as Tim Beal argues, that’s not the containment Washington has in mind.

China and Southeast Asia

Beijing is wooing Southeast Asia. Washington can either try to break up the relationship, writes Evelyn Goh, or work out a more peaceable ménage a trois.

Political Football

The clock is ticking. The current strategy doesn’t seem to be working, but Coach Bush is reluctant to try something new.

The Democrats & Iran

The new Congress faces a stark choice: war with Iran or a regional peace deal involving Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and Syria.

Postcard from Sri Lanka

Postcard from … Sri Lanka

Madness and War

FPIF columnist Conn Hallinan describes how Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam form a historical axis of political madness and military blunders.

Secrecy and Foreign Policy

The imperial presidency has thrived on secrecy. This unconstitutional expansion of presidential power has helped make a mess of U.S. foreign policy.

Big Mystery

Vol. 1, No. 17

Curing AIDS Policy of Greed and Dogma

When it comes to AIDS policy, the Global South doesn’t need charity or lectures about abstinence. Generic drugs and respecting women’s rights are the way to go.

Central Asia Between Competition and Cooperation

Are China and the United States playing a new “great game” in Central Asia or do the two powers have more in common in the region than even they currently realize?

The Democrats’ War

After January 3, the Democrats will have to do something about Iraq. Early signs are not positive, unless the anti-war movement kicks it up a notch.

Rule of Lawlessness

If Dallas and Miami Vice became emblematic of the Reagan years, Deadwood is the series that best captures the political mentality of the George W. Bush era.

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Competition

Are the United States and China heading toward an economic and military showdown or a peaceful convergence of interests? Two prominent China scholars, James Nolt and Bonnie Glaser, go head-to-head to answer the question.

Hurricane Milton

Economist Milton Friedman cut a devastating path through the Global South.

The Post-Abundance Era

We’re so beyond the Cold War and September 11th that we’ve entered a new era altogether. FPIF columnist Michael T. Klare warns us all to get ready and tighten our belts.

Garca’s First 100 Days

Peru’s new president is pushing free market policies and promoting social justice. Can he do both?

Nepal: Peace In, Terrorism Out?

Maoist guerrillas saving democracy from the clutches of a despot? Perhaps only in Nepal…

Military Intelligence

In his bid to appeal to a conservative base on the road to 2008, John McCain repeatedly urged last week that the United States send more troops to Iraq to get the job done. The military response to McCain’s political appeal demonstrates that military intelligence is no oxymoron.

Project Director and Associate Fellow

Epicenter, Foreign Policy in Focus

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

    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

    UpFront

    KPFA | September 18, 2023

    Technics and Civilization: Lithium and Society

    Korean IT Times | September 7, 2023

    More...