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

America’s Destructive Denialisms

The refusal of tens of millions of Americans to recognize the election results is part of a much larger denialism — of COVID-19, of climate change, and U.S. decline.

Biden Won’t Reset U.S. Foreign Policy On His Own

Biden’s foreign policy team matters less than the world they inherit, policies they pursue, and the pressure they get from progressives.

Who Needs Zombies When We Have Republicans?

How else would you describe Americans who deny a pandemic that’s killed 250,000 people and the election that repudiated Trump?

The Return of the Goldilocks Apocalypse

There’s no returning to normal after Donald Trump.

America Rejoins the World?

It simply doesn’t make a lot of sense to entrust leadership to a country with a severe personality disorder.

U.S. Democracy: The Four-Year Rule?

American democracy is in rough shape. It’s going to take more than this election to set it right.

This Election Is About Trump’s Pandemic Failures. But What Happens Next?

It’s going to take more than a change of personnel in Washington to address our decaying climate, public health, and democracy. But it’s not too late.

People to Autocrats: Not So Fast

Authoritarianism has been on the march for years, but people powered revolutions are pushing regimes toward democracy on nearly every continent.

A Pandemic Pivot

COVID-19 is an early alert for more serious global crises. So far, the international community has failed — but it’s not too late.

The Pandemic Pivot

Experts from the frontlines of global policy tackle the implications of COVID-19.

America’s New Policy of Demoting Democracy

Trump has put a stop to democracy promotion. Will democracy put a stop to Trump?

Nukes and North Korea: A New Direction?

North Korea’s nuclear program is a regional issue. It requires a regional response.

Donald Trump Makes the Swamp Bigger

Donald Trump brought a whole new world of corruption to Washington.

The Problem of Surplus White Men

Dispossessed white men have haunted Western politics for generations. The answer isn’t to jettison “identity politics” — it’s to create truly meaningful new opportunities.

Donald Trump’s Real Mob Connections

Will the November election be decided in the streets?

America’s Global Reputation Isn’t Bouncing Back Anytime Soon

Even if Trump loses, his administration may have permanently damaged our standing abroad. But there’s a silver lining: it makes Trumpism an ideological dead-end.

Trump’s Scorched-Earth Doctrine

Trump is doing whatever he can to make it impossible for his successor to resolve some of the world’s most intractable problems.

Trump and the Troops

The alternative to Trump is not the glorification of military service. It’s promoting the kind of service that gets fewer people killed.

How Trump Will Try to Win the Election

Donald Trump hates to lose. Here’s how he’ll try to steal an electoral victory.

A Memo to the Next President

The next president can’t just clean up Trump’s mess. They’ll have to prevent a resurgence of Trumpism — and learn from Obama’s mistakes.

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

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