A Rare Nuclear Arms Control Talk

For the first time in years, officials from the U.S. and China sat down to talk about nuclear arms control on Monday. Though more of a broad and general discussion, some say that it was a necessary first step to recalibrate understanding and cooperation between the two global powers. The talk comes shortly before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also set to meet.

“There’s a good chance that any clash, even a small one, would turn into angry nationwide protests that blow up relations again,” FP’s James Palmer wrote about brewing U.S.-China discussions in last week’s China Brief. Evidently, there is a lot to unpack—and keep up with—on the current state of affairs between the two countries. (You can add China to your My FP interests to stay up to date on FP’s China coverage.)?

Meanwhile, changes in China’s economy and in the U.S. have opened an opportunity for BRICS (now BRICS+, with the admission of new members): a path to de-dollarization. A decline of the dollar’s dominance may have been overstated around the time of August’s meeting of BRICS leaders, but as Joe Sullivan writes, “conditions in Washington and Beijing appear to be conspiring to make the dollar’s vulnerability to BRICS+ greater than it was even six months before.” It’s a reminder of how momentous global actors and coalitions can be—and how essential the critical perspectives FP strives to provide are for a holistic view of the world.—The editors

The Latest Israel-Hamas War Coverage

• Is America Really ‘Indispensable’ Again?: The new debates over aid to Ukraine and Israel have opened an old wound: avoiding too many foreign entanglements. By Michael Hirsh
• More U.S. Officials Are Anonymously Calling for a Gaza Cease-Fire: USAID open letter joins growing chorus of internal dissent over Biden’s Israel policy. By Amy Mackinnon, Robbie Gramer
• I Worked With Netanyahu. It’s Time for Him to Step Down.: A former U.S. ambassador to Israel on why Bibi has lost his mandate—and the confidence of his country’s closest allies. By Daniel C. Kurtzer
• Iran Can’t Afford a Regional War: Leaders in Tehran can either seize the diplomatic opportunity—or face a potential threat to their own power. By Alex Vatanka
• Can Our Leaders Avoid the Terrorism Trap?: For Israel and Palestine, the only way to break the cycle of violence is to understand the difference between justice and vengeance. By Yousef Munayyer

New and Noteworthy

• The Future of Gaza: Israeli officials have said little about their plans for the Gaza Strip and its 2.1 million residents, leaving experts to question: What’s next for Gaza? What would reconstruction look like? How would a reengineering of politics unfold? Considering the unknown, FP’s Amy Mackinnon reflects on a set of grim scenarios for the enclave’s Palestinian residents.
• Mass Expulsion in Pakistan: Pakistan has begun to act on a policy announced last month to expel all undocumented foreigners, including 1.7 million Afghans, from the country. “At any rate, public opinion is unlikely to sway Islamabad” away from the move, writes FP’s Michael Kugelman in the latest South Asia Brief. With broad geopolitical implications and dangers that returnees may face, there is much to know about this issue. Sign up: Add South Asia Brief to your newsletters to receive a weekly digest of essential news and analysis from the region.
• The Inevitable Fall of Russia: What do Western Rome and post-World War I Germany have in common? According to this analysis, they all share lessons on the failure to re-imperialize—and Russia may be the next to join this mix. Will Russian President Vladimir Putin successfully maintain the territories that Russia has “effectively seized,” or “will the Russo-Soviet empire’s remains continue on their downward trajectory until the Russian Federation itself cracks?”

FP Live

What to Expect When Biden Meets Xi

Nov. 17 | 11 a.m. EDT

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. What should the world expect from this meeting? What will Biden aim to achieve? Join FP Live for a post-APEC debrief with experts Evan Medeiros, a former China policy advisor to former U.S. President Barack Obama, and James Palmer, author of FP’s China Brief newsletter. Register now.?

Ehud Barak on Israel’s Next Steps

On Demand

There is perhaps no other person alive who has Ehud Barak’s range of experience for what war in Gaza looks like—and how Israel’s wartime decisions get scrutinized by the media. The former Israeli prime minister sat down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to discuss Israel’s military objectives, public opinions on current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and where Washington fits in this conflict. Watch the on-demand video or read the Q&A.?

Will There Be a Wider War in the Middle East??

On Demand

As Israel continues its war on Hamas, and as the number of civilian casualties in Gaza rises, neighboring countries are on edge. From Lebanon in the north to Yemen in the south, the regional ripple effects of the Israel-Hamas war are top of mind for two experts of the Middle East: Steven Cook, a columnist at FP, and Kim Ghattas, a Beirut-based journalist. Watch the on-demand video or read the Q&A.

Exercise Your Mind

Which South American country severed diplomatic ties with Israel on Tuesday due to its “aggressive and disproportionate” war in Gaza?

(A) Brazil

(B) Ecuador

(C) Chile

(D) Bolivia

You can find the answer to this question and learn more at the end of this email.

The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking

While all speakers at the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate fall into the same party, their ideologies on foreign policy are not as unanimous. In an analysis, Ash Jain outlines six camps of thoughts on international engagement that follow a spectrum—not party lines—to explore the dominant strains of thinking on the U.S. role in the world.?

Foreign policy is likely to feature prominently at the Republican presidential primary debates. At the debate in August, a question on whether the candidates would support continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine produced a firestorm. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had previously suggested that Russia’s war in Ukraine was not a “vital” national interest, appeared skeptical, calling on Europe to do more instead. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was more direct in opposing such aid, calling it “disastrous” for the United States to be “protecting against an invasion across somebody else’s border.” Former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, on the other hand, expressed strong support for assisting Ukraine, effectively standing behind President Joe Biden’s efforts to counter Russian aggression while imploring the United States to do even more.

On the other side of the aisle, some Democrats have been wary of Biden’s policy on Ukraine, as evidenced by a letter (that was later retracted) sent to the president by progressive Democrats, calling for a diplomatic end to the conflict and potential sanctions relief for Russia.

In today’s polarized political atmosphere, such cross-cutting views may appear confounding. On most domestic policy issues, whether political leaders have an R or a D next to their name is often a pretty good guide to their take on any particular issue. But when it comes to foreign policy, the normal rules of politics do not apply. Instead, of much greater relevance is where a political leader falls on the foreign-policy ideology spectrum.

Read the full report, and then revisit other pieces on the U.S. role in foreign entanglements or congressional battles over Ukraine aid.

More From FP

From Around FP

Ones and Tooze Live in Berlin: Each week on Ones and Tooze, FP’s weekly economics podcast, Adam Tooze and Cameron Abadi take data points from the news and explain what they mean—from the war in Ukraine to the collapse of crypto. Recently, Tooze and Abadi took the conversation out of the studio and spoke in front of a live audience at the Hertie School in Berlin. Watch now, and listen to Ones and Tooze on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.?

Elevating the G-7: Foreign ministers are meeting in Tokyo on Nov. 7-8 at a time of high tensions and emerging political alignments across the world. How should the coalition foster solidarity? What potentials are there for the G-7 to elevate its role to defend democratic societies? Revisit FP’s Fall 2023 magazine, “The Alliances That Matter Now,” for answers to these questions and critical reflections on the future of multilateralism.

Global Reboot Season 3: The latest episode from the new season of FP’s Global Reboot podcast, produced in partnership with the Doha Forum, is available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. In continuing to explore how to rebuild a world amid disruptive international events, FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke to U.S. Rep. Andy Kim on fixing America’s China policy.

Answer: D. Bolivia. Western countries risk losing credibility among the nations of the global south if their hypocrisy on the Israel-Hamas war is not contained or reversed, Oliver Stuenkel writes.